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Blade Runner News Archive - 2004 (Jan-Mar)

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Please note that most links are not revised. Although correct when originally written, the nature of news means that I cannot guarantee that any particular link will still be valid today.

30 Mar 2004 "Splash", starring Daryl Hannah doesn't seem long ago to me, but apparently it's been 20 years. The film was directed by Ron Howard (whatever happened to him...?) DVD talk ... talks about the film.
30 Mar 2004 Well now, according to Variety, Keanu Reeves is signed up to star in "A Scannner Darkly" (based on a PKD story). Well, if he is tightly directed, could be good. KeaNeo has filmed at least three movies I know of since the last Matrix thingy, so is much in demand still. And in the right film can look good. PKD stories have had mixed results in filming - from the sublime Blade Runner to the rather disappointing Paycheck. So we live in eternal hopefulness that the next one will prove to be good.
29 Mar 2004 I don't care about professional wrestling. Indeed, I could bore you with my views on it. But when Tyrell is directly quoted in an article, I need to let you know. So, according to the (Malaysia) Star, some bloke called Lesnar has "burned so very, very brightly in the last two years". Umm... well there you go.
26 Mar 2004 What is a Prius? Well, it's a car by Toyota and according to ic Coventry, "The futuristic Prius could have easily driven in from the set of Minority Report or Blade Runner". It is a hybrid electric/petrol car. so wworth checking out.
24 Mar 2004 This is rather an odd editorial, which asks, "What happens when the lines between artificial and real life blur? A time when not just intelligence is artificial, but everything real and natural is barely distinguishable from what can be made in a factory? What do you do with human rights when you can't tell who is human and who is not?" And refers to PKD and Blade Runner. So here you go.
24 Mar 2004 I was already looking forward to the next Batman movie being potentially quite good - it just got better. Rutger Hauer has been cast as "Earle, a corrupt Wayne Industries executive who minds Bruce Wayne's company while he's off training to become The Dark Knight." In case you haven't seen the film news recently, this is the story of Batman's beginnings and stars Christian Bale as Batman (great!) and Michael Caine as his butler (great!) and already has such as Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson signed up (great!). And has Christopher Nolan directing (great! - he did Memento and Insomnia). Script mostly by David Goyer who contributed to Dark City and wrote all three Blade movies (and directed the third). And now they've got Rutger Hauer on the cast as well - all great! (Check out Rutger's own description of the filming and ironic pigeon interruption...)
22 Mar 2004 Killer Ants from Space? Myrmidons? Replicants? Fiction of past and present has looked at the "perfect soldier" and what that entails. lewrockwell.com compares and considers these fictions from Greek mythology through modern film. It ends by warning us of the dangers of losing our humanity.
20 Mar 2004 If you are going to be in Washington during the next week, then check out the 12th annual Environmental Film Festival there (much of it is free). The Washington Times mentions one particular entry - "Los Angeles Plays Itself" - a documentary feature on Los Angeles not just as used in film, but as subject and myth as well. Blade Runner is an obvious inclusion, with its use of the Bradbury Building, Ennis Brown House and Union Station.
See also the film festival's official site.
18 Mar 2004 It has often been said (very often by BR fans, but often enough by others too) that Blade Runner has influenced many, many SF and even non-SF films made since 1982. In look, city vision, elements of plot, etc. Occasionally a positive thing, but ever stopped to wonder about the negative side of that impact? Vince Yim at Screenwriter's Voice has drawn up a "Top 11 Screenplays that Destroyed Hollywood". And puts Blade Runner at number 3. Great film - shame it has been copied so much.
17 Mar 2004 The Japan Times includes another reason why Paycheck doesn't match up to Blade Runner, (beyond the obvious weaknesses of the film itself). More exactly, it suggests why it never could - because that PKD dystopian future of traded memory and artificial identity isn't the future any more ... it is the now.
Also in The Japan Times is a review of Mamoru Oshii's sequel to Ghost in the Shell - Innocence - which clearly shows the BR influence and looks like it will definitely be worth watching. (Check the trailers.)
16 Mar 2004 If you feel it would do any good to sign an on-line petition to Jerry Perencho in support of the BR:SE, you can do so here.
