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.

31 Mar 2006	100 years ago, San Francisco was shaken by a major earthquake, although it was the fires and other tragedies over the following days that really took their toll. Rebecca Solnit writes in the L.A. Times about the current celebrations (of rebirth rather than the tragedy) and in her article hopes that the films of 20 years ago, (including BR and Terminator), that looked to a post-apocalyptic world show that the apocalypse happened and is now past and we grew through it. Well, maybe I'm a little more pessimistic. Those films are still set in our future and imply global apocalypse. Perhaps the apocalypse will never happen. Perhaps it has already started to happen all around us. And perhaps when the next (overdue) big earthquake happens in SF, the whole city will fall into the ocean. You can't rebuild a city when the land it was built on isn't there any more...
31 Mar 2006	What could the description "Massive Attack meet Blade Runner in Bombay" refer to? Well, it refers to Mukul Deora's album 'Stray'. Mukul himself, describes his music as, "Break Beat Poetry". Read more in Metrolife.
28 Mar 2006	Gamespot interviews Richard Dekkard about the music to go with the game 'Auto assault'. His inspiration? "Mad Max meets Blade Runner." He's a fan of both. No kidding... Can we call you Rick?
24 Mar 2006	Sir Ridley Scott is one of the many taking up film projects that link in some way to terrorism, Iraq, soldier's stories, etc. Monsters and Critics looks at the number of films now slated that unusually take up stories related to a war that is still ongoing. With Bush ratings the lowest ever and US polls now reaching anti-Iraq-war ratings almost as high as the French polls before the war, it is unlikely that these films will be particularly nice to the extreme far right that is represented in the US government. The 50% change in US public opinion, mixed with a traditionally less than conservative Hollywood, is likely to produce a set of films that can only help to push opinion further away from the Rumsfelds of the world. So call your 'freedom fries' 'french fries' again (a ludicrous change in the first place as "french fries" is a name derived from the method of cutting vegetables into strips (frenching) and not because they originated in France. Better still, call them 'chips' as they are called in the UK, and call US chips 'crisps'). Oh, and for a fascinating look at the real world of international reporting in Iraq, here is an article that has been reprinted in numerous premiere publications around the world. It even has a Blade Runner reference... Here are just a few options: Spiegel Online, NYbooks, Salon, LewRockwell, Jihad Unspun. When you use a sledgehammer to crack a nut, you will break the shell, but you also smash the nut.
24 Mar 2006	Paste has an interview with Adam Rapp. Adam is stage director, playwright, novelist and now indy film director. A name to watch for sure. He lists his four favourite films, which include BR. It is not the simple fact of that that leads me to mention it; it is that his work is character-interaction based drama. In an interview some years ago he said, "My characters are always trying to find a home. My plays and novels constantly involve people trying to find refuge in chaos. And they're constantly trying to connect with people who are strangers." One can see in that the probable main reason he likes BR - disconnected Replicants struggling to find life amongst the kipple. One of the reasons BR has clawed its way from cult SF favourite to international film classic is its immensely diverse appeal. It isn't only masterful in one or two areas, but in a myriad of ways that can appeal to a vast range of audiences in totally different ways.
24 Mar 2006	I would probably not mention that filming starts in May on "Dark Honeymoon" except for one interesting snippet of information - it stars both Daryl Hannah and Sean Young!
21 Mar 2006	Blade Runner - terrific movie, wonderful game! Just ask Mark Ashton, working on developing the game Freeworld Online. Well Warcry did ask him. When asked what his favorite video game of all time is, he says, "Oh I'd have to say Blade Runner - that was an amazing adventure game - fond memories of it." And no surprise what his favorite movie is, "Again I'd have to say Blade Runner. I cant get enough of that movie. I'ts an old movie, but if you haven't seen it before its amazing!" (Actually it is still amazing if you have seen it before...)
21 Mar 2006	When you work in a PKD world, it is really important not to lose your head! Wired.
19 Mar 2006	The Sunday Times (UK) has an interview with Harrison Ford. It is mostly about his personal life and while I am not so interested in the lives of actors beyond the projects they work on and insights into the making of films, it is very unusual for HF to open up at all, so I thought I'd include the link.
