Book of Eli Studio in Talks to Buy Blade Runner Rights

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Book of Eli Studio in Talks to Buy Blade Runner Rights

One of the most influential sci-fi movies around could soon become a franchise.

Alcon Entertainment, the studio behind movies like Book of Eli and the reboot of The Wicker Man, are apparently in final negotiations for the rights for the seminal sci-fi movie Blade Runner. If Alcon is successful in acquiring the rights, it will be able to make sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. It will not be able to remake the original movie, however.

Blade Runner was based on the Phillip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and starred Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a special police operative called a "blade runner," who comes out of retirement to hunt down a quintet of escaped "replicants," which are biological androids almost indistinguishable from people. The movie was not a great success at the box office, but it has since gone on to be one of the most highly regarded and influential sci-fi movies of the last thirty years.

The rights for the movie currently belong to Bud Yorkin, who was an executive producer on the film. Yorkin will serve as a producer on any new Blade Runner projects, along with the two co-founders of Alcon, Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, and Yorkin's wife, Cynthia. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, the joint CEOs of Thunderbird Films, will serve as executive producers.

In a statement, Johnson and Kosove, said that they had long-term goals for the franchise and knew that they had a responsibility to do justice to the original movie. They also said that they weren't planning to limit themselves just to film, and were looking at multiplatform concepts.

There's a lot of potential in the Blade Runner universe for some really interesting storytelling, but anything that Alcon produces is going to have to be pretty special. It's not unheard of for spinoffs to equal their source material - Stargate: SG1 is a prime example - but the original movie set the bar very high, and Alcon will have a real challenge on its hands trying to match it.

Source: Heat Vision Blog [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/heat-vision/alcon-entertainment-eyeing-blade-runner-163406?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+THRComicCon+(The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Heat+Vision)]




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Hungry Donner

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Mar 19, 2009
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I'll be honest, Blade Runner never did much for me. In college a friend said that's because I hadn't seen the director's cut but watching that didn't change my opinion.

However I still recognize Blade Runner as an extremely important movie and I really don't think it should be turned in to a franchise. If they want to draw inspiration from the movie or the original Philip K. Dick novel that sounds great . . . but don't drag the originals down with you.
 

Korenith

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Oct 11, 2010
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Oh wonderful. One of the sci-fi classics gets handed over to the people who butchered the Wicker Man and managed to make denzel washington fighting Gary Oldman in a post appocalyptic wasteland boring. This will go well....
 

Prof. Monkeypox

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Mar 17, 2010
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s

Was my first response.

I love Blade Runner, love it infinitely. Now it could be in the hands of imbeciles who don't even know what they have?
 

tomtom94

aka "Who?"
May 11, 2009
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*insert picture of Darth Vader at end of episode 3 here*OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Seriously, what else can you say?
 

Worr Monger

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Jan 21, 2008
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Korenith said:
Oh wonderful. One of the sci-fi classics gets handed over to the people who butchered the Wicker Man and managed to make denzel washington fighting Gary Oldman in a post appocalyptic wasteland boring. This will go well....
^This

Though, we can at least take comfort in the fact that they can't do a remake. A small victory.

This day was inevitable..
 

Baresark

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Dec 19, 2010
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I immensely enjoyed Book of Eli. But it doesn't matter who you turn it over to, there should NEVER be a BLADERUNNER SEQUEL. The next Hollywood reboot rears it's ugly head. God, just take a chance on something new please! Don't ruin an otherwise fine movie (if not a bit overhyped).
 

Avayu

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Apr 15, 2009
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Why does this always have to happen? They take something people like, butcher it, and then try to loot the corpse, hoping to make some money with those people's nostalgia.

I'm not saying that this is what has to happen, but it seems to be most likely that way.
 

Truly-A-Lie

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Nov 14, 2009
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I've seen a few Darth Vader "Nooooo!" responses to this, but that's not how I reacted. I reacted a little more like this:

no.

Quietly, simply, and with the clearest mind and delivery. Just turn around, think about you're doing, and go about your day. This isn't an issue of "how could you!? You monster!" in my mind, but instead "stop it. You're not allowed."
 

lee1287

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Apr 7, 2009
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Never seen Blade runner but i have afew gripes with the Book of Eli producers.
 

Traun

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Jan 31, 2009
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Can't wait for the Citizen Kain game, it will be so cool.
I don't thin a Blade Runner game will gather much audience.
 

KwaggaDan

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Feb 13, 2010
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Wooo! Blade Runner Episode 2 - The Crystal Replicant coming soon to a cinema near you.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!