15 Mar 2004 Here is an article you should definitely read - in the Telegraph's "Film-makers on film" series, Chris Cunningham talks about his views on Blade Runner (his favourite film). Some of his comments will ring true with many a BR fan. I particularly like his comment, "I can't think of another film that has such a strong atmosphere. So melancholy, and the strangest feeling of nostalgia for a place and time that never was." And his closing comment echoes that of many of us who grew to love the OV version of the film back in the 80s and now watch the DC version, "It's funny, because I saw the film so many times that I still hear the voiceover in my head when I watch it."
15 Mar 2004 Another story of a vision of the near future expressed as "not" Blade Runner. Set in Los Angeles in 2030, "Century City" is a TV drama based in a law firm. However, Cynthia Littleton, writing for Reuters, after describing it as not BR then goes on with a description that sounds like it fits pefectly in a BR future...
Tim Goodman, in his review at SFGate, also can't resist the Blade Runner "not" reference, describing a genetically "re-engineered" character as being "not" a replicant ... (More human than human perhaps ...?)
Even Hector Elizondo, one of the stars of the show has to say "This is not a 'Blade Runner.' I would not have been interested in that kind of pessimism."
Melanie McFarland says in the Seattle PI, "Watching CBS's new drama might even help you relax, knowing tomorrow's a lot shinier than the one served up by "Blade Runner." - after she called the new show beautiful, serene and boring...
Others also comment on the "not" BR of it, so okay, Century City is evidently not very dystopian, and not too Blade Runneresque, but perhaps, just maybe, it would be just a little more interesting if it were?
14 Mar 2004 If you are familiar with Akira Kurosawa's most excellent film Shichinin no Samurai, ("Seven Samurai" to you gaikokujin), you might wonder how it could be made into the modern video game "Seven Samurai 20XX". One might imagine the meeting between Hisao Kurosawa (son) and Hajime Satomi (Sammy Corporation) talking of a PS2 game based on the film - One guesses the first thing suggested would be to set it in the future, and then obviously you would have a Blade Runneresque background.... Read about it in the NY Times.
11 Mar 2004 The Mercury News gives us a slight insight into the writing partnership of David and Janet Peoples, (although DP was on his own when asked to make a few enhancements to the BR script from Hampton Fancher).
09 Mar 2004 It is interesting that the pervasive influence of Blade Runner is so strong that even when someone takes a different view of robots in the city of the future, it has to be mentioned that it is not the Blade Runner vision... Although Ivan Brandon (who worked on T3), one of the talents contributing to NYC Mech, says (to CBR News) "There's always a little 'Blade Runner' in my head" even when that isn't the look they're going for.
08 Mar 2004 The Home Theater Forum held a live chat with Warner Home Video today and it wasn't long before "the question" was asked: "What is the status of the definitive, multi-disc Blade Runner special edition?" The answer was not a total negative, but was hardly inspiring either, "You all know BLADE RUNNER has legal issues. We are currently investigating what options we have to revisit the title."
08 Mar 2004 The 2008 Olympics will be in Beijing and as is usual in preparations for the World's largest sporting event, lots of new buildings are being thrown up. Of course, some of them on the innovative side of design. And of course, the BR comparison comes out. Except this time, the BBC reports it has been suggested by some to be a "vision of some post-Blade Runner city". Must be progress then...
08 Mar 2004 The superb theme music from Blade Runner, by Vangelis, has inspired many, from being the most sampled film soundtrack ever to providing backing for dance. Ben Munisteri has choreographed some of his work to this as showcased at Alverno College. The review by On Wisconsin reinforces how inspiring the music can be.
08 Mar 2004 So, are some cars starting to look like those out of Blade Runner... (the street cars, not the spinners obviously). Well, how about the new Rover small hatchback? Check it out for yourself. (I wouldn't buy one, but there is no accounting for taste...).
05 Mar 2004 Deus Ex got much attention as a pretty good game, so there was obviously going to be high interest in the sequel. How did the developers go one better for this game set in 2072? Well, they looked to X-Files for conspiracy ideas and Blade Runner for the look and feel. Once more, the future looks like Blade Runner, because, quite simply, that is how the future looks. Read a review at the BBC.
04 Mar 2004 "Daryl Hannah on the loneliness that haunts her" - the Daily Mirror gets down to basics with Daryl.
01 Mar 2004 So how is Blade: Trinity like Blade Runner? According to David Goyer (writer/director), his approach to filming the new Blade film has been to use "much more old school compositing and using CG to blend shots. We shot all the elements practically and with real stunt men. Some are very sophisticated composites that involve ten, even twenty elements, but the approach is much more 'Blade Runner' in that regard where all the elements that we shot are real, but we use CG to meld them together." Reported by CBR News.