16 Mar 2006	When a filmmaker travels to many different cities looking for "urban art" and the people who create it, it is worth noting when he says his favourite city is São Paulo - as he describes it, "it's like the Blade Runner of the tropics." Read the interview with Pablo Aravena.
11 Mar 2006	Parts of Tokyo have long since been equated with elements of BR L.A. 2019, with good reason. Here is the first story that I've seen that looks at the next phase. This is post-modernist in today's world. Cyberpunk working into today's reality. Neo-Tokyo in pieces is the real thing. The Washington Post shows us a world that is partly generated by other cultures and is already seeping back into those nations. Question: Do you want to be on the inside or the outside? You need to decide now, because if you want to be on the inside, you better start making some money! p.s. there is no middle in the future - you're either in or out. p.p.s. I'll be inside.
10 Mar 2006	Here is the latest in my "arcane references to BR" that link the film to a subect you just would never dream of. In this case, a review of the book, "BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Travels in Eastern European Football" by Jonathan Wilson. The link is to quote, "I’ve seen things you people wouldn't believe." You start to understand the reference when talking about things like, "Later, as a journalist for onefootball.com, he travelled through the region and found that writing football articles involving “match-fixing, prostitutes and assassination” was more interesting than banal transfer speculation." Quite.
08 Mar 2006	"“Tarkovsky meets the Wachowski brothers” is how producer Konstantin Ernst describes Night Watch, the fantasy epic that is the highest-grossing Russian film of all time (by a factor of eight, no less)." So comments Artvoice. Do you really need me to suggest that if a film is so far and away the most popular film of all time of a country that maybe you should give it a watch? It is the first in a trilogy about the fight between the forces of light and dark and although this review is not much, it should give you some taste for the film.
07 Mar 2006	Speaking of Eddie and BG, here is a report on THE CREATORS AND CAST OF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA speaking out. Of note: "DAVID EICK:  We used Eddie because of BLADE RUNNER. We were really influenced by Phillip K. Dick’s writing, especially the sinister elements of the future. QUESTION: Would each of the actors tell how they came to be a part of the series? EDWARD JAMES OLMOS: The first two pages of the script were the most prolific I had ever read. The mission statement on the front was so beautifully written. They were moving in a direction that had not been opened before. The writers went into the type of world created by BLADE RUNNER, which had never been gone into before. The script was breathtaking when I dove in." Filmforce add to this: "As far as casting the show, Moore said he rarely thinks of specific actors while writing roles, but that, "In all honesty, the only role I had a specific actor in mind for on the show was Mary McDonnell for Laura Roslin." As for Olmos, Eick explained, "We used Eddie as our archetype for reasons that are pretty clear to anyone that has seen Blade Runner. We were really strongly influenced by a lot of the elements of that film, as well as the Philip K. Dick story. And we just kept talking about how sinister Eddie's character was in that and so that persona started taking route. It's very unusual, because you never get these people when you start using them as archetype's and so it still strikes me now, I'll think, 'Oh my god, I can't believe we actually got those two!'" As Eick was relating this story, Olmos, sitting right next to him, slowly removed a piece of paper from his pocket and looked menacingly at Eick as he began to fold it, to the great delight of the many Blade Runner fans in the audience who applauded the reference. Olmos explained how wary he was of joining the project, noting, "I had no intention of ever being in a sci-fi anything!" He said that what really got him hooked was a two-page introduction attached to the script."
06 Mar 2006	Edward James Olmos is well known to us as Gaff in BR and after years of other successful acting roles has come to SciFi prominence again in his role as Adama in BG. In Real Life though, he is also very well known for his work in helping and gaining recognition for Hispanic people. So, it is no surprise that he is the Director of the film 'Walkout' - the "True Story of Seminal Moment in Hispanic Civil Rights History in the U.S." A film set in the late 60's where rampant racism was still prevalent in so-called "The Land of the Free". Read about it at Yahoo.
