Ridley Scott Confirms 'Brave New World'
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, RumorMonger, Scripts
We might have all seen this coming, but then again, it is always nice to know you're right. The sci-fi blog, Io9 has now confirmed that Ridley Scott's next project will be a feature film version of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley's classic novel. In an interview with the blog, Scott told them about the origins of the project. Scott says, "I didn't choose to do it, someone came to me with it. In fact it was Leo's [Leonardo DiCaprio's] production company that came to me with that." Could this mean that Scott already has Mr. DiCaprio in mind for a role in the film as well? Rumblings about the project started back in June, when Scott announced that he was finally making a return to sci-fi -- but he wasn't giving away details at the time. As it turns out, the smart money was on a big screen version of Huxley's prophetic novel.
Written in 1932, Brave New World centered on a future in which everyone appeared happy and content while in a constant state of consumption (sound familiar?). When an outsider is brought into the 'perfect society', things get a little tricky. The message: we're all willing to give up our freedoms and humanity for a little comfort and entertainment.
After the jump, Scott talks about the script, and the problem with finding 'the perfect writer'.Scott made no promises about the time line for the project and a script is a long way from completion. Scott tells Io9, "No, no no we're still struggling with that one. I have 40 things on the go at once. But that's a very important one. And sometimes, some surface faster than the others. It's partly luck of the draw. Even with a good writer, he'll do it and screw up. So then you go back to the table and start all over again, it's hard. The hardest single thing is getting it on paper." -- No matter what you may think of Scott's films, you have to admire his honesty.
Sound off below on what you think about Scott bringing one of the most respected sci-fi novels of all time to the big screen...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-07-2008 @ 7:10PM
uforeader said...
great news. and i hope he gets leo on board to act.
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10-07-2008 @ 7:48PM
arashayrom said...
"Brave New World" is a very funny satirical novel. Ridley Scott has very little in the way of humor in his filmography. It worries me, I have to say.
I don't want it to end up like the various interpretations of "Gulliver's Travels" (I know that's not the official title), which deal with the fantastical elements and don't touch the satire.
Same here: "Brave New World" is a satire first, science fiction second.
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10-07-2008 @ 9:54PM
Cincinnati Mike said...
I don't know... seems awfully late to be trying this. Will anyone even get the joke of worshiping Henry Ford?
On the other hand, a story about a society that just wants to feel good and get laid, one that pursues physical perfection but hates intellectual stimulation couldn't be more timely.
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10-08-2008 @ 5:26AM
Cookie said...
"Brave New World" is probably my favourite novel of all time. I have to admit I haven't seen Scott's latest flicks ("A Good Year" was so amazingly bad that it turned me off for a while) but I think he might be a good choice to direct it. He is definitely no longer the person who made Alien and Blade Runner, but he might be able to pull this off.
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10-08-2008 @ 8:45AM
bongo123 said...
having not read the novel, im sure its great but if scott was returning to sci-fi, i wouldve prefered something a bit more epic in scale, wereas this storys sounds as bout as interesting as watching paint dry
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10-08-2008 @ 3:45PM
daydreamingnate said...
When I heard that a Brave New World film was in the works, I kind of hoped that Terry Gilliam would be at the helm. Not that I don't respect Ridley Scott's work, but for some reason I feel like I'd prefer Gilliam's cracked, almost hallucinagenic eye for the future over Scott's cold, detached look at the future. I loved Blade Runner and Alien, but I never felt that I was a part of the story as I watched them. 12 Monkeys did achieve that for me. Aldous Huxley's view of the future (at least to me) held order and control, but an order so at odds with our reality that it couldn't appear as anything else but a nightmare. Gilliam's the man to do that for me, but hey, Scott's got a few tricks left up his sleeve.
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10-18-2008 @ 8:55PM
Michael said...
@daydreamingnate - I bet you pissed of Scott with that one. (Maybe got his attention?)
Pftheh!! Gilliam directing "In the Year of our Ford" would turn out like a D. Adams production on meth. Scott will be able to mix in all the alcohol and drug subtleties with grace. That well needed "hallucina'genic eye" might turn upwards otherwise.
I say take the 1980 (indeed retro) movie, copy the dialogue word for word and update the effects. And end it with a big KISS. That'll satisfy 'em.
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