RUMOR: Warner Bros. Keen On Christopher Nolan Directing Virtual Reality Flick READY PLAYER ONE?

TrackingBoard is reporting that Warner Bros. is offering the directing job for science fiction film Ready Player One to Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar, Memento, The Dark Knight). The film is an adapatuon of the novel by Ernest Cline from screenwriter Zak Penn. Nolan usually isn't known for taking studio scraps, but after taking on the ex-Spielberg project Interstellar anything is possible. It should also be noted that Nolan really hasn't talked about future projects, other than his Howard Hughes movie.

"Follows a teenage boy who enters into an elaborate treasure hunt to win the fortune that was left behind in the will of the creator of his favorite virtual reality game, Oasis. He finds himself up against powerful corporations and competitors who will stop at nothing to get the inheritance."

The science fiction aspect and virtual reality aspect might be enough to sway Nolan. Even more so if he's able to rework the script himself or with the help of brother Jonah Nolan. I'm actually curious to know if he's been approached by Alcon to direct the Blade Runner sequel. Ridley Scott has been vocal in interviews about not being committal to the sequel (also backtracking to stop damage control), likely having to chose between it and Prometheus 2. You might remember that Alcon has a working relationship with Nolan, as production company helped him make the thriller Insomnia which starred Al Pacino and Robin Williams. It could also give Nolan a sizeable scale and mythology to play with, not to mention it's theme of replicant slavery.

SOURCE: TRACKINGBOARD

Ridley Scott Wont Direct BLADE RUNNER 2 And Confirms 2015 Production Start

I've been hearing for months that Ridley Scott would have to chose between directing Blade Runner and Prometheus sequels. It seemed that Ridley had chosen Blade Runner as he stated recently it was next for him once The Martian wrapped production. Apparently, that isn't the case as Scott confirmed to Variety that he will be acting as the film's producer not director. Along with a 2015 production start for the sequel that will indeed see Harrsion Ford return.

While Ridley begins production on The Martian, it begs the question will Fox finally make an announcement concerning Prometheus 2. We know that that the script has been finalized, with the cast ready to go. I'm sure a lot of pre-production work, mainly the design side and set construction still has to be worked out. Ridley has promised fans a new alien threat, so that might take a bit of time to develop. However, TheWrap had stated that Fox was eyeing a March 2016 date for the sequel. I assume this date could get bumped back to allow Ridley to complete The Martian. A delay also makes sense considering Fassbender will be busy as well shooting Bryan Singer's X-Men Apocalypse. At least this gives us hope that Ridley will indeed return for the Prometheus sequel.

I'm extremely curious who will tackle the film. I feel like Christopher Nolan (worked with Alcon before on Insomnia) could do the franchise justice, but it's unlikely since it will shoot soon and he wouldn't have time to make the rewrites to the script.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Harrison Ford Given An Official Offer For BLADE RUNNER 2

It's looks like everyone is courting Harrison Ford to reprise his old roles. Ford was confirmed for a major lead role in Star Wars: Episode VII (possible sequels too?), and is rumored be involved in the next two Indiana Jones films. The latter the actor has been more vocally enthused about reprising. Another 80's retread is also in development over at Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros., which is a sequel to the cult sci-fi film Blade Runner.

Ridley Scott was confirmed a while back as returning to direct, with a new script being written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Ridley has talked about including and reaching out to Harrison to return for the sequel, but it never seemed like sure-thing. Alcon announced they've made an offer to Ford, but aren't confirming it' a done deal.

“We believe that Hampton Fancher and Michael Green have crafted with Ridley Scott an extraordinary sequel to one of the greatest films of all time. We would be honored, and we are hopeful, that Harrison will be part of our project.”

At the moment production start hasn't been figured-out, as Ford will be busy with Star Wars and Ridley possibly with Prometheus 2 (getting rewrite from Michael Green) expected to begin shooting in the Fall or early 2015. It's still early and anything could happen, it's more than likely Harrison will have to turn it down because of other projects. While they could actually work around Ford to get this done.