06 Mar 2006	Chevon Hicks is building his rep - he created the on-line game for New Line's 'Running Scared' (unfortunately only available to people who can prove age with US identity which fucking sucks), but why do I care to mention him? Well in this interview he says his favorite film of all time is Blade Runner and in fact challenges anyone to a "quote-off". Okay dude, anytime anyplace, I accept. I am Mr Blade Runner so let's get it on!
06 Mar 2006	The 'Blade Runner' of horror? A horror film that has a slow initial reaction, but becomes significant over time as people slowly realise how brilliant it is? Well that is what is written about 'Lost Souls' at blogcritics.com. You judge for yourself.
04 Mar 2006	"You say 'Geek' like there's something wrong with that." - I have no problem with being an ubergeek and so it shouldn't shock you that of course I've seen the film, "Free Enterprise" where Robert and Mark meet Will Shatner in a book shop and he turns out to be nothing like Captain Kirk. As the review in DVD Times says, it helps if you are the sort of person who knows the differences between the Theatrical and Director's Cuts of Blade Runner, because that is the sort of person this film is likely to appeal to the most, except it really is much more than that. So, the extended edition is now out on DVD. Well, okay, even I am not going to suggest you run out to buy it, but do look out for the film and give it a watch - it is quite amusing. BTW, I am way past 30 and there really is a Sanctuary...
04 Mar 2006	Another car has arrived with a cabin like something out of BR... According to Edmunds.com, the Geneva show has revealed the new concept car from Inovo Design. Called the Lirica, it does indeed use visual displays for the driver that look somewhat like a BR spinner's.
04 Mar 2006	The Oscar thingy is about to happen and as usual, I don't care, (though I admit I hope Philip Seymour Hoffman gets one), so this Guardian article is good for talking about L.A. and film from the real film pespective, i.e. parts of L.A. you've seen in the movies.
03 Mar 2006	I will include this for completeness even though I disagree with the PoV quite considerably. The Australian talks of PKD and his "false prophecy of doom" . While I may not be as pessimistic as PKD, I think the author (Stephen Matchett) of this article is looking through rose-coloured spectacles. Perhaps he does struggle with Dick's novels - that is his problem. Post apocalypse is not just the nuclear threat (which, quite frankly has not yet disappeared). The environment is being screwed up by us at a rapid rate and that is what PKD was really on about. Dick didn't dislike technology as such, but warned against becoming slave to it. Anyone who has seen the imposition of the "Patriot Act" in the USA knows that individual civil liberties are indeed under threat and reflected around the world. As for ignoring the fact that the real rulers of the world are the large corporations and their influence, well, I must get me some of those rose-coloured glasses myself!
02 Mar 2006	William Gibson used the term "sprawl" in Neuromancer to describe the never-ending city. Where life in some areas simply turns to kipple, it could describe the city in Blade Runner. and increasingly can be seen as a real description of today, especially in the USA. I am currently living in an area where distinct towns are slowly merging together as buildings get thrown up on what was not long ago farmland, so this article on sprawl interested me.
27 Feb 2006	Dose lists some Oscars oversights and snubs. Of course BR is right up there - one of the greatest films ever made and Oscar people just didn't get it. I will never know why Ghandi got best sets for some tents in the desert when Blade Runner created the quintessential city of the future.
27 Feb 2006	A week and a half ago, I was looking for some BR-inspired women's fashion more interesting than hats. Well, this is the best I've come up with so far.
26 Feb 2006	So, if robots really do try to take over, how shall we defeat them? Well, a quick glance through what roboticists are currently working on might help. That is pretty much how Daniel Wilson came up with the content for his book, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising". Obviously a humourous book, it nonetheless draws on the real cybernetic research of today. Reviewed by SFGate.
24 Feb 2006	Unreal Tournament 2007. Gamespot has some screenshots of the BladeRunner-esque city in the game. Or is it simply streets with Neon signs? What exactly makes it BResque I wonder?
