24 hours ago dropped the news that Ridley Scott is reuniting with his BLADE RUNNER scribe Hampton Fancher to pen the sequel, which will be set some years after the 2019 timeframe of the original. Now, thanks to a sitdown with The Daily Beast, Scott has confided his sci-fi continuation will feature a strong female character. What else is new from the guy who gave us ALIEN and THELMA AND LOUISE?!
Here’s exactly what Scott told the trade:
“I started my first meetings on the Untitled Blade Runner Sequel last week. We have a very good take on it. And we’ll definitely be featuring a female protagonist.”
Expounding upon the decision, Scott added:
“I’m used to very strong women because my mother was particularly strong, and my father was away all the time. My mother was a big part of bringing up three boys, so I was fully versed in the strength of a powerful woman, and accepted that as the status quo. I think there are a lot of men who feel they’re being emasculated by having the woman be in charge; I’ve never had that problem. All the relationships in my life have been with strong women, from childhood. The relationship I’ve had in my life for the past 30 years is with a very strong Costa Rican woman. Oddly enough, I find it quite engaging to be working with a female when I’m directing. It’s kind of interesting.
The evolution of taking the side of the woman, as far as my career’s concerned, is epitomized by Thelma & Louise. The budget was very slender-about $15 million-because nobody wanted to make it. I first came on as producer, and I was selling the notion to four or five male directors-this was made over 20 years ago, so there weren’t many female directors to do it-that the movie should be an epic about two women on their journey for freedom. One director who turned me down said, “I’ve got a problem with the women,” and I said, “Well you’re meant to, you dope!” So I thought that I should direct it myself.”
Pretty sweet stuff right there. Not for nothing, but Pris (above) and Rachel were pretty tough broads in the original, but they weren’t leads, were they? It’ll be interesting to see if Scott goes with a star or an unknown for the protagonist in the sequel. Who would you nominate for the role?
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