Sony movies chief Tom Rothman quipped “Netflix my [expletive]” on Monday as he presented new footage from Blade Runner 2049, showing a more dystopian and dark movie than the original.
The studio boss took a swipe at the internet streamer at a sneak preview of the sequel to Ridley Scott’s cult sci-fi classic at CinemaCon, an annual gathering of theatre owners in Las Vegas.
Netflix has found itself in conflict with the operators of movie theatres in the past because its original content goes straight onto viewers’ TVs and mobile devices.
Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 sees Harrison Ford reprise his role as Rick Deckard from the 1982 movie, while Ryan Gosling leads a cast of newcomers including Jared Leto and Robin Wright.
“Prepare to start going steady with edge of your seats,” Gosling joked as introduced bleak scenes from Los Angeles and a snowbound Las Vegas, all of which were filmed in Budapest.
“It was so surreal to be walking around the universe of ‘Blade Runner’ and the craftsmanship on this film is on another level. Every location was real, every set was there, every prop was functional,” Gosling said.
“It was a fully functioning living breathing world and it made it easy for us to focus on the internal world of these characters because the external world was so fully realised and rich in detail.”
Gosling, who was two when the original came out, said he didn’t see it until he was around 14, having watched many of the films “that stole from it” first.
“I was blown away by how influential this film had been, not only in film but in my reality as well. It was quite a prophetic film in so many ways,” he said.
“It influenced the world that I grew up in.”
Blade Runner 2049 is due for release on October 6.
