BLADE RUNNER ... TAKE 2
Ryan Gosling stars in revamped sequel to beloved sci-fi adventure
When Ryan Gosling is told he’s had a year of living famously, the 36-year-old smirks a little. “I guess you could say that,” admits the star who grew up in Cornwall, Ont.
At the Oscars last winter, he was nominated as best actor for his La La Land turn as a want to-be-star piano player. In a month, he’ll start shooting his role of astronaut Neil Armstrong in the biopic First Man directed by La La Land’s Damien Chazelle. And then there is the much-anticipated sequel Blade Runner 2049.
Directed by Montreal’s Denis Villeneuve, the dystopian sci-fi thriller features Gosling as LAPD officer K. He’s a new blade runner assigned to track down Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard, a former blade runner who vanished 30 years before. Deckard’s disappearance might be linked to a possible biorobotic event that could threaten human existence.
The film also includes Robin Wright, who portrays K’s boss. Jared Leto is the corporate head honcho who sends his lethal assistant Luv (Sylvia Hoeks) after K. Ana de Armas is Joi, who serves as K’s infatuation.
Expect lots of action, a few plot twists, references to the original film and philosophical asides on what it means to be a human, a replicant and a creation that falls somewhere in between. Blade Runner director Ridley Scott has his imprint on the sequel as executive producer and the driving force behind the followup. The movie, though, is also a Villeneuve sound and vision extravaganza recalling his previous acclaimed productions of Arrival and Sicario.
What took everybody so long? First, complicated rights to Blade Runner had to be sorted out more than a decade ago.
In 2011, Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher fashioned a short story in the same universe, which motivated Scott to consider a resolution to the question, ‘What happened to Deckard?’
Fancher and co-writer Michael Green came up with what Scott considered an answer to please everybody, including hopelessly devoted Blade Runner fans.
“I met with Ridley over the course of a year as he was working on the sequel, because as a fan I was curious,” Gosling says. “When I finally read the script, I was completely engaged.”
So was Villeneuve, who became involved around the same time as Gosling. But Villeneuve needed and received Scott’s stamp of approval before he’d accept the test. Before filming began, Scott, Villeneuve, Gosling and Ford agreed, too, that the sequel had to be a standalone narrative.
“I think we accomplished that,” Gosling says. “It’s a love letter to the original, but the new story is its own thing.
“All of the esthetic choices came from the story and the characters and that instilled a great amount of confidence in me. I was challenged by it, but I was also excited about the opportunity.”
Villeneuve made the process easier by encouraging the actors to immerse themselves in their portrayals by improvising when the notion struck them.
As Gosling points out, “Denis made it clear from the started he wanted partners as he creates, and expected that from us.”
Naturally, Gosling was thrilled to act opposite Ford, one of his heroes growing up. He wasn’t disappointed by the person or the performer.
“Harrison was fully formed before he became famous, so that shows by the way he treats everybody on set with same sort of respect,” Gosling says. “He shows up every day focused and ready to work and make something great, and all you have to do is follow him in a scene because he’s already figured it out.”
Certainly, the fight sequence between their characters is noteworthy. And Gosling was quick to confess that the 75-year-old Ford held his own. Neither of the actors was seriously injured in the battle, but the younger actor acknowledges catching a Ford fist in the face on one occasion.
“Harrison always reminds me that there were 99 punches thrown and he only hit me once,” Gosling says.
Perhaps less combative but just as daunting will be Gosling’s portrayal of Armstrong in First Man, which profiles the space mission leading to the first man to walk on the moon in 1969.
Based on James Hansen’s biography First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, the movie tells the story of NASA’s mission during the years from 1961 to 1969, which led to one of the most dangerous space events in history.
“We’re ready to launch,” says Gosling, who will start shooting First Man in Atlanta next month.