Ridley Scott's been going I-don't-give-a-fuck in his interviews for “All The Money In The World.” The 80 year-old director has even gone as far as criticizing “Blade Runner 2049,” saying the film was “too fucking long,” and saying he'd cut off half an hour, at the very least of the released cut.
“It’s slow. It’s slow. Long. Too long. I would have taken out half an hour,” Scott told Al Arabiya. It wasn't more than 24 hours before Villeneuve publicly defended his film and responded to Scott's comments. Talking to Screen Daily the Quebecois director said “There was a first version that was more substantial but after it came down to that length it was obvious what needed to be done. Then we were just removing little bits, trying to refine the cut, but it always stayed that length,” “The producers were afraid I would cut too much and they told me not to focus on the running time. They didn’t want me to feel any pressure and wanted me to make the movie I needed to make. They didn’t compromise that. Alcon are the real deal. They are movie-lovers.”
So, there you have it. I tend to agree with Scott that the film was a half hour cut away from being a great movie, but the shades of brilliance were nonetheless eyepopping, no thanks to Roger Deakins' masterful visuals and Villeneuve's risk-taking narrative. There should be more movies like "Blade Runner 2049" in Hollywood, but there aren't, risk-taking is dead. Enjoy every artful statement that comes from the big studio system because it's becoming a dying breed.