01 Mar 2004 Syd Mead (Visual Futurist on BR) is still very much in demand for his concept artwork. He has provided a futuristic, aerial-style painting of the Dubai Sports City project, (a "50 million square feet development being created as one of the star attractions of the mega AED 18 billion Dubailand project"). His painting will be displayed in an exhibition on the project. [AME Info story]
27 Feb 2004 Of course the New York set is not the only place used for filming BR - there was also the Bradbury Building. Although there is loads of information on these places in our Locations section, you can read a little more at the Scotsman.
27 Feb 2004 You thought you knew all about the New York set used to portray Los Angeles in Blade Runner? ... or maybe not. Check out the Alameda-Times Star for a little bit more.
26 Feb 2004 So how exactly do neo-noir and sci-fi-noir compare to classic noir? Where does BR fit in (well that's obvious really) and what does Tim Robinson of The Silhouette have to say about it all?
26 Feb 2004 The New York set was well used in Blade Runner (ironically being used to represent Los Angeles), but what else? The NY Times examines.
25 Feb 2004 So what do you know about ectogenesis? It means "to be created outside the womb" - the naural human womb that is. So what of the artificial womb? And is it just a dystopian SF idea or should it be part of our reality? Find some clues at SignOnSanDiego. And once you've aborbed that, how do you think this technology might apply in Blade Runner?
25 Feb 2004 Channel 4 Masterclass on Ridley Scott.
21 Feb 2004 I wonder - is anyone who looks a little punkish going to be compared to "somebody out of Blade Runner" forever more? showbizireland comments, "Pink mixed it up with her dancers dressed in costumes that looked like a cross between The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly meets Blade Runner."
21 Feb 2004 São Paulo is 450. And it is "Full of Energy". And of course it must be compared to Blade Runner - by the New York Times.
21 Feb 2004 "Digging through the digital shoebox" - the future of consumer electronices and inevitably, eventually, Blade Runner is used in the demonstration.
19 Feb 2004 It is inevitable that Blade Runner at some point be referenced with respect to sex. The line "I should be enough for him" for example. Read about women and porn and sexual liberation at eye weekly ... if you want to (contains explicit language).
18 Feb 2004 Scott Bukatman is the author of one of the well-known analysis books on Blade Runner. His BR work was adopted as the official British Film Institute book on Blade Runner. Now he has written "Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century". Read the review in the Stanford Report.
13 Feb 2004 Robot Stories is not a huge budget film - so what does it take to portray the future without recourse to mucho money? Innovation, improvisation and retro. Retro like Blade Runner used retro - the future is old. Read about it at indieWIRE.
12 Feb 2004 What city do you think has been described as 'it looks like Blade Runner on happy pills'? Could it be Tokyo, Seoul, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Paris, Sydney? No. It is Kabul. Ah, not the usual comparison to the skyscrapers and neon then - more about the street level. Read about the state of Kabul today in ProgressiveTrail.com
12 Feb 2004 Scientists in South Korea have cloned 30 human embryos. Woo Suk Hwang of Seoul National University and Hwang Yoon-Young of Hanyang University and their colleagues made the breakthrough which is published this week in prestigious and peer-reviewed Science journal. This is not directly related to Blade Runner news really as this is definitely not the first step towards creating Replicants. It is nothing like the mad scientist trying to create a new human. This is serious stem cell research that is hoped will lead to genetic treatment of such disorders as Alzheimer's disease, but extends to many other genetic diseases and also then to fix damage done from strokes and many other afflictions that can be fixed by regrowing damaged tissue. This particular breakthrough is highly significant in the way it was done, the results and the rigorous scientific procedure under which it was conducted. Many other reputable laboratories around the world are attempting the same thing and so this marks a big step forwards for all. Read the reports on BBC, Sky or CNN.
12 Feb 2004

Following on from the boob news earlier this week, it seems it is still in the news - US Congressmen making big statements about television and its effect on American society. In the UK, there was a big political row between the government and the BBC leading on from a single inaccurate accusation in a report on the false justifications for the Iraq war. Regardless of the outcome of that, it is evidently a serious issue. In the USA, CBS heads are eating humble pie as Congress berates them because the Superbowl half-time entertainment was "too raunchy". Of course people are within their rights to complain that the entertainment was inappropriate for the occasion, even though most of it is common fare on MTV, but they have got really carried away. They want fines for 'indecency' on TV to go up to max $3million (even though, beyond nudity and seven 'rude' words, they can't actually define "indecency"). There are calls for more control by the government over what is broadcast on TV and more censorship.