22 Feb 2006	Once again this month I find myself annoyed at a car review using a too-easy reference to Blade Runner. The Honda Civic Si is reviewed by the LA Times. Does it belong in Blade Runner? No. Does it have 'an instrument panel out of "Blade Runner."'? Well, there is a picture - it has a centre visual display, but the whole dash is not a display showing a graphic illustration of the buildings you're flying between. And I bet it doesn't say "PURGE" when you take off. Okay that is really the Nostromo, but let's not quibble. The dash does not look like it belongs in a Spinner.
21 Feb 2006	If I didn't already put you off actually going to the cinema to see Firewall rather than wait for it to be on TV, then read this review.
21 Feb 2006	Votoms is partly inspired by BR. Well, of course it is.
19 Feb 2006	"No Snow Job By This Blade Runner" - nothing to do with BR-the-film, but a story that I can relate to in my current snow-shovelling location. Sometimes, the little things make such a difference.
18 Feb 2006	The Palm Beach Post mentions the book 'L.A. Noir'. Although it is basically about the history of Film Noir, it cannot of course exist without talking about the Future Noir of Blade Runner.
17 Feb 2006	Why go to Seattle? The same reason to go to Turin of course - to see the Blade Runner stuff at the SF museum! The Brisbane Courier-Mail offers some other reasons to visit Seattle, but I know what would be top of my itinerary!
17 Feb 2006	When it comes to women's fashions, I am quite considerably more interested in lingerie than hats. But if it is a designer's hats that are inspired by Blade Runner, then hats are what I must report. See Vogue (and check the photos). In the meantime, I'll continue scouring the Victoria's Secret catalogue to see if anything in there is BR inspired...
17 Feb 2006	Mary Hopkin has been lured out of retirement to sing with Dolly Parton in a reworking of her 1968 song, 'Those Were The Days'. The BBC is an excellent source of news, but the one thing not mentioned in this article and the reason I am mentioning it here - Mary Hopkin sang "Rachel's Song" on the BR soundtrack.
16 Feb 2006	Boston's weekly dig previews the 31st annual Boston Sci-Fi Film festival. Although the main features all seem to be films already on DVD, it is still good to see some of these things on a big screen. as well as the more obscure stuff. Interesting comment in remembering the past was, 'In 1983—one year after Blade Runner was released in theatres, only to become a box-office flop—the fest showcased Ridley Scott's masterpiece, noting in their program guide: "See it with the right audience this time."' So true!
15 Feb 2006	There are lots of reasons to take a trip to Italy besides the Winter Olympics. One of Turin's main features, the Mole Antonelliana, was once the tallest brick building in the world. But even more interesting is what is inside - the Museo Nazionale del Cinema - I'm sure you don't need to speak Italian to figure out what that is. In there you can ride a bicycle with E.T. or strut the street with KeaNeo in The Matrix or with HF in Blade Runner. If you ever visit Turin, then don't forget to look in the Mole! Article.
15 Feb 2006	One of the questions one asks after seeing a film like Blade Runner is, "When exactly are we going to get flying cars?" Of course on a site like this, the subject crops up every year. Reported in the Boston Globe, here are some people who are really serious about creating the world's first commercial airplane/automobile. Of course creating a flying car isn't really the issue. The real issue is creating the billions of dollars worth of infrastructure to manage people flying the things. And handling the mess when cars crash and fall out of the sky. Which is why this project is more correctly called a "driveable airplane" - it is actually going to be an aeroplane you drive home from the airport runway rather than a car any old Joe can fly off their driveway. In the USA, where simply driving to the next interesting place on the map can take many excrutiatingly boring hours, I can certainly see the appeal, but I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon. Check their website.
13 Feb 2006	You probably already know that the next PKD movie to hit screens is "A Scanner Darkly", being released in the USA this Summer. The film style, (used in his previous film), is also being used in commercials. Also fascinating is the technology rush associated with films like this. According to this press release, Amp'd Mobile subscribers will get to see the trailer now, before it is released in cinemas or on the Web.
13 Feb 2006	Ever wonder about the "Blade Runner" stories I don't mention? The top two non-BR BR categories are about boats and skaters. There is a Blade Runner boat that is quite the speedboat. One of them broke the round-Britain record. With the Winter Olympics in the news, the references to "Blade Runner" skaters, usually limited to ice hockey articles, has increased substantially. Not to mention other icy sports like sledding. And enjoyable as those activities surely are, no, I won't be mentioning them again. Just thought I'd share that with you.
