Ridley Scott: 'Blade Runner 2049' Bombed Because 'It's Slow' & 'Way Too Long'

Ridley Scott is that guy who'll just tell you when you look fat. At least he'll wait until after you ask him how you look. And then he'll call himself "a bitch" for being so blunt.

Ridley Scott directed the first "Blade Runner" film, which came out in 1982, loosely based on a novel by Philip K. Dick. Ridley did not direct the 2017 sequel "Blade Runner 2049," although he was heavily involved with the script. Instead, "Arrival" and "Sicario" director Denis Villeneuve took the helm. "Blade Runner 2049" got rave reviews from critics, but underperformed big time at the box office.

Ridley is now on the promotion circuit for "All the Money in the World," and while getting candid about those reshoots, he got candid about Villeneuve's film.

At the end of this video, Al Arabiya's William Mullally asks Ridley about "Blade Runner":

Al Arabiya: "Blade Runner 2049 was a wonderful movie."

Ridley Scott: "Yes."

Al Arabiya: "But it didn't perform to expectations."

Ridley Scott: "No."

Al Arabiya: "What would you attribute that too, personally?"

Ridley Scott: "Um, it's slow. It's slow. Long. Too long. I would have taken out half an hour."

He said something similar -- but with more f-bombs -- to Vulture.

What did you make of the way Blade Runner 2049 was received?
[Whispers] I have to be careful what I say. I have to be careful what I say. It was f*cking way too long. F*ck me! And most of that script's mine.

After going into detail about the script, and his ideas, Ridley eventually stopped himself, saying, "I shouldn't talk. I'm being a bitch." That whole Vulture interview is gold -- including talk about "Star Wars" and the "Bohemian Rhapsody" mess.

But it's true that Ridley probably shouldn't talk, since there are seven different versions of his "Blade Runner" out there, including a U.S. theatrical cut, an international cut, the director's cut, and a final cut, among others. And "Blade Runner" was hardly a smash at the box office in its initial release either, with it too being called "slow" (even at 117 minutes vs. "2049" at 163 minutes.) The "misunderstood" film earned cult status, and was only accepted as a masterpiece over time.

Denis Villeneuve talked to Yahoo Entertainment about the reviews vs. box office disparity:

"I'm still digesting it. It had the best [reviews] of my life. I never had a movie welcomed like that. At the same time, the box office in the United States was a disappointment, that's the truth, because those movies are expensive. It will still make tons of money but not enough. The thing I think is that, it was maybe because people were not familiar enough with the universe. And the fact the movie's long. I don't know, it's still a mystery to me."

"Blade Runner 2049" just came out on digital this week, with the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD arriving on January 16. And then maybe we'll get half a dozen more versions later.

[Via: Bleeding Cool]

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