blade runner Tagged Articles at Cinematical

This week finally sees the release of Youth in Revolt, the film version of C.D. Payne's 1993 novel. Considering the book's length (about 500 pages), director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Gustin Nash faced the unenviable task of deciding what should remain and what should be excised. How do you make a 90-minute film that pleases the novel's legion of fans while remaining accessible to a larger audience that has never read it?

It's a challenge familiar to sci-fi fans. We've probably all experienced that moment of utter disbelief that a favorite story or novel has been twisted and mangled beyond recognition. But when the filmmakers get it right, honoring the spirit and creating a work that lives apart from its inspiration, it's magical. Regrettably, I don't read as many novels nowadays as in my earlier years, so I've never read the source material for some of my favorite science fiction films (e.g. Children of Men, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Planet of the Apes). Still, it was difficult to narrow my choices down to just ten. Here's what I ended up with: a list of my ten favorite sci-fi adaptations. What are yours?

1. Slaughterhouse-Five
Screenwriter Stephen Geller took on a near-impossible job, adapting Kurt Vonnegut's wondrous novel, which was inspired by Vonnegut's real-life experiences during World War II. Oddly enough, George Roy Hill's direction is as sprightly as you'd expect from the man whose previous film was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Yet Hill's jaunty approach was exactly the right way to capture the spirit, the basic trajectory, and much of the flavor of the novel, producing a picture that feels both tied to the year in which it was released (1972) and transcendent of time and place.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad

We've all made it through another holiday, and as the dust settles on Christmas 2009, you've probably watched more than your fair share of holiday movies -- lord knows I have. Now when it comes to Christmas, there is no shortage of flicks extolling the virtues of family and good will towards men, but New Years is a different story. I guess this is because New Year's Eve tends to revolve a little more around an epic hangover to come, rather than lofty ideals like peace on earth. I happen to have a little New Year's movie tradition that might seem odd, but every year I make sure I watch Ridley Scott's, Blade Runner -- which might seem like a strange choice, but trust me, there is a method to my madness.

Growing up, I always remember when my local TV station would air the classic sci-fi flick at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. Now whether this was just some programmer's in-joke to air a film about a dystopian future on New Year's Eve, I will never know, but it did create a tradition of sorts in the Barnes' household, and Blade Runner soon became required viewing each and every New Year's Eve. Of course, nothing ever lasts forever and awhile back that local station abandoned Blade Runner as their midnight selection (I think it was Terminator 2 last year) -- but not in my house, because no matter what, I make sure to spend each new year with Deckard and the gang.

But now I'll turn it over to you, sound off in the comments and tell me your New Year's film favorites...

I grew up reading science fiction, thinking my beloved genre was all about the possibilities of the infinite: advanced civilizations inhabiting distant star systems; men with brains so large and hearts so beneficent they could barely be contained within their bodies; women with beauty so magnificent and intellect so stunning they would leave bystanders breathless.

And they I started watching movies and eventually realized it's all about death, destruction ... and more death.

This week's release of The Final Destination, which is obsessed with staging elaborate 'kill scenes,' got me thinking about memorable scenes of demise in science fiction films. Sci-fi is notably short of serial killers, but offers a wider range of death scenes, beyond simple murder and mayhem. Here's my list of the top 10 sci-fi deaths. (Of necessity, this list is nothing but spoilers, so you have been warned.)

1. The Emperor (Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi)

Everyone knows where they were when they saw the Emperor get what was coming to him. Me, I was in the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, opening night, second showing, near 5:00 a.m., shouting (and ultimately cheering and applauding) along with the rest of the sold-out auditorium as Luke looked between his father and the Emperor, in pain, agonizing, understanding that the man he had hated was being tortured by the man who should be hated. And then he made the right call. Goosebumps still raise up in the glory of the memory.

Read the rest over at Sci-Fi Squad

If recreations aren't your thing and you've always wanted to own a genuine piece of Blade Runner history, today is your lucky day ... but it's going to cost you. Christie's Great Estates has announced that Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House (also known as The Blade Runner House), is officially up for sale. There is a $15 million price tag on the house, but the cultural landmark is still a bit of a fixer-upper, and renovation costs are estimated in the millions. Ennis House was built in 1924, but despite being one of the most famous landmarks in L.A., keeping the house standing has been proving more difficult over years.

Since it was first built, Ennis House has been crumbling thanks to earthquakes and rainstorms, but the movie landmark has been under the protection of a trust (whose members included Diane Keaton) for years. But when the expense of maintaining the house had become too much, the trust finally made the decision to sell. The trust's president was quoted as saying, "We've made a lot of progress, but a private owner with the right vision and sufficient resources can better preserve the house than we can." (Check out images of Ennis House below)



Ennis House has served as a backdrop for plenty of movies and television shows over the years, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Black Rain. Although, acting as the stand-in for the famed Replicant hunter's apartment was what put the home on the map for most movie buffs. $15 million is a little out of my price range, but I do wonder who will manage to snag the house first? Will it be a fan of architecture, or one serious sci-fi collector?

After the jump: a collection of Ennis House's greatest hits on the big screen.

