Category: Blade Runner News

The Blade Runner Chronicles

Received an email from Ryan Workman (HindSight Films) whom told me that he together with Noeland Collins (Stranger Films) are producing a set of fan films based in the Blade Runner world. They will produce atleast 6 fifteen minute films. Some will tie together and some stand alone episodes.
Here’s some of what he has to say..

The series is live action with plenty of CGI work. Some shots will be all CGI, some with be enhanced through digital effects wizardry! The lovely thing about Blade Runner is the visuals, and we’re busting our humps to make the visuals intense, textured, and dynamic. The moods the lighting can invoke, and the dark and gritty presence of the city and the characters are all very important to us. The themes that were central to the feature film are there, but we do not want to retell the same story either.
Instead of Los Angeles, it takes place in MetroTampa: 2019. The plot is basically this: Two Blade Runners working on an important case have an inspector from internal affairs following them around. They have to justify the way they handle the replicant problem, and justify their own jobs…. That’s about all the plot I can give away without ruining the story. There are several other plot lines and they are all interesting.
We’re trying to make the stories live in the Blade Runner world without being the same stories already told, and without retreading the same themes touched upon in the film, and the books. The series will have a dedicated website fairly soon, where you’ll be able to view the episodes once completed, and also check out behind the scenes video, and TONS of photos, artwork, storyboards and the like.
Update – 3/9’04

The series is going to be 10 15 minute long episodes, and they are one long interconnected story, no more stand alone episodes
Download a teaser trailer from the “Blade Runner Chronicles”

Source: Email

Blade Runner info from Alan Ladd

This was posted at the hometheaterforum.com and gives us some insight to why we still don’t have the “Blade Runner: Special Edition”
I just attended a lecture at my college being given by producer Alan Ladd, who was one of Blade Runner’s many producers. Thankfully, there was at least one person in the audience who couldn’t resist asking about the film’s troubled DVD release, and here’s what Mr. Ladd had to say:
-Ladd insisted that Ridley Scott wanted the narration when the film was first released. Ladd said that Scott came to him when the film was in post and asked for permission to do a narration. Scott said that he wanted the film to have a noirish-old detective movie feeling. Ladd says that Ridley Scott’s comments after the film’s release claiming he never wanted it was just not true.
-As has been widely reported, Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott did not like each other at all. Alan Ladd said that Scott and Ford didn’t even talk to each other after the first day.
-Ladd claimed the version originally released was the cut that Scott had presented to the studio as his director’s cut. Ladd expressed unhappiness at the current DVD release being labeled as a director’s cut because it was just an unfinished earlier workprint of the film.
-Ladd said that Scott filmed the unicorn sequence originally and it was Scott’s decision to pull it from the film initially.
-Ladd says that one of the film’s other producers, Jerry Perenchio, has the final say over whether or not any new versions of the film can be issued. Ladd said that Perenchio and Scott absolutely loathed each other. Perenchio is a billionaire, and has no financial need for the film to be reissued. He believes that it’s in legal limbo because Perenchio hates Scott and is suppressing any new versions purely out of spite.
-Ladd says at one point people were being brought together for work on a special edition DVD, and that he was interviewed, or at least contacted about being interviewed, before legal issues brought the film to a halt. Ladd says that Scott was considering having Ford re-record a new narration before the plug was pulled on the project.
…and, of course, the question on everyone’s mind:
-Ladd is not optimistic at all about the film being reissued or redone. He actually stated that he believes because of the conflict between Perenchio and Scott that it will never happen.
So I guess some of that is stuff we all know, and maybe a couple new little tidbits, or maybe not. As the film was made over twenty years ago, it is possible that some of Ladd’s recollections may not have been completely accurate. However, I will say that Ladd spoke about a great many films and his knowledge and memory of the work he had done seemed pretty good. I wish I had better news to report.
As it says above, Blade Runner was made over twenty years ago and hopefully Ladd’s memory isn’t 100% accurate, but then again this might be the reason to why we should (?) forget about ever getting a “Blade
Runner: Special Edition”..

