J.R. Wagner's Author Blog: Why Ridley Scott MUST let me direct Blade Runner 2

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Why Ridley Scott MUST let me direct Blade Runner 2

By J.R. Wagner

To understand where I am coming from you need to read my post:

Prometheus from an Alien super-fan's perspective

It is worth a look just for the humor -seriously.

Onward.

What gives me the right to say I should be chosen as director of Ridley Scott's mystery Blade Runner project?

How do I even know about this project? Well, I simply stumbled upon it while looking up Scott's directorial credits on IMDB.

The Mysterious Blade Runner Project!

Back to what gives me the right to suggest I should even be considered as director of the film.

Answer: Nothing.

I have no directorial credits to my name. I don't even know how to use a camera. I don't even know what a key grip is (I see it all the time in movie credits but have no clue what it is).

Actually, I don't want to direct Blade Runner Re-born (for lack of a better title).

That being said, I don't want Ridley Scott to direct BRR (that's Blade Runner Re-born for my slower readers) either.

Let me be clear. Mr. Ridley Scott is a god in the film world (as he should be). Until Prometheus, I would have been stoked about BRR but now I'm just afraid that another great story with all the potential in the world will be destroyed. I'm going to mention another film god. George Lucas. Why am I mentioning George Lucas? 3 reasons. Star Wars Episode I, Star Wars Episode II and Star Wars Episode III. Bad, worse and a complete abomination.

George Lucas...in carbonite.

Ridley Scott is on the precipice of a disaster of Star Wars proportions. Will he be known as the great director or will he be known as the director who didn't know when to hand over the reins until it was too late?

I wouldn't have bothered writing this if I didn't have a solution in mind. And, of course, I do. Here it is:

First, fire the director. Wait, that's Ridley Scott isn't it? Well, yeah. If he want's to see his baby rise to a level worthy of the original, he will need to let go. He can be executive producer -or something like that.

Second, hire J. J. Abrams to direct. Why Abrams? Three words: Star Trek and (the and doesn't count) Lost. Abrams successfully steered the Star Trek franchise out of the ever-swirling toilet of despair where films like the Star Wars prequels, Prometheus, Dredd, Total Recall (the new ones) and many other re-makes and sequels (or prequels) die horrible deaths. Star Trek is a phenomenal movie for more reasons than I will get into. Why is Lost relevant? You'll see.

Third, fire the writers. Based on the IMDB post, Scott is in talks with Hampton Fancher - one of the writers of the original screenplay (along with David Peoples). I've got nothing against Mr. Fancher, who has a writing and acting resume longer than my first novel other than the fact that he was involved in the first Blade Runner. We need fresh minds! Directors, writers, actors -the whole deal!

Fourth, hire new writers. So who are we hiring as writers? Two people, actually. The first is Damon Lindelof. Yes, I am aware Lindelof was a writer for Prometheus (one of several so I can't blame him PLUS it was Scott's baby). I am also aware that Lindlof wrote for Lost -there it is again...Lost, Star Trek (the new one) and some other great stuff. The second writer is J.R. Wagner. Hmm -that name sounds familiar. Damn right it does! I want in! And in my next post, I'll tell you why I deserve to be in...actually, I'll show you.