In light of this, I have finally figured out why Blade Runner got an 18 certificate in the USA when it only got a 14 or 15 certificate in most other countries. It alway puzzled me why US censors were more concerned about the violence than other countries - a reversal of the norm. Except it isn't that is it? No - the numerous fights where people get beaten up, strangled, eyes gouged out or just plain shot - that is not the reason. The reason must be because Zhora's breasts are briefly visible in one scene.

11 Feb 2004 After the nonsense of this week, it is good to report on something serious. 'Donna Shirley, the veteran NASA engineer who oversaw development of the first Mars rover has been named director of Paul Allen's Experience Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.' Seattle P-I interviews Shirley about her life, her new role and her thoughts on SF concepts and the Real Science / Science Fiction interaction. 'The museum's "Cities of Tomorrow" exhibit will start with "The Jetsons," then morph into "Blade Runner" and "The Matrix." "One of our tasks is to attract kids and make them realize that the things that are so interesting to them are indeed science fiction and that there's some pretty cool science behind them," she said.' Now that is one smart lady! And just check out that article to see the big SF names associated with this!
10 Feb 2004 If you are a young, single lady on the prowl, looking for a man for Valentine's Day... Blade Runner can help you... Oh yes! The Scotsman, (or rather, Juliet), gives her advice, "You have to trap one. Like Harrison Ford in Blade Runner." Hey, I don't write the articles, I just tell you about them...
09 Feb 2004 Sometimes Blade Runner is referenced in articles on cutting edge science, sometimes related to city architecture, often as cultural reference point and frequently in numerous comparisons to practically anything. But sometimes it is merely the fact that BR gets mentioned at all that makes a story stand out in the kipple. For instance, is a report in The Salt Lake Tribune on the first anniversary of the new Salt Lake City Library commenting on how the new glass building is like something out of Blade Runner? No. It simply mentions that the Blade Runner DVD was the first item to be checked out on the library's first birthday. I wonder - do you think that every hour of every day of the year, there is someone somewhere in the world watching Blade Runner? Probably.
08 Feb 2004

Howard Dean - if you're not American, there is a good chance you don't know who he is - is one of those chaps in the race to become the official candidate to oppose Bush in the next US election later this year. (Although the way things are going, he probably won't be.) Anyway, Roger Simon of the New Hampshire Sunday News thinks he is a Replicant. Some of us think that the US and UK (and several other) governments are already full of Replicants, but that's another story. It was when asked about Janet Jackson's boob that Roger reckons Dean gave himself away by coming out with the sort of comment only a Replicant programmed to appear human might say - i.e. trying to portray human emotions, but not quite managing.

Janet Jackson's right boob makes an appearance at the Superbowl 2004JJ's boob? Ah yes, now that I have the BR link, I can't resist. So a singer exposed a bit of flesh during a big sports entertainment show. In the UK, it has been shown (unpixellated) on the news. Repeatedly. Including close-up. And I for one was rolling on the floor laughing at the fuss being made in the US about it. In the UK, many people were focused on model Jordan in the silly TV programme that has C-List Celebrities stuck in the jungle, just waiting to cheer her getting her inflated mammaries out. But in the USA, news of RICIN in Washington, missing WMD's and continued devastation in places like Iraq and Afghanistan were ignored because Janet Jackson flashed a breast on live TV for 3 seconds. And, (as you can see by the picture), her nipple was even covered. And suddenly Middle America is in uproar. There are calls for law suits, the youth are being terribly corrupted, live TV is immediately subjected to a 5 minute censorship delay. And when did this "mishap" happen? At half time in the Superbowl - that pinnacle of a sport that is basically two sets of huge men in a violent battle of gladiatorial combat. It is okay for the kiddies to see big men brutally smacking into each other, but a partially exposed female breast is damaging? - weird!

And the other side of US culture ... replicas of JJ's nipple star were apparently available on eBay the next day...

But of course it is not all Americans who are so upset. Unlike the rest of the world, in the USA, the offending boob could only be shown in the news covered or pixellated and consequently, Janet Jackson's breast suddenly became the most searched for term on US Search Engines. Well, just for a laugh, here is a second photo of Janet and Justin and that breast-revealing moment.