13 Feb 2006	I like Wired and this article on night vision technology being developed by Mercedes and BMW is quite interesting. I'm just not sure why the author anticipated that seeing ahead in the dark on a monitor would invoke something like a "Blade Runner experience". It seems unsurprising to me that it didn't. Did he expect it would seem like he was flying or something? I love that BR has slipped so far into our culture, but sometimes it is just too easy a metaphor to use. Anyway, the tech is still interesting and pursued in America and Japan as well, but so far not with great commercial success.
11 Feb 2006	Sometimes the subject of the news is weird, sometimes it is just weird where you find it. Apparently the PKD robot has gone missing. It disappeared last month. And where am I finding this article? In the Sci-tech section of aljazeera.net - not one of my regular sources of Blade Runner information! But a good article nonetheless. Or read about it in The Age.
10 Feb 2006	Good interview in the Toronto Star with Harrison Ford including this about Blade Runner: The question: "One of the films you made that was initially a failure with critics and audience alike has since come to be considered a classic of its kind. Tell me about Blade Runner. I know you've said you had real difficulty making the film and working with director Ridley Scott, but have your feelings about the film changed over the years as its reputation has grown?" The answer: "I don't dislike the film. I think it's a really interesting, moody kind of movie. And the experience, although it was somewhat difficult, because it was 50 nights of shooting on the backlot of Burbank, and it had a lot of rain and Ridley and I didn't agree on everything all the way through, was a little difficult. But it was a wonderful experience and I have since made peace with it. And with Ridley."
08 Feb 2006	Now Playing Magazine tells us that The Flash TV series (early 90's) is now on DVD. Who played his Dad? M. Emmet Walsh - our very own Captain Bryant (and incidentally who is still getting good parts).
08 Feb 2006	Portland (in Oregon as I recall, and if you don't know where Oregon is ... well quite frankly who cares) - but you might if you're interested in sex, because apparently they have a lot of sex-related stuff - according to this article on Willamette Week's website. The relevant part: "...to most people the idea of a collection of metal parts, pistons and rubber that can bring a woman to orgasm countless crazy-making times still sounds like something out of a porn version of Blade Runner." I wonder. I think I need to do some field testing to see if that is actually correct... By the way, the porn version of Blade Runner is I.K.U. - actually claiming to be a sequel of sorts, but arty porn really. I'll write a review one day, but I got so bored watching it, I fell asleep.
08 Feb 2006	Prompted by reviews of Harrison Ford's latest film "Firewall", I looked up his recent movies and realized I've only seen 3 of the films he's made in the last ten years, all on TV and two of them only because my wife wanted to see them. He seems to see himself as popcorn blockbuster man and will go through the motions just like we've seen too many times now. He certainly was better - Blade Runner being one of several highlights, but where now? When Indiana Jones 4 finally gets made, he'll be old enough to play his own grandfather and hopefully it will be his fit granddaughter doing all the action scenes. Here is an example review of Firewall that makes me think I'll wait until its on the telly.
08 Feb 2006	Dubai has long since picked up its comparison to Blade Runner L.A. but I figured it could do with another mention. This Financial Express article is about the global housing bubble and likens the boom around Dubai being transformed into a "futuristic playground of glitz, glamour and Blade Runner fantasy."
02 Feb 2006	Robot toys are now commonly available. One of the bigger and very recognisable ones is Robosapiens. Its creator is Mark Tilden. (Of course another Blade Runner fan.) Read a great interview with him at you-review.
02 Feb 2006	I would guess that the average reader of this site realises that the future is closer than most people think. For instance, RFID chips being implanted under the skin is not new technology and is now not even uncommon when it comes to pets. But what about people? Some are already implanted. People are already taking those first steps to being cyborgs, not simply with things like pacemakers or spectacles, which make one cyborg by strict definition only, but instead with actual computer chips designed to enhance us. Read The NY Times article for how this is not even the future any more. It is now.
