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To: Kartographer
I'm with you on all of it. Bladerunner has never been equaled as a sci-fi cult hit and is an example of Hollywood's unheralded ability to see a notoriously troubled production through to a worthy completion.

The script for Bladerunner went through extensive rewrites. The set designers were paid to work through an actors' strike, with the result that these little known craftsman were given the time to create a deep and complex look for the film that contributed greatly to its appeal. Ridley Scott's perfectionism made him hated on the set. Rutger Hauer's final lines were of his devise, which Scott, almost out of set time, had the good sense to adopt. And after principal filming was completed, Scott was formally fired as director due to offenses against the budget and time schedule -- but, in the way of Hollywood, Scott was paid to keep working and produce a final edit -- which was later revised by studio execs who had little confidence in the film.

Outland was good although surely not up to Bladerunner standards. Might it have benefited from Bladerunner-type fruitful turmoil?

Burn Notice is a lot of fun and more accurate than most realize. During the Cold War, a good friend of mine, now deceased, was an agent for US Army intelligence in deep cover as a businessman. Like Michael Weston, my friend had a knack for accents and role-playing, for improvising and adapting plans on the fly, and often worked with or conned criminals and shady businessmen and foreign officials. In my friend's retelling at least, there were also a lot of absurd, chaotic moments touched with unintended comedy.

210 posted on 11/03/2009 8:52:52 AM PST by Rockingham
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To: Rockingham; Kartographer
I'm with you on all of it. Bladerunner has never been equaled as a sci-fi cult hit and is an example of Hollywood's unheralded ability to see a notoriously troubled production through to a worthy completion. ...

Appreciate the background info. Regarding the various versions and cuts which emerged, however, I'm probably in the minority in that I believe the theater release with the Harrison Ford narration was the best version, particularly for people who had never read the book. As always, YMMV.

230 posted on 11/03/2009 10:05:10 AM PST by tarheelswamprat
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