Justin Timberlake reveals Janet Jackson's breast at the Superbowl 2004

07 Feb 2004 If you've visited our Analysis Section, you'll know that Blade Runner forms part of many educational courses around the world. Latest to come to our attention is mentioned by The Arizona Republic - Phoenix College includes 'A serious study of sci-fi' in the Literature of Science Fiction course. Studying the consequences of issues raised not just in SF novels, but in SF film as well, (including BR of course).
07 Feb 2004 I said I would bring you more on the Empire Magazine biennial "100 Greatest Movies Ever made" poll - This issue is still in the shops, so I can't just publish the list, but I can review it! Lord of the Rings got positions 1, 3, 8 (LotR3 barely qualified, being released when the poll had already started) and Star Wars original trilogy got 2, 4, 23 - both trilogies in order. If these are considered as single stories instead of each being three completely separate films, Blade Runner's 12th place can be seen to be even stronger - Top Ten for sure! Other movies topping BR this time were The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Jaws and Jurassic Park. 2001: A Space Odyssey got 25th, Aliens 32nd but Alien surprisingly only 75th. The Matrix (first film) only managed 56th place.
Just a bit of fun, of course, but nice to see BR holding its own in the 21st Century!
The list won't be on-line for at least a month, but Empire Magazine's website is always worth a visit.
06 Feb 2004 "I didn't know before I got involved with the American Heart Association that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in America," says Hannah, 43. "Cardiovascular disease is deadlier than the next five causes of death combined. More than 500,000 women will die because of this disease." Read the story in USA Today and how Daryl Hannah is helping the campaign to publicize the issue.
06 Feb 2004 I mentioned this last month, but it is on for another month, if you happen to be passing through New York: (From NY Times) "FUTURE NOIR," Gorney Bravin & Lee, 534 West 26th Street, (212) 352-8372, through March 6. An examination of the artistic influence of Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner," this show's theme is little more than a mixture of gallery artists, the usual suspects and guilt by association. The unquestionable standout is Amy Globus's video "Electric Sheep," which shows two octopuses drifting and squeezing through different parts of an aquarium to the suitably swoony (manipulated) sounds of Emmylou Harris's love ballad "Wrecking Ball". See pictures and details on the gallery's site.
06 Feb 2004 Essential Cyberpunk books in Arizona lists two obvious ones (Neuromancer and Snow Crash), one not as well known (Queen of Angels) and also DADoES. Read them all! You'll probably like them, but even if you don't, they are necessary for your education!
06 Feb 2004 The Hollywood Reporter shines a light on the Oscar nominations for art and design, highlighting their awful historic and continuing bias towards awarding their doorstops to period films and ignoring futuristic or fantasy films. That 2001 and Blade Runner did not win Art Direction Oscars is scandalous. Of course the Oscars are a waste of time and hugely inflluenced by sentimentality and big money, so perhaps best to ignore them.
05 Feb 2004 Another face of the artificial human-looking computer is discussed in The Christian Science Monitor article Robots get friendly. It talks of computer faces and physical robots. It seems the implications of the steps along the path to Replicants is a debate no longer limited to just BR fans, philosophers and cyberneticists.
04 Feb 2004 David Webb Peoples is to receive a Cinequest Film Festival Maverick Spirit Award for his screenwriting. There are many parts of Blade Runner that were written by David, including the main part of Roy Batty's famous dying speech. Cinequest's Peoples page. Note, in interviews, David is far more modest about his contribution to BR and would certainly not claim it as "his feature script".
03 Feb 2004 CNN Technology article titled Giving robots a human face talks about the whole concept of making robots look human. It features Hertz - the latest face creation of K-bot creator David Hanson. What do you think? Do you want your robot to look very human or to be clearly a robot?
02 Feb 2004 The Empire biennial "100 Greatest Movies Ever made" poll is now closed and Blade Runner has been listed in 12th place - 3 higher than 2 years ago, despite the new films that have come out in the intervening time! Quoted as being '...the most visually inspired film ever made' If you voted, then have a gold star. Results are in the March issue - I'll give you more details imminently.
01 Feb 2004 Still talking about the Apple ad as the Super Bowl thingy looms large for those who care about that peculiar American event. The ads are more interesting and none more so than the 20 year old commercial, talked about by NPR today.