01 Feb 2006	If you're anywhere near London from 11-19 February, then make your way to the Dray Walk Gallery where there is a show of future concept cars. "The Road Ahead" looks to be showing some fascinating vehicles of the future, including the winners of a design competition. It will come as no surprise to BR fans that Syd Mead, designer of the vehicles in Blade Runner, has won his place there. Check C4 News.
31 Jan 2006	According to the SJ Mercury, the 16th annual Cinequest Film Festival will be held in San Jose, March 1-12. This year they are giving their Maverick Spirit award to Edward James Olmos (who played Gaff in BR and many other great roles in other movies, not to mention Adama in the latest Battlestar Galactica!) Note: If you register (free) with Cinequest, you can watch all sorts of film clips, including previous Maverick award winners. Try for instance the 25 minute "afternoon with David and Janet Peoples".
31 Jan 2006	Memories... As a BR fan, you must surely have pondered one of the film's most fascinating themes - memories, false memories, created memories. But I wonder if you have pondered the nature of memories as much as John Mulligan. He wrote a play called "Black" now being made into a film, inspired by his obsession with memories, which was in turn inspired by Blade Runner and DADoES. The "Black" of the title is a drug that 15 minutes after it is taken wipes the previous 30 minutes of memories, but more than that, creates new memories to fill that 30 minutes. Definitely another level on how much we can trust our own memories. Oops, almost forgot to put a link to the story...
31 Jan 2006	"She Wants Revenge" are a music group from L.A. that seem to be doing rather well. mp3.com have an in-depth interview with singer Justin Warfield. The interview can also be streamed and you can even listen to tha album (as I'm doing now) as that is also available for free streaming. The feeling they were looking for was inspired by listening to the Vangelis BR score and Giorgio Moroder and Tangerine Dream soundtracks amongst others. (And sounds to me some of Green Day in there as well.) So, intelligent, but cinematic and not just a set of songs. Also reviewed and interviewed at The Pitch.
30 Jan 2006	I just found this interview with married co-authors Barb & JC Hendee. They talk about their work and about Dhampirs (children of vampires) and who they would like to play the characters if the stories become films (which wouldn't surprise me in the least). And who to direct such a film - well they suggest the director of Blade Runner and Legend might be a good choice. Incidentally, if you haven't seen the DC of Legend, do give it a watch. What Ridley did for the future city in BR, he did for the magical forest in Legend - the most beautiful and full of wonder that I've ever seen (and I've seen most of them!).
28 Jan 2006	The team creating the "Mass Effect" SF game trilogy for the Xbox 360 are evidently aiming high. According to Casey Hudson of Bioware, talking to SCI FI Wire, the team have looked to the best of SF films, like Blade Runner for inspiration. To see the cinematic realism of the game, check out the trailer at the official site.
27 Jan 2006	The BBC has an article on "Mapping out the future of transport" reporting on visions of travel in Britain in 2055. Whose vision? Well, a government thinktank actually. This isn't so much a prediction as a set of possibilities. Where we end up in 2055 depends on steps we start taking now. One of those possible futures is the "Blade Runner" scenario of "Perpetual Motion" - a future of 24/7 public transport and individual cars (that drive themelves) as you pass huge advertising screens. The question is, will the government actually pay any attention?
27 Jan 2006	Mars rovers. For me, quite a fascinating subject, but I suspect not everyone's cup of tea. There is an IMAX film about them you know - again, something I might actually go and see, but I don't blame you if you're not interested. But do check out this review - clearly the people at the San Francisco Chronicle don't quite know what to make of it and write quite the most bizarre documentary film review I've seen for a while!
27 Jan 2006	It is, perhaps, an odd place to learn this - in the Borehamwood & Elstree Times, but worthy of direct quoting. "Great news to hear that next month veteran editor and local resident Terry Rawlings is to receive a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Editors' Organisation." Terry edited Blade Runner (and Alien and Legend and many non-Scott films).
25 Jan 2006	If you scan through the extended credits list of BR on this website, you will find the uncredited model maker Michael McMillen. Heads up from The Santa Clara - check out the artist's work in miniature dioramas at the de Sassiest Museum at Santa Clara University.
