by James Mottram
As Blade Runner 2049 premieres worldwide, Denis Villeneuve explains how an epic vision became a trust fall exercise in filmmaking.
What impact did Blade Runner make on you as a young man?
It had an impact aesthetically. I was 13… I saw it in the cinema in Québec, and just aesthetically it was a shock. We hadn’t seen a movie like that before. For me, I was from the countryside…and that mixture of Hong Kong and the influence of Asia, and the punk movement in the movie, the film noir approach… it was so sophisticated. As a teenager, it was everything you wanted. They succeeded to be at the top of the wave of the moment – what was the most edgy in culture and throw it in the future in a very powerful way. When I talk about Blade Runner, I always have the impression that I’m using hyperbole. It’s one of my favourites… there are only a few of them. Lawrence of Arabia, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001, Persona… just a few movies that really struck my imagination and stayed with me through the years like that. And it’s linked with my childhood. When it’s linked with that, everything is magnified! When I saw it, for us – me and a few friends, we were teenagers – we were just blown away. For us, it was a mature, sophisticated, powerful vision of the future made by masters. The VFX on Blade Runner are still remarkable.
Talking of Bergman, there is a story that when Ridley Scott visited the set of Blade Runner 2049, he was watching you direct and you asked: ‘Who is your favourite filmmaker?’ He replied, ‘Bergman’ and you said, ‘How would you feel if Bergman was sitting behind you watching?’ Is that true?
Yes, and he left! He started to laugh and he left! Ridley was very fond of the project. He loved the screenplay. He wanted to do it himself and for me it was a huge responsibility. Honestly, today people are asking me if I am nervous or anxious about the opening of the movie. Of course I am, but at the same time, the main thing for me was… knowing the [positive] reaction of Ridley, right now I feel more relaxed.
Were you worried about what Scott would say about Blade Runner 2049?
I was saying to myself, the best that I can get from Ridley, if I make a good movie, he will say, ‘M-hmm.’ But the truth is, he was very generous. He told me several times he loved the film. For me, that meant the world. That’s why I’m more relaxed now. I don’t know how the world will react but the father of the movie is [happy].
How about working with Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford? How did that feel?
People were asking me, ‘how did you convince Harrison?’ I didn’t convince him, I was approved by him! He was in the project; I wasn’t at the beginning. Ryan, both of them, were muses. They had both a direct impact on the storytelling and the creative process. They were not just actors that came on set. Both of them participated with the story. I had a long, long conversation with Ryan Gosling – and the movie evolved a lot from these conversations for the best. Ryan is an actor, he’s also an author, and I knew he was a fantastic actor but he is also a brilliant and very clever storyteller. We found ways to express things – sometimes a more poetic or fresh way. And a lot of my favourite moments in the movie are more moments that were transformed by both actors.
Did Harrison enjoy reprising this character?
I think we were both anxious. That was the biggest challenge for me – to imagine what Rick Deckard would look like thirty years later. We did it together and I needed Harrison… I really needed him to guide me, to help me, recreate this character. We did it together. It was such a huge responsibility, I’m grateful he shared it with me.
In the trailers it sounds like you’re integrating the original Vangelis score. Is that the case?
The thing is, when you make a movie like that, there are two things happening. Me, I’m the director, I am focusing on making the film. Then there’s the marketing department. We agreed… it’s not my responsibility to do the marketing on the film. But I strongly agreed and suggested that they should use Vangelis sounds because it felt appropriate; for me, it’s part of the DNA of Blade Runner. But the music you heard in the trailer, inspired by Vangelis, is not the music of the movie. The music of the movie, honestly, according to my own sensibility and point-of-view, is much better. It’s deeply inspired by Vangelis, but it has its own identity. I insisted that it will be in the same vein. It was super-important. And the movie welcomed that… it was a very strange process. I tried tonnes of different approaches. But it’s really when we went with the [Yamaha] CS-80 – we took the beast out of the closet – and it’s an insane machine. Composers, they work with the CS-80 [Synthesiser] and it’s part of the DNA [of Blade Runner].
You’ve worked with cinematographer Roger Deakins twice before, on Prisoners and Sicario. Did he jump at the chance to work on Blade Runner?
From the very start when I agreed to do the movie, on the very same day I had dinner with Roger and I asked him directly… I didn’t have to convince him. He looked at me with a smile and said, ‘So I heard you’re doing that!’ I said, ‘Yep. Would you like to do it with me?’ And he just extended his hand. That was very Deakins. He’s a very quiet man and he just looked at me with a smile. He was onboard.
You started working with Roger during post-production on Arrival, designing the world of Blade Runner. Why?
I always dreamed to do sci-fi but people don’t realise what it means to create a world. To design all the objects, all the buildings, all the vehicles, it’s so much work. And to inspire everybody and make sure everybody is working in the same direction, I needed that period of time with Roger. I would say I made the movie with Roger Deakins. Honestly, I owe him a lot. Visually, I don’t want to be arrogant and say it’s his best movie. But if it’s not one of his best…it is his best! What he did is remarkable I think. We were able to rethink in a new way the universe and expand it, staying in contact with the spirit of the first movie. That I think we nailed.
Is it difficult having to be so secretive about the film’s plot?
I like to be honest and now sometimes I think ‘I cannot say that because it will be a spoiler and if I say that, I will look not enthusiastic enough.’ I am enthusiastic!
Blade Runner 2049 is in cinemas October 5, 2017