24 Jan 2004 The Apple Macintosh computer. Twenty years old. And it is still here and loved by many. And what of *that* commercial? Now one of the most famous ads ever made and a highlight of Scott's career after BR, it is of course the 'Big Brother' ad. read about these things at the San Francisco Chronicle.
21 Jan 2004 There is no point talking about Harrison Ford's movies lately (though I did mention several months ago he was doing another Indiana Jones, which might at least be more fun than his recent other stuff). However I also mentioned many moons ago that he would eventually get married to Calista Flockhart. As tedious as celebrity gossip might be, I stand by that prediction with news that he has now officially divorced Melissa Mathison. The price? Could be worth $118 million in all. Nasty. But presumably he gets at least that much himself, so no need to feel sorry for him...
21 Jan 2004 If you take an interest in the real world of cybernetics, you will certainly know of Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading and probably have seen him on several TV programmes talking about robots and cyborgs. An article entitled "Can man fight the machine he built himself?" absolutely has to refer to Blade Runner. But it is really about a lecture by Prof. Warwick - 'Will Intelligent Robots inherit the Earth'. Expounding many views that are already familiar to those of us who read such things, it is about the concept that yes, if robots continued on their current development curve, they would take over the world, but that this probably won't happen because we will integrate the technology into ourselves. Or as I have said many times before, the robots won't take over, because we are going to become the robots.
18 Jan 2004 Ben Munisteri is a choreographer inspired by Blade Runner. Using some of the wonderful music of Vangelis and some of the dialogue of the film, he has set a dance called "Turbine Mines" to it. The NY Times reviews the piece shown at the Altogether Different festival at the Joyce Theater.
18 Jan 2004 The specific reference to BR is slight (though amusing) in this Guardian article about the state of London today, but the overall view is of a London that is all too like what one would expect from a dystopian post-apocalyptic description of a major city. But this isn't the future, this is today.
18 Jan 2004 Looks like Sir Ridley is going to be facing a lot of criticism on currently filming movie "Crusade" if this Telegraph article is anything to go by. Claims and counter claims about historical accuracy and intent are flying around. In the current world climate, all I can say is that he is a brave man to make a major movie about such a sensitive period when war and murder were so rife for so little reason by all sides involved. On the other hand, that actually probably describes the current world climate as well...
18 Jan 2004 Blade Runner isn't just an influence on straight Science Fiction films. Take Underworld for example, reviewed in The Age referring to where the vampire warrior falls in love with the human turned vampire-lycan hybrid - "Writer and former stuntman Danny McBride cites Blade Runner (in which a human falls in love with a replicant) as a key influence on his plotting here. The inspiration is evident in the way the forbidden desires driving Underworld catch something of the earlier film's Romeo and Juliet aspect, while Selene's increasing sense of alienation from her mission also mirrors that of Harrison Ford's hired killer in Blade Runner."
16 Jan 2004 If you happen to be in New York in the next couple of months, you really, really want to pop into Gorney, Bravin & Lee to see the Future Noir exhibition. It includes BR concept art by Syd Mead plus other artwork influenced by it.
16 Jan 2004 In the world of Blade Runner mentions, I can't resist including an MTV interview of Lars Frederiksen of punk band Rancid. They're soon off to Japan and he says "Japan is one of those places where you can find anything from 20 years in the past to 20 years in the future. If you've seen the movie 'Blade Runner,' you know what Japan looks like. So we're excited to go.". I just love the sheer diversity of our BR world that it gets talked about by space explorers, architects, philosophers, punk rockers, restaurant reviewers, articles on depression and of course talking about every SF film made since 1982.
15 Jan 2004 I know it isn't everybody's cup of tea, but I can't let the filming of the finale of TV series Friends pass without comment. Whether you're a fan or not, you can't have missed its impact over the last decade. So how do I justify mentioning it with BR news? Well, Friends is filmed on Stage 24 at Warner Bros. - also used for Blade Runner (interiors of JF Sebastian's and Deckard's apartments)! Add that to your list of "Things you didn't even know you didn't want to know."
15 Jan 2004 Do you think that the film "I, Robot" (based on Asimov's books and currently in post-production) will be compared to Blade Runner? I guarantee it will. BUT, will it be compared favourably? This Filmjerk review of an interim script suggests that the potential is certainly there. With Alex Proyas directing and Will Smith taking his role seriously, I predict that it will probably be much more interesting than the rather disappointing Paycheck that is currently in cinemas.
