Ridley Scott Announces Blade Runner-Inspired Web Series

Widely considered a masterpiece of modern cinema, 1982’s Blade Runner helped set the tone for a new generation of science-fiction films with its gritty noir-inspired story and its revolutionary special effects. 27 years later, the film’s director, Ridley Scott, hopes to recapture some of the film’s magic with a new web-series inspired  by the movie, entitled Purefold.

The web-series, which could debut as early as this summer, is being produced by a new division of Ridley Scott’s commercial production company, RSA Films. Set two years in the future, approximately eight years before the events of Blade Runner, Purefold will serve as a sort of prequel to the original film. The reason I say “sort of prequel” is because the rights to the story on which Blade Runner was based, Phillip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” are held by the estate of the deceased author.

Although it is not technically a direct prequel to Blade Runner, Purefold could still offer compelling science-fiction for fans of the original film by appealing to its core themes. As explained by David Bausola, founder of the independent production company Ag8, which is working with RSA to produce the series,

“It’s actually based on the same themes as ‘Blade Runner.’ It’s the search for what it means to be human and understanding the notion of empathy.”

Another interesting aspect of Purefold is its unique collaborative approach to production. In addition to soliciting story input from viewers of the show via the social networking website FriendFeed, Purefold will be released under a Creative Commons license, something which has never been done before my a major Hollywood director. Through the Creative Commons license, aspiring filmmakers and fans of Purefold will be able to remix the series in anyway they like.

What do you think? Would you watch a Blade Runner-inspired web series?

Source: New York Times via First Showing