Duncan Jones cut his teeth on the sets of Labyrinth and The Hunger, but for his directorial debut, he opted for something that didn't star his dad (I'll let you guys and girls mull over the common thread).

Rather, Moon is a showcase for star Sam Rockwell, who gives what is surely one of the year's more uniquely layered performances. As the film opens today in NY and LA before rolling out in the weeks to come, Jones spoke with Cinematical about shooting sci-fi on a small budget, releasing an indie in a season of blockbusters, and cracking his skull out of pure giddiness for a movie.

Which one, you ask? We'll tell you after the jump...

We could argue for days if androids really dream of electric sheep or what those damn origami unicorns mean, but one thing we can know for sure is that copyright laws are more confusing than Mormon underwear. An excellent example of this is a new project from Ridley Scott's RSA Films' called Purefold.

Free Scott, a part of Ridley Scott Associates Films, is hooking up with indie studio Ag8 to develop Purefold, a web series that will grapple with the themes in Blade Runner without actually referencing that world in any direct fashion. The web shorts, will could eventually become a TV series, will evoke the grand themes of the sci-fi classic -- compassion, humanity, identity, a dystopian future -- without using anything from the book it was based on ... due to copyright issues.

Let me get this right out of the way: I love the folks over at Moviefone; they're cool people. We've hung out together, thrown back a few cold ones and even high-fived on one or two occasions. But this latest list ... well, I'm a little upset. Moviefone has counted down the top 40 films from the '80s, and while I certainly agree with a lot of the films on said list, their placement is completely out of whack. Here's their top five: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1), Blade Runner (2), Raging Bull (3), Empire Strikes Back (4) and This Is Spinal Tap (5). Don't get me wrong -- all dynamite flicks -- but Back to the Future at 21, Ghostbusters at 40 (!!!!!), E.T. at 20 and The Breakfast Club at 27? And don't get me started on the fact that Ferris Bueller's Day Off didn't even make the list -- just thinking about it sends murderous shivers down my spine. What's up with that Moviefone?

I guess when it comes to listing the best '80s movies, I'm more inclined to stick films that defined the decade in top spots moreso than films that were critically acclaimed (not that some can't be both). I mean, I definitely do not think Bull Durham (9) should beat out Aliens (10), The Terminator (13) or The Shining (14) ... but maybe I'm missing the total and complete awesomeness that is Bull Durham. Check out their list over here and let us know where they got it right and where they went wrong. (Trust me, I've already gone after them about the Back to the Future placement because if we don't protect Marty McFly, who will?)

Over on his Times Online pop culture blog, Michael Moran confronted what he considered to be the ten silliest sequel rumors at the moment. His list runs the gamut from projects we've been hearing about for ages -- The Goonies 2 and Ghostbusters 3 -- to ones that never crossed my radar in the slightest (dude, they should totally bring back Katherine Heigl if they go through with Under Siege 3).

For that matter, what's The Wicker Man without a shouting Nic Cage? Or an I Am Legend prequel in which Will Smith finds himself confronted with hardship after hardship until we end up where the first one began? (In that case, simply remake The Pursuit of Happyness, but with a deadly virus replacing crippling poverty.) Speaking of post-apocalyptic pandemics, I do count myself among those pleasantly surprised by how much 28 Weeks Later worked, so I'm more reluctant than ever to write off a third one. (As a bigger fan of Cloverfield, though, I think that they're just pushing their luck with any sort of follow-up.)

Thusly, I ask which, if any, of these sequel/prequel prospects are you guys and gals excited for? And which ones seem downright ludicrous to consider *cough*Blade Runner*cough*Watchmen*cough*300*cough*? (And while I'm at it, anyone else ready to throw in the towel on Pirates of the Caribbean? Oh, wait, we've already had this talk...)

Wait, stop -- don't throw yourself out that window just yet! It may or may not be as bad as it looks/sounds. According to Slashfilm, one of their readers attended a Q&A session with one of the writers of Eagle Eye, which was hosted by Creative Screenwriting magazine. During said Q&A, the writer, Travis Wright, said that he and his partner John Glenn were working through "various treatments for a Blade Runner sequel over the last couple years." Apparently, they've been working alongside Blade Runner co-executive producer Bud Yorkin, and all of this has been done outside the studio system -- meaning this is in no way a done deal, only that these writers are trying to put together their best package in the hopes a studio will bite.

As of right now, Ridley Scott is nowhere near the project (although both guys are working on a Warriors remake for Tony Scott), and given the somewhat negative reaction to Eagle Eye, I imagine most fans will take a similar approach. In my opinion, Blade Runner is a film you don't touch and you don't sequel-ize, but perhaps I'm in the minority. Maybe there's a very cool way of doing it -- maybe I'm wrong, and maybe this is a project fans can get behind. What do you think? Blade Runner 2? Could it happen? Would you watch it?

Update: Eagle Eye co-writer John Glenn responded via email to this. Here's part of what he said: "There was a point where Travis and I were working with Bud Yorkin on a sequel to Blade Runner, but that was years back. It never got too far off the ground because the movie is so perfect, so the more we thought about it, the more uneasy we became with the idea. Anyway, just an note to clear the air." More over at Slashfilm.