SOURCE: ALCON ENTERTAINMENT

Screenwriter Michael Green In Talks To Take A Shot At BLADE RUNNER 2

TheWrap reports that Ridley Scott is still actively trying to put together that new Blade Runner film. They say that Alcon Entertainment/Scott Free is in talks to hire Michael Green (Green Lantern) to write a script for the project. Last we heard David Peoples (who adapted the original film) and Janet Peoples was tackling an outline or draft of their own. At the time Ridley and Alcon had confirmed it would indeed be a sequel of sorts. This new report seemingly reiterates that aspect set some years after the original film. I don't doubt that Green could give us something interesting but the stain of Green Lantern's awful box office could make the folks involved cautious to commit. To be fair he handed in a draft of The Flash for Warner Bros. which seemingly peeked the studio's interest as well.

Kate Mara Joins Wally Pfister's TRANSCENDENCE Starring Johnny Depp And Rebecca Hall

Another Iron Man actor has joined the cast of Transcendence as Deadline reports Kate Mara (Iron Man 2, House of Cards) has landed a role in the sci-fi epic. The cast is led by Johnny Depp along with Rebecca Hall (Iron Man 3, The Town, The Prestige) and Paul Bettany (Iron Man 1-3, Avengers). The former two along with Mara have had roles in the Iron Man franchise.

Christian Bale Could Also Join TRANSCENDENCE

The LATimes is reporting that director Wally Pfister is now looking at Christian Bale to fill a role in his science fiction thriller Transcendence. Previously, it had been announced that Johnny Depp, Noomi Rapace, James McAvoy, Tobey Maguire and Christoph Waltz were looking to take part in the film.

Johnny Depp Joining Wally Pfister's TRANSCENDENCE

Deadline reports that Johnny Depp is in talks for the lead in Wally Pfister's Transcendence. The film is the directorial debut of Christopher Nolan's Oscar winning director of photography. It doesn't have a synopsis but it's easy to assume it won't be a dry drama or a comedy. Wally is best known for shooting films such as Inception, Dark Knight Rises and Memento. Nolan and his wife Emma will be producing with Alcon Entertainment backing the production.

Paul Dano Joins PRISONERS

Variety reports that Paul Dano (Looper, There Will Be Blood) has joined Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman and Melissa Leo in the thriller Prisoners. The film is said to be in the vain of Se7en and Silence of The Lambs.

SPECULATION: Peter Weyland Showing Up In BLADE RUNNER 2?

It's looking like Ridley Scott is trying to connect the Alien/Prometheus and Blade Runner franchises. ThePlaylist has caught an Easter egg from the steel book version of Prometheus that has a memo from Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) on his mentor. The mentor Weyland talks of is likely Eldon Tyrell who formed the Tyrell Corporation in Blade Runner. Considering the new Blade Runner film has been confirmed to be a sequel it's likely it could focus on the company and replicants in the wake of the death of Tyrell. It's been rumored that the sequel's protagonist will be female and won't focus on Deckard (Harrison Ford).

However, this connection to Weyland could mean we might end up seeing a cameo from Guy Pearce. Considering Runner was set in 2019 and Weyland's Ted Talk was for 2023. It's not hard to imagine Guy showing up or at least Weyland making a play to buyout Tyrell. Yes, there are rights issues here but considering how deeply involved Ridley Scott is with both studios and the creative development of the projects it's possible. I don't see why Fox and Alcon/WB wouldn't want to see these epic sci-fi worlds connected in some way. My hope it's just a small cameo as the film should really focus on the replicants revolution on the off-world colonies.

Ridley Scott Wants Harrison Ford In The 'BLADE RUNNER' Sequel Afterall?