Source: The Alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup.
The Home Theater Forum: Some Blade Runner info from Alan Ladd (producer)

Greatest DVD's never Never Made – NY Times Article

The New York Times article published December 14’th entitled “The Greatest DVD’s Never Made” might tell us why we still can’t own a definitive version of Blade Runner (The Workprint, The original theatrical cut and a “Directors Re-cut”).
It seems like this “Special Edition” still is a long way from becoming a reality and below you can find out why..
It really comes down to whom has the ownership over the original negatives (Warner Bros. only has the distribution rights for the theatrical version and home video distribution) One of the “money men” whom financially saved Blade Runner when it had gone way over budget is Jerry Perenchio (Now C.E.O of the US broadcasting Spanish language channel Univision) has the legal rights to the original negatives and he is not releasing them.
It is now three years since Sir Ridley Scott announced that he was working on a “Special Edition” of Blade Runner and that the 1992 “Directors Cut” really was done too fast (and that the final “Directors Cut” really wasnt his final version of Blade Runner). Warner Bros. was going to distribute the “Special Edition” and in may 2002 reports of some “pesky legal problems” started to appear in magazines.
Whom knows why Mr. Jerry Perenchio wont release the original negatives, it’s well known that there where alot of fights during the making of Blade Runner and that Sir Ridley Scott even got fired during the production of Blade Runner so a wild guess is that it’s some old stuff behind why we don’t get to see “Blade Runner: Special Edition” any time soon. Until some agreement can be reached between whom ever that’s in this legal quarrel we will sadly be without the final version of Blade Runner.
The only available DVD release of Blade Runner the Directors Cut and it’s one of the earliest DVD releases and it’s without any special features and the audio format is Dolby Digital 2 Channel stereo. Blade Runner deserves a much better DVD than this and it’s tragic that such a masterpiece is kept locked up in some vault somewhere. People deserve a much better version containing atleast the original theatrical version together with the 1992 Directors Cut (or a Directors Re-cut) with Dolby 5.1 or DTS surround sound, the “On the edge of Blade Runner” documentury together with some more special features (An isolated movie score audio track would be perfect..)
There are now homemade bootleg versions of this “yet to be” Special Edition (Some versions containing both the 1982 Theatrical Version and the 1992 Directors Cut (and maybe even the workprint) together with the “On the edge of Blade Runner” documentury) on ebay.
You can find the original the NY times article here (Registation required)
Source: The Alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup &
The New York Times article: “Greatest DVD’s Never Made:A Most Wanted List”

BR Items in Live Auction @ ebay

There will be a live auction held at ebay on July 31’st. Sci-Fi Items from “Profiles In History” will be sold and among some of the items are some very nice Blade Runner props (Used in the production of the film, many of them seen in the movie).
So, if you have the guts, the glory and the money why not try and get your hands on some really nice Blade Runner items. This one of the few times you can get to own parts of movie history.
For more information and pictures of the items, check out the Profiles In History Live Auction Catalog
The Blade Runner items that’s up for sale are:
Harrison Ford Pistol from Blade Runner.
Lot 40 – 40.
Starts at: US $5,000.00.
Estimate: US $5,000.00 – US $7,000.00.
Harrison Ford pistol from Blade Runner. (Warner Bros., 1982) Black rubber pistol with orange resin grips, and unique double-trigger, modeled after a Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldog pistol and the receiver for a Steyr Mannlicher .222 Model SL rifle. This distinctive pistol was made for Harrison Ford in his role as Deckard and can be seen throughout the entire film, including his thrilling chase scene with Zhora through the city streets, in addition to many other important moments in the film. An excellent, highly visible prop weapon from the film!
Zhora Clear Plastic Raincoat.
Lot 41 – 41.
Starts at: US $1,500.00.
Estimate: US $3,000.00 – US $5,000.00.
Zhora clear plastic raincoat from Blade Runner. (Warner Bros., 1982) Clear plastic hip-length raincoat with pockets, worn by Zhora (Joanna Cassady) during her flight from Deckard through the city, and when she is ultimately killed. Plastic is torn at the upper right chest and back shoulder as incurred during filming; otherwise in very good condition.
Police car license plate from Blade Runner.
Lot number: 42 – 42.
Starts at: US $2,500.00.
Estimate: US $2,500.00 – US $3,500.00.
Futuristic police car license plate from Blade Runner. (Warner Bros., 1982) Metal license plate printed with no. “451” and barcode, and general studio weathering. Affixed to one of the flying police cars in the film. Measures 8 in. x 6 in.
Vehicle license plate from Blade Runner.
Lot number: 43 – 43.
Starts at: US $2,000.00.
Estimate: US $2,000.00 – US $3,000.00.
Vehicle license plate from Blade Runner. (Warner Bros., 1982) Metal license plate printed with no. “5N8” and barcode, and general studio weathering, used on one of the vehicles in the film. Measures 8 in. x 6 in.
Tyrell building graphic from Blade Runner.
Lot number: 44 – 44.
Starts at: US $1,500.00.
Estimate: US $2,000.00 – US $3,000.00.
Tyrell building diorama graphic from Blade Runner. (Warner Bros., 1982) Color diorama graphic of the front of the Tyrell building, used in the visual effects sequence as Deckard flies up to the building for his first meeting with Tyrell. Measures 26 in. wide. This film received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Visual Effects.
Tyrell Corp building panel from Blade Runner.
Lot number: 45 – 45.
Starts at: US $1,500.00.
Estimate: US $1,500.00 – US $2,500.00.
Tyrell Corp. miniature building panel from Blade Runner. (Warner Bros., 1982) 4 1/2 in. square lexan tile with finely detailed surface, painted a subdued shade of lavender-silver. Accompanied with a Cinefex newsletter discussing the construction of the Tyrell Corp and other Blade Runner set pieces, which shows this tile as used in the film. This film received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Visual Effects.
Sean Young signature dress from Blade Runner.
Lot number: 46 – 46.
Starts at: US $25,000.00.
Estimate: US $30,000.00 – US $50,000.00.
Sean Young signature dress from Blade Runner. (Warner Bros., 1982) Black silk jacket with black snakeskin accents, and matching skirt. Worn by Young as the beautiful, transfixing Replicant named Rachael, “more human than human” (according to Tyrell!). This exceptional suit can be clearly seen in the opening scenes of the film when Deckard arrives at the Tyrell offices and runs Rachael through a battery of questions, testing whether or not she is a Replicant. This highly-visible dress is also featured in the film’s poster art.
Illuminated glasses from Blade Runner.
Lot number: 47 – 47.
Starts at: US $1,500.00.
Estimate: US $1,500.00 – US $2,500.00.
Illuminated eyeglasses from Blade Runner. (Warner Bros., 1982) Red-tinted plastic glasses wired with two small bulbs on the inside of each eyepiece, designed to illuminate from behind. Worn by one of the street urchins who attack Deckard’s car.

