Blade Runner 2049
The key to the future is finally unearthed.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Production
Budget
$150 000 000
Revenue
$259 239 658
Director
Scenario
Hampton Fancher
Author
Composer
Producer
Actors
Ryan Gosling
'K'
Harrison Ford
Rick Deckard
Ana de Armas
Joi
Dave Bautista
Sapper Morton
Robin Wright
Lieutenant Joshi
Sylvia Hoeks
Luv
Mackenzie Davis
Mariette
Jared Leto
Niander Wallace
Short description
Blade Runner 2049 is set in a future Los Angeles where replicants, bioengineered beings, remain central to society and to the police unit whose task is to hunt down those that are no longer permitted to exist. Officer K, who belongs to that unit, uncovers a secret that has been hidden for a long time and could throw what remains of society into disorder. His investigation pushes him to search for Rick Deckard, a former blade runner who vanished roughly thirty years earlier. The film continues the story begun in Blade Runner and stands as a sequel rather than a remake, with Harrison Ford returning to the role of Deckard.
Denis Villeneuve directed, working from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. It was his ninth film as director in chronological order, following Arrival and preceding Dune. Ryan Gosling plays K, with Ana de Armas, Dave Bautista, Robin Wright and Sylvia Hoeks among the main cast. Production involved Columbia Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Alcon Entertainment and Torridon Films, on a budget of 150 million USD.
The worldwide box office reached 278 million USD, modest against a production of that scale. The audience response has been strong over time: 8/10 on IMDb from around 747,000 votes and 7.6/10 on TMDB from roughly 15,700 votes. A critics' rating of 8.3/10 from 440 reviews places professional assessment slightly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- A worker died on set after falling from a platform.
- According to actor Lennie James, this was the most secretive project he had ever been involved in: “When I was offered the job, I asked for the script. I was sent 20 pages of events leading up to my character’s appearance, and 20 pages afterwards. The text was in an application, and I couldn’t open it on another device. I couldn’t take a screenshot. I couldn’t save it. I was warned: 'You have 36 hours, then the text will disappear.’ When I made the decision to film, I was resend the entire script. I worked with it. But every day I was given access to specific pages I was to work on that day, and I had to sign for it. And I couldn’t leave home without losing access. And then, filming finished, access was granted, I drove home and was happy – I had the entire script in my hands. Nine hours later, the entire script vanished from my iPad in the most mysterious way.”
- Ridley Scott, who directed the original «Blade Runner» (1982), is an executive producer of the film.
- During the filming of the fight scene, Harrison Ford accidentally hit Ryan Gosling in the face, and as an apology, invited him for a drink of whiskey.
- In September 2016, Jared Leto spent about two weeks filming his scenes in Budapest.
- Originally, the character of Niander Wallace was written for David Bowie. But in January 2016, David passed away, and ultimately, the role was played by Jared Leto.
- Above the entrance to the building where K is trying to find Deckard, there's an inverted inscription 행운, which translates from Korean as "Good luck".
- The special effects company spent an entire year working to ensure that the scene of Rachel's appearance was exactly the same as it was 35 years ago in "Blade Runner".
- Above the entrance to the building where K is trying to find Deckard, there is an inverted inscription 'Haeng Un', which translates from Korean as 'Good luck'. The language spoken in the 'Blade Runner' universe is a blend of many languages, including Korean.
- Denis Villeneuve spent the summer and autumn of 2016 filming in Budapest.
- To more accurately portray the blind character, Jared Leto wore opaque contact lenses.
- In the early stages of the project, it was assumed that Ridley Scott would direct the film. Shortly before filming began, however, Scott announced that he would not be directing and would remain on the project only as a producer. No reason was given for this decision.
- The scenes in the main character’s dwelling were filmed in a steam-filled studio for 4 weeks. This affected the operation of electronic equipment, and the dwelling's set had to be ventilated to lower the humidity.
- At the time of filming, Sean Young was 57 years old, so she did not appear in the film herself. Her character, Rachel, was shown in a photograph and in footage from Ridley Scott's original film, and a stunt double played her. Young came to the set to help the stunt double recreate her gait and mannerisms.
- Emily Blunt turned down an offer to star in the film due to her pregnancy.
- At the direction of production designer Dennis Gassner, Wallace’s (Jared Leto) residence is reminiscent of the Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist temple.
- The first science fiction film shot by cinematographer Roger Deakins after the dystopian film «1984».
- In the scene in the office behind Madam, an empty glass stands on the windowsill. In the next shot, she places a full glass on the table.
- To pass the emotion test, K says: «A blood-black nothingness began to coil around the system of cells linked within, cells linked within, cells in a single stem and distinctly, horribly against the darkness a white fountain ascended.» This phrase is taken from Vladimir Nabokov's novel «Pale Fire», written in English and published in 1962.
- Initially, the character of Niander Wallace was written for David Bowie.
- For filming in Las Vegas, director Denis Villeneuve enlisted the help of Syd Mead, who gained wide recognition for creating concept art for “Blade Runner.” Villeneuve asked him to create a Las Vegas that existed in the same universe.
- The film includes 1,150 visual effects created using digital technology, but whenever possible, director Denis Villeneuve filmed in real sets and on location to ensure authenticity. For example, the solar energy collectors at the beginning of the film were shot on location near Seville, Spain. The farm belonging to Dave Bautista’s character was filmed in Iceland. Mexico City was used for the hazy shots of Los Angeles in the distance. The orphanage surrounded by wastelands was filmed mostly on a miniature set. Filming often took place in Budapest, where one set was only a few steps from another, and city panoramas were visible through the windows.
- Director Denis Villeneuve asked several directors to film three short films that would explain some of the plot lines. As a result, the following were created: one anime («Blade Runner Black Out 2022») and two short films («2036: Nexus Dawn», "Blade Runner 2049 – 2048: No Place to Run").
- To make Ana de Armas’s character appear as artificial as possible, editor Joe Walker initially “slowed down” her footage by nine frames before Joy responded to any question. But Walker later abandoned this idea, deciding that her artificiality was perfectly emphasized by the rapid change of outfits and transparency.
- Shortly before filming began, Ridley Scott announced that he would not be directing, but would remain on the project only as a producer.
- It was especially difficult to stage the fight between Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford's characters, as it involved two fighting actors and numerous dancing holograms, and their movements had to be coordinated. After months of work, Denis Villeneuve decided that the whole thing looked like a vaudeville show, and the scene almost got cut from the film. But Joe Walker took over. He re-edited the scene to make it more dynamic, removed the musical accompaniment, and cut out almost all of the holograms.
- Sylvia Hoeks became the second Dutch actress to appear in films in the franchise. Rutger Hauer played the replicant Roy Batty in «Blade Runner» (1982).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