There is very little that we know about this sequel to Blade Runner. What we do know is that originally Ridley and writer Hampton Fancher envisioned Blade Runner as the first of series of films exploring the themes of Dick's original short story. Runner bombed at the box office when it was released so the sequels never happened. Since then it has become one of the biggest cult films of all-time. Hampton is in talks to write the sequel with Ridley Scott back as the director. The film is still a couple of years away with Ridley about to start shooting The Counselor with a Prometheus sequel waiting in the wings to go afterwards. It will be set years after the first movie with a female character as the lead not Deckard.

When rumors of Harrison Ford returning as Deckard starting circling the producers of the film killed the rumor quickly. Now there is word from Ridley himself from an interview with TheIndependent stating that Ford could show up. This doesn't mean it's for sure or even that he'll play Deckard but it's interesting none the less.

"I don't think it'll be Harrison [starring]. But I've got to have him in it somewhere. That'd be amusing,"

'BLADE RUNNER 2' Officially A Sequel Set Several Years Later, Deckard Likely Not Involved

Earlier today it was revealed that screenwriter Hampton Fancher was likely going to be involved in the writing process for the Blade Runner sequel. Now with this new press release from Variety it seems that Alcon and Scott Free are confirming this new film is indeed a sequel and not a prequel/reboot. While the film is still set in the same world created by Ridley Scott back in 1982 it be set some years after the original film. Ridley also announced that the protagonist of the sequel would be female. Giving the impression because of the new direction/timeline Deckard won't be returning.

Apparently Scott and Fancher had originally imagined Blade Runner as the first in a series of films. These movies would explore the characters and themes from Dick's short story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Blade Runner's notoriously harsh production and the film's ultimate failure at the box office killed any hope of these sequels to be made. Luckily, the film found new life when it started airing on TV in the UK and North America along with booming home video sales which has made Blade Runner one the largest cult hits of all-time.

Nothing has been confirmed about the new film's setting or direction. It's possible that the sequel could explore the off-world colonies where replicants are essentially android slaves that are worked until they keel over from a premature death. Roy speaks of seeing attack ships in space as a soldier while Pris was a sex-slave until freed, so there are plenty of different aspects the off-world colonies that could be explored. My hope is that a full scale rebellion by the replicants and their human supporters is sparked. The Tyrell Corporation is responsible for the making the replicants while another company is involved with the colonies and settling them. The Dominguez-Shimata Corporation could very well be the focus of this film.

Which Actress Could Land The Lead In 'BLADE RUNNER 2' ?

Ridley Scott has confirmed that Blade Runner 2 is a sequel and it's lead will be female. The question now is who will end up taking that role? Noomi Rapace and even possibly Charlize Theron could be returning for a Prometheus sequel which will end up shooting before this film. It's likely that neither Noomi or Charlize will end up landing the lead, theres nothing to say they won't get supporting or villainous roles. A bunch of actresses tested for Prometheus but didn't land the role. I get the impression these ladies could end up in the running for female lead in Blade Runner 2.

NATALIE PORTMAN: The Oscar winning actress (Black Swan) was one the more high profiled actresses originally in the mix for the lead in Prometheus. Recently she was attached to science fiction films Jupiter Ascending (from The Wachowskis) and tested for Alfonso Cuarón's (Children of Men) Gravity. She's had commercial successes with the Star Wars prequel and now with the Thor franchise. Let's not forget her equally interesting genre credits in films like V For Vendetta, The Professional and Heat.

GEMMA ARTERTON: The British actress also caught the attention of Ridley during the casting process for Prometheus. The director was impressed with her performance in the thriller The Disappearance Of Alice Creed which led to a meeting and testing for the film. Arterton ultimately didn't get the role but is obviously on Ridley's radar now. Most of her supporting roles in films like Clash of The Titans, Quantum of Solace and Prince of Persia didn't seem to help her career. As those films were considered terrible or average at best. Yet, upcoming films like the vampire thriller Byzantium and the fairytale action/comedy Hansel And Gretel: Vampire Hunters should give her the boost she would need to complete for a role like this.