24 Jan 2006	I don't think I've mentioned Boston being compared to Blade Runner before, so here you go: Boston's Weekly Dig thinks a part of Boston is BladeRunneresque.
23 Jan 2006	Michael Arick has done a lot of restoration work on Blade Runner and I'm sure we'll be seeing his efforts in the not too distant future. But of course that is not the only thing he has worked on. In 1972/3, Liza Minnelli was at her peak, not just the year of Cabaret, but also a special concert - the first made specifically for network TV and one filmed in 16mm. Michael has restored and remixed the show. If you have any interest in musical theatre, look out for Liza with a "Z". Read the history at Film Stew.
22 Jan 2006	So, have you been to the Science Fiction museum in Seattle yet? Well, I haven't and most of you haven't, but surely there is somebody out there who can give a personal report to us BR fans. I can put links to reviews in news journals, like this one in The Columbian, which gives us all those good reasons why we would like to visit, but it would be nice if somebody could give a personal report, preferably with pictures, just for people to read on this website.
20 Jan 2006	"On paper this sounded enticing. In 2002, UNKLE's James Lavelle and Richard File furiously spliced together an eclectic collection of club tracks, new edits and remixes for three-CD mix album Do Androids Dream of Electronic Beats? The prospect of the duo applying this approach to film seemed exciting." But according to the Sydney Morning Herald, it is ultimately disappointing. If I'm going to listen to Blade Runner music and dialogue clips, I think I'll stick to my Vangelis album.
14 Jan 2006	Filmcritic.com likens the visual impact of watching Tristan & Isolde to watching Blade Runner for the first time. Does Kevin Reynolds have that directorial sense of visual depth? Would that be why the Scott brothers produced this film? (Actually Ridley Scott has long been associated with this project - so do we now herald the newer director?) But more to the point, what is it actually like to see Blade Runner for the first time? Those of us who saw it in 1982 are now grasping at fading memories of the experience. And to see it in 2006 for the first time is undoubtedly quite different as it is now 'just around the corner future' rather than 'near future' and is replicated all around us in many ways. And is the first time really the best viewing? So many people have written of not falling in love with BR on the first viewing, but instead, after multiple viewings (although of course some got hooked first time). Finally, do we really remember the first time or is that memory actually 'enhanced' by those later viewings?
09 Jan 2006	"Replicants were used Off-world as slave labor, in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets." Replicants. Robonauts. Hmmm.... "Robonauts: The next generation of space explorers will look -- and act -- more like people than probes." So Boston.com reports on the next generation of space robots. One step closer...
09 Jan 2006	Here is one interview you absolutely have to read. Green Cine have an in-depth interview with Douglas Trumbull. He is the wonderful mind behind the visual effects in Blade Runner. Also the Director of Silent Running and Brainstorm and creator of effects (like the light sequence) in 2001, Star Trek, The Andromeda Strain and Close Encounters (instead of Star Wars). He should have been one of the great SF direcors in my opinion, but had real bad luck getting there and studio issues.
06 Jan 2006	Indiana University South Bend are doing something quite wonderful. "History, art, fashion, science: The Mutable Body - IUSB events focus on changeable nature of humanity." This isn't only a quick look at the changing human body, but a theme for the year on how "the body changes, mutates or is artificially altered". Plus evolution of the human. Central book choice for this theme is PKD's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. There are many public lectures related to this theme and many are related to themes in Blade Runner. So, if you are anywhere nearby, you may well want to check your diaries. South Bend Tribune story. On the University website, start with The Mutable Body course page, then check out the One Book, One Campus page which has an examination of DADoES.
05 Jan 2006	So, it is 2006 and days are passing with little Blade Runner interest, so why not mention the Blade Runner hybrid truck. I reported on this ages ago, but here is a refreshed version if you missed the previous. gizmag. And gizmag also has a look at another Blade Runner influenced design by Honda designed for "party animals". Of course the basic concept of transporting people who are dancing in the back is immensely stupid as at the first sharp stop, the destination will have to change to the nearest hospital...

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