12 Jan 2004 There are many articles on PKD but I have in the past only linked to the odd one that rose above the usual basic bio and list of films inspired by his work, etc. However, I can heartily recommend an article by Richard Corliss written for Time Magazine. Includes his own review of BR in 1982 plus some fascinating PKD quotes, such as, "It [the script for ‘Blade Runner’] was terrific. It bore no relation to the book.... What my story will become is one titanic lurid collision of androids being blown up, androids killing humans, general confusion and murder, all very exciting to watch.... They’re not called movies for nothing. I have no complaints.” — PKD, 1981 ... and ... "The human brain craves stimulation. And this movie will stimulate the brain, the brain will not be lulled.... The book and the movie do not fight each other. They reinforce each other.”
11 Jan 2004 I suspect many reading this page are fascinated by current exploration of Mars - what we might hope is now the official first baby steps towards colonization of other planets. As with so many aspects of life, it wouldn't be hugely surprising to find Blade Runner being referenced somehow. But the inventiveness of these comparisons gets ever wilder ... or is it just that the world really is obsessed with BR and not just a large group of fans? Desert Dispatch shows what happens when viewing the world through "Blade Runner spectacles" - Stuart Kellogg says, 'Was I the only one to mistake the rover's landing gear and solar panels for buildings, architecture straight out of "Blade Runner"?'
11 Jan 2004 The Penfield Mood Organ was an element of DADoES that didn't make it to the film, no doubt because it wouldn't have fitted into the morose Deckard as recreated in BR. A device for literally changing one's mood and state of mind, it is something scientists have been gradually bringing to reality in different ways over some time. While its use in DADoES is not something we might hope to achieve, Newsweek presents the reality of dealing with depression and the research going into it. With estimates of one in five suffering from some sort of mental issues each year, there obviously needs to be more to resolving this than simple mind drugs. We need the alternatives to HAL's advice, "Take a stress pill and think things over."
10 Jan 2004 The Guardian do enter deeply into the philosophical when they try, as with this review of Michael Wood's book The Road to Delphi. Rather worrying is the potential truth of the comment, 'The Matrix has displaced Blade Runner as "the academic's smart cultural reference of choice"'. Not perhaps to be taken too seriously, but a hint nonetheless that the intellectually oriented amongst us should not relax in our efforts to keep Blade Runner at the forefront of philosophical questioning. Check our Analysis section if that interests you. New submissions always welcome.
08 Jan 2004 I thought Donnie Darko was great - a film that gradually builds up to a stunning climax. Part of the emotion of the climax came from the use of the song Mad World and the way it was arranged and sung (and I was delighted to see it become Xmas No. 1 in the UK ahead of all the usual Xmas nonsense). I just wanted to say that. Okay, I even have a link to Blade Runner - "Donnie Darko’s director Richard Kelly, who stipulated that Andrews refrain from using guitars when composing the music, describes the entire score as "retro-futuristic" and cites Vangelis’s synthesiser soundtrack for Blade Runner as a touchstone..." Read the full review in The Scotsman.
08 Jan 2004 Read a lyrical tribute to Middlesbrough and the skyline of Teesside that provided inspiration for the Hades cityscape that opens Blade Runner.
03 Jan 2004 Daryl Hannah is working with Ford. Charris Ford, the biodiesel activist that is. Daryl has been getting some excellent film roles recently, e.g. in Kill Bill (mainly part 2), but has been spending spare time assisting with the biodiesel movement. According to TheUnion.com she is now scheduled to appear at Nevada City's second annual Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival.
02 Jan 2004 Remember the big Atari sign in BR? Of course you do. And so now it is quite fitting that the rejuvenated Atari has hired Ridley Scott Associates to create a 3 minute advertising film for their upcoming DRIV3R game. RSA are responsible for the BMW 'Driver' mini-film ads, so you can see why. And what of the possibility of the game turning into a movie? I guess we'll have to wait and see on that one. Read articles at GamePro and Ferrago.
02 Jan 2004 What do you get if you combine a slightly BR ambience with an upmarket version of the sushi Deckard eats and the diverse clientele of Taffey's bar? If you're in Washington, why not pop into Saki and find out. A number of reviews including this one give the impression that is what you'll get.

If you see a Blade Runner article not listed, please send me the link so I can add it.