ANNE HATHAWAY: You might not consider this actress as someone who can handle action scenes but after The Dark Knight Rises that opinion will change. Anne has proven so far that she's a dedicated actor and can deliver strong performances which earned her an Oscar nomination (Rachel Getting Married) previously. She was also in the running for Prometheus but luckily ended up with the role of Selina Kyle/Catwoman instead. Depending on how her Catwoman role goes over with audiences expect her to be in the running for more action oriented projects.

CAREY MULLIGAN: Like Hathaway, Carey is a dedicated actress who has also earned her own Oscar nomination for An Education. She recently developed more of a cult following thanks in part to roles in last year's Drive and Shame. Her next film The Great Gatsby could end up a rather large Oscar contender if it's decent at all. Mulligan's lesser recognized role in the science fiction romantic drama Never Let Me Go had similar themes to Blade Runner. As the "borrowed time" and "manufactured people" aspects are shared in both films. While I can't see her as a hard boiled Blade Runner, an innocent replicant on the run seems like a more excellent casting idea.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY: Knightley who co-starred with Mulligan in Never Let Me Go was rumored to be involved with the casting for Prometheus too. The actress has kept quiet mostly with her recent projects London Boulevard and the comedy Seeking A Friend For The End of The World. Compared to her previous work with blockbuster projects like Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl, Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of The Caribbean: World's End and King Arthur. In the couple of years she did test for Captain America and The Dark Knight Rises which means she's looking for the right big film to do. Meanwhile Keira takes on roles that help her stock as an actress with projects like Atonement, A Dangerous Method, The Duchess, Edge of Love and the upcoming Joe Wright film Anna Kendrick. The latter could end up earning her second Oscar nomination after Pride And Prejudice.

OLIVIA WILDE: Wilde has to be one of the most promising actresses working today. She's been mostly in small supporting roles for films like Tron Legacy and Cowboys And Aliens. Given the right part she could explode as she's gorgeous on screen with an energy/fast-paced delivery that could be perfect for this sci-fi noir action thriller. Olivia was also in the running for the lead in Prometheus.

WHO ALSO SHOULD BE CONSIDERED?

SCARLETT JOHANSSON: Her role in Avengers will likely boost her box office appeal to both domestic and international audiences. A fear that plagued the casting of Noomi Rapace in Prometheus because she wasn't a known actress at the time. Scarlett's also been jumping onto a lot of more dramatic roles with projects Hitchcock and Don Juan. Of course the young actress has the action backgrounded needed for the part as well with a massive amount of time dedicated for fight/stunt training for both Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. Johansson's upcoming film Under The Skin is an science fiction thriller which she plays an alien picking off humans. She was also in the running for Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity before Sandra Bullock was locked in. I personally think she could be rather convincing heroine in a science fiction film like this. You might also believe that she could kick your ass if need be, unlike most actresses who look like they could barely lift a weight.

Ridley Scott Confirms 'BLADE RUNNER 2' Is A Sequel And Protagonist Will Be Female

Another interview, Ridley Scott has the director confirms that Blade Runner 2 is indeed a sequel. He also reveals to TheDailyBeast that the film's protagonist will be female, ending previous rumblings that Deckard (Harrison Ford's character) would be returning. It's the first real detail we've learned about the sequel and that it seemingly won't be just a continuation/rehashing of the original film. Considering how interesting the three female replicant characters were in the original film it's not hard to see why developing a new one could help bring in new audiences.

  “Funny enough, I started my first meetings on the ‘Blade Runner’ sequel last week,”...He continued: “We have a very good take on it. And we’ll definitely be featuring a female protagonist.”

Ridley Scott Confirms Hampton Fancher Writing 'BLADE RUNNER 2'

During an extensive interview with THR about his career and his upcoming film Prometheus Ridley Scott revealed a brief update on the planned Blade Runner sequel/prequel. Ridley confirms that screenwriter Hampton Fancher has be set to start working on the script for the new film. Hampton was one of the original writers on the first film which he adapted Philip K. Dick's short story with David Webb Peoples.