Source: The Alt.fan.blade-runner newsgroup. The Profiles In History Live Auction @ ebay.com

More Blade Runner items @ Allposters.com

Some new and very nice Blade Runner photos are now in stock at Allposters.com. Los Angeles, 2019 is one of their affiliates so if you decide to buy any of their stuff that you can find on this site that leads to them then you not only get some really nice Blade Runner items to spice up your walls with, you also help out by supporting this website.
You can find all the current Blade Runner items here.

Source: Allposters.com

SE DVD News from Warner Bros.

Special Edition NewsThe Home Theater Forum website had an open chat session together with people from Warner Bros. on the 22’nd of April 2003 and anyone could ask questions. One of the questions asked was user MikeF whom wanted to know a bit more on what’s going on with the upcomming Blade Runner “Special Edition” DVD.. So, here’s the latest official words concerning this matter
MikeF: Forgive me if this has been asked, I just got here. What is the current status of the upcoming Blade Runner DVD set?
Warner: BLADE RUNNER will happen, but there are legal hurdles to overcome. We want it just as much as you do. Stay tuned.
So, there you have it.. Still “legal pesky problems” to clear out.

Source: LIVE CHAT WITH WARNER HOME VIDEO by Home Theater Forum

Android Series Refurbs

Android 001 The Android Hunter V3

“Android Hunter V3”, “Android Hunter Japan Version” and the “Android 001” action figures can now be yours for half their original price. Toy Syndicate has a small quantity of “refurbs” (as in refurbished) of their “Blade Runnerish” action figures, there are very small quantities of the “Android Hunter V3” version so you better act fast.
All of the “refurbs” are sold “as is” and without any return policy (if you buy one then you cant return it). All dolls are sold without the original boxes they usually are shipped in.
The regular price for these figures are usually around $150 but you can now get refurbished figures for half the cost. Check out Toy Syndicate for more info.

Source: Toy Syndicate

A look at the St*rfish 3'rd International Fundrasier

The Offial Rutger Hauer site / St*rfish Associaton has updated their website with pictures and soundbytes from the Scandinavian Sci-Fi, toy and game convention where they had a fundraiser for the Starfish association. You can find pictures and soundfiles from the Q&A session which took place before the special 20’th anniversary screening of Blade Runner.
St*rfish 3rd International Fundraiser

Source: Official Rutger Hauer Homepage / The St*rfish Association

The talented Sir Ridley

Year 2002 ended very well for Ridley Scott, His name is upon the “New Years Honours list” so it’s now Sir Ridley Scott.Ridley Scott, born in 1937 whom directed Blade Runner has been awarded a knighthood for his services to the British film industry. Besides Blade Runner, Ridley Scott also has done movies such as “Alien”, “Gladiator”, “Thelma & Louise”, “Haniball” and “Black Hawk Down”
He told the UK Press Association:

As a boy growing up in South Shields, I could never have imagined that I would receive such a special recognition. I am extremely honoured to be awarded a knighthood

“I am truly humbled to receive this treasured award and believe it also further recognises the excellence of the British film industry.


Source: CNN, BBC