News

Denis Villeneuve Talks Directing ‘Blade Runner 2049′:’It’s a Brutal World in 2049’

Published

7 years ago

October 1, 2017

When Blade Runner was released theatrically in 1982, the film was a box office and critical failure. It was a major disappointment for its director, Ridley Scott, and star, Harrison Ford. The critical consensus at the time was that Blade Runner was a great-looking film whose technical credits overwhelmed its characters and story.

Time changes everything. Over the following decades, Blade Runner has received, from audiences and critics alike, a sweeping reappraisal and is now regarded as a visionary masterpiece. One of Blade Runner’s original supporters was Denis Villeneuve, the director of Arrival and Prisoners, who was a teenager when he first saw Blade Runner in 1982. “I think I read about Blade Runner in the pages of Cinefantastique, which had a big spread on the film and showed images from the film, which got me really excited about the film,” says Villeneuve. “Years before the arrival of the internet, that’s how I discovered films like Blade Runner. I saw Blade Runner in a small Quebec theater, and I thought it was amazing. The opening sequence, seeing the first images of the landscape, was unbelievable. The rest of the film was just as great. Blade Runner was, for me, one of the first films I saw growing up that was better than I imagined it would be.”

Now Villeneuve is the director of the long-awaited Blade Runner sequel, Blade Runner 2049. Ryan Gosling stars as Officer K, an LAPD officer who’s been tasked with retiring a new breed of replicants. “It’s obviously a very different world now, and it’s a much more brutal world than we saw in the first film,” says Villeneuve. “Earth has collapsed, and everyone wants to leave earth. Those who live on Earth are trapped here. They have no choice and must survive the best they can. K, Ryan’s character, works for the Blade Runner unit, and he’s facing the same challenges, obstacles, that Rick Deckard did in the first film but on a much grander scale. Some of the replicant models are illegal on Earth, and he has to find the illegal ones and eliminate them. Within a science fiction film, this is a detective story with a strong noir element.”

Along the way, K makes contact with the original blade runner, Rick Deckard, who shares his experience with K. This is the same role that Harrison Ford played on the set with Gosling and Villeneuve. “Harrison was so helpful on many levels, especially in terms of trying to project the world that Harrison and Ridley created in the first film into the future. Harrison waited over thirty years to see this film become a reality. His commitment to the project was incredible. It was the same with Ryan. From the moment the three of us became attached to this project, we started talking about the script, exchanging ideas, and this carried over to the filming.”

Instead of relying solely on CGI, Villeneuve insisted on building physical sets. “The problem with CGI is that the actors and the director don’t have the freedom to exchange ideas, to improvise,” says Villeneuve. “You’re bound by the green screen. CG-heavy films also look very artificial, very unreal. If the audience doesn’t believe in the universe they’ve been placed inside of, the film can’t be successful. I’m the type of filmmaker who likes to see things, touch things, and most actors are the same way. This is a much better film because we built sets.”

Villeneuve says that Scott, who served as an executive producer on the sequel, acted as a low-key mentor throughout the process. “Most of the time I spent with him was prior to the filming, when we had long talks about the first film, about what inspired him to make the first film,” says Villeneuve. “After that, he told me he’d be there if I needed him, and I felt his support throughout the filming. I think Ridley visited the set three times. I felt his presence throughout this journey.”

Blade Runner 2049 will be released theatrically on October 6, 2017.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Publicity.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

Published

5 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks.

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story.

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did.

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD.

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

22 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

News

Morticia & Wednesday Addams Join Monster High Skullector Series

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Believe it or not, Mattel’s Monster High doll brand has an immense following with both young and not-so-young collectors.

In that same vein, the fan base for The Addams Family is also very large. Now, the two are collaborating to create a line of collectible dolls that celebrate both worlds and what they have created is a combination of fashion dolls and goth fantasy. Forget Barbie, these ladies know who they are.

The dolls are based on Morticia and Wednesday Addams from the 2019 Addams Family animated movie.

As with any niche collectibles these aren’t cheap they bring with them a $90 price tag, but it’s an investment as a lot of these toys become more valuable over time.

“There goes the neighborhood. Meet the Addams Family’s ghoulishly glamorous mother-daughter duo with a Monster High twist. Inspired by the animated movie and clad in spiderweb lace and skull prints, the Morticia and Wednesday Addams Skullector doll two-pack makes for a gift that’s so macabre, it’s downright pathological.”

If you want to pre-purchase this set check out The Monster High website.