It's important to note that Ridley expects to direct a Prometheus sequel after he completes The Counselor. Blade Runner 2 is likely years away considering the extensive world-building involved with concept artists. The sheer volume of artwork that would be needed to create a setting on either Earth or an off-world colony would be a daunting task.

Cinematographer Wally Pfister Will Make Directing Debut

Deadline reports that post Dark Knight Rises cinematographer Wall Pfister will make his directing debut with Alcon Entertainment. The production company aligned with Warner Bros. worked with Wally on Christopher Nolan's Insomnia. It's unknown the plot, title and genre of the project but considering his eye for detail it will be one project to watch out for. Wally has previously worked as a cinematographer on films that include Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rise, Moneyball and Inception which earned him an Oscar. I would assume that Nolan has been teaching Wally the ropes during their time together as a team.

Alcon Debunks Harrison Ford/Blade Runner Rumor

Deadline has received confirmation from Alcon Entertainment's Andrew Kosove that the rumor of Harrison Ford being pursued for the new Blade Runner is false. He stated that they are still in early stages of the breaking what the story will be and haven't even chosen a writer yet. So the casting of the film is the further thing from their mind at this point. Ford isn't ruled out completely but the rumor has been debunked for now. Kosove also mentions they could end up making the new Blade Runner film in the vain of Prometheus. Still set in the same universe of the first film but still being a stand alone movie.

“It is absolutely patently false that there has been any discussion about Harrison Ford being in Blade Runner,” Kosove told me. “To be clear, what we are trying to do with Ridley now is go through the painstaking process of trying to break the back of the story, figure out the direction we’re going to take the movie and find a writer to work on it. The casting of the movie could not be further from our minds at this moment.” Kosove said they didn’t want in any way to disparage an iconic actor like Ford, but it certainly sounds as though they do not plan to continue his story line. “It’s like asking if we’re going to make the sky red or blue, there has been no discussion about it,” he said. “What Ridley does in Prometheus is a good template for what we’re trying to do. He created something that has some association to the original Alien, but lives on its own as a standalone movie.” Asked point blank if Ford could resurface, Kosove said: “In advance of knowing what we’re going to do, I supposed you could say yes, he could. But I think it is quite unlikely.”

I previously stated that the best way to tackle this project was to mimic the connection between Alien and Prometheus. It seems like Kosove and Ridley very well could be going in that direction. If I have to come up with a writer that could do this subject matter justice it would be Damon Lindelof. He previously worked with Ridley and 20th Century Fox on Prometheus and seems to have retained all the suspenseful elements/tone from the original Alien film. There has been some speculation this will be next for Ridley but many projects have come up that have scripts in place. I expect a film of this scale with the amount of artwork needed would take at least a year to develop it's concept art.

Could Harrison Ford Join The New Blade Runner Film?

Twitch is reporting a rumor that Ridley Scott and producers are in talks with Harrison Ford for the new Blade Runner film. Ridley Scott recently confirmed the movie would be going in the direction of a sequel when he originally signed on to direct the project. The assumption would be that Ford is playing Deckard if he returns. Currently the project is without a writer with the previous news of Scott Z. Burns hired being debunked. Scott has many other films in development and it's unclear when this film could go into production.

The original hook of Blade Runner is that we never quite know if Deckard is a replicant himself or not. It's ambiguity is the reason why the film is so interesting. A similar theme used in the work of Philip K. Dick which was also seen in the original Total Recall, where it's unknown if Doug is really a spy or just in a coma. If Ford does come back it would answer that question.

I believe with how interesting Prometheus has ended up becoming from it's trailer and loglines. A new Blade Runner film should go the Prometheus route and not use characters from the previous film. Not a complete blank slate but create new characters within that established universe. We've haven't seen many aspects of that world yet. Including the off-world colonies, how replicants are used as slaves, their rebellions and the wars they are forced to fight.

Ridley Scott Talks New Blade Runner Film

While we are still desperately waiting on the first trailer for Ridley Scott's Prometheus which is expected to have DNA/connections to the Alien franchise. There is development on another iconic film that Ridley will be revisiting. Alcon Entertainment (Insomnia) nabbed the film rights to Blade Runner and were pursuing Scott to direct. Ridley officially joined the untitled Blade Runner film as it's director and producer. It's expected that Warner Bros. who made the original and have worked with Alcon in the past will distribute.

Ridley spoke briefly to Speakeasy (via Playlist) about the film. Scott is considering this project a sequel even though Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) will likely not be in it. He seems to have found a writer and gives the impression development is further along than we assumed.

 "liable to be a sequel.....I think I’m close to finding a writer that might be able to help me deliver. We’re quite a long way in, actually."

"Scott says the new “Blade Runner” project is moving ahead “not with the past cast, of course.” No Deckard? “No, not really,” he says."

Some possible writers could include Damon Lindelof (Lost, Star Trek, Star Trek 2) who recently worked with Scott on Prometheus adding massive re-writes to the original script. Another candidate could include Travis Wright (Eagle Eye) who was confirmed by SlashFilm as writing a Blade Runner sequel before Alcon/Ridley ever got involved. It will be interesting who ends up writing because we have no idea what angle they're aiming for. There has been talk of continuing the original dectective noir aspect also taking things into outer space focusing the replicant uprisings on off-world colonies.

Scott Z. Burns To Write New Blade Runner Film?

Twitch is reporting on some progress on the Untitled Blade Runner Film from Ridley Scott. They say Ridley, Alcon and Warner Bros. are looking at screenwriter Scott Z. Burns to work on the film's script. It might be a move similar to bringing on Damon Lindelof (Lost) to re-work the Alien prequel Prometheus. Burns isn't a big name but wrote The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion. He's also written scripts for large upcoming projects such as Steven Soderbergh's The Man From UNCLE and David Fincher's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. The fact is that Burns seems to be able to write action well and let's hope the science fiction side of things works out.

Many of the details concerning the project have yet to be answered. Like, if this is a direct sequel/prequel or like Prometheus just set in the Blade Runner universe. If the film noir aspect will be brought up or if it will be a straight up science fiction action film. Along with if will be set on Earth or off-world which had been mentioned a number of times in the original film humans are busy colonizing other planets. Using replicants as work slaves and soldiers in the process of this expansion leading to an outright rebellion by the cyborgs.

UPDATE: Word from ThePlaylist via Twitter is that both Burns' reps and Scott himself are denying the rumors of him working on Blade Runner.  This could be a move by Burns to keep early talks going or Twitch's original story was bull to begin with.

Point Break Reboot On The Way

Alcon Entertainment the company who recently put together a Blade Runner sequel/prequel with Ridley Scott attached to direct is moving on another project. TheWrap reports that they are quickly putting together a Point Break reboot with Warner Bros. The iconic 90's actioner focused on a elite group of seasonal bank robbers who turn out to be a tribe of local surfers and an FBI agent goes undercover to take them down. It was directed by a young Kathryn Bigelow (Hurt Locker) and she knocked the action world on it's ass. Showing that even women can make solid adrenaline/testorone fueled action flicks.

This new version will update the original by replacing surfers with international extreme sports. I'm getting terrible chills of xXx memories with this plot point. There had been a sequel in the works but was nixed when Patrick Swayze died recently. Point Break has a special place in my heart as it was one of the early action films I saw growing up and it holds up pretty well today. Alcon is a decent company and I trust them with Blade Runner, so anything could happen at this point. Kurt Wimmer (Total Recall) has written the new script so it could be interesting depending on the director who takes it on. Since most of the material from Wimmer has been hit and miss.