Ridley Scott hasn’t read reviews of his films in more than 40 years, all thanks to the iconic late critic Pauline Kael.
Auteur Scott told The Hollywood Reporter that after Kael eviscerated his now-classic 1982 feature “Blade Runner,” he hasn’t looked at critics’ takes again.
“Pauline Kale in The New Yorker killed me stone dead with her ‘Blade Runner’ review. It was four pages of destruction,” Scott said. “I never met her. I was so offended.”
At the time, Kael wrote that Scott had a “creepy, oppressive vision” in “Blade Runner,” deeming the film a “suspense-less thriller” that was “unpleasant [and] ugly.”
While Scott hasn’t looked at reviews for his films since then, he does re-read Kael’s takedown quite often.
“I framed those pages and they’ve been in my office for 30 years to remind me there’s only one critic that counts and that’s you,” Scott said. “I haven’t read critiques ever since. Because if it’s a good one, you can get a swollen head and forget yourself. And if it’s a bad one, you’re so depressed that it’s debilitating.”
And out of all of the sequences in his sprawlingly prolific directorial career, Scott said he is most proud of the opening shot of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles in “Blade Runner.”
“I think [it’s] terrific — go fuck yourself, Pauline,” Scott said.
“Blade Runner” landed a 2017 Oscar-winning sequel, “Blade Runner 2049,” which was directed by Denis Villeneuve. The film went on to win Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Cinematography for Roger Deakins. Scott executive produced the sequel, but later said that he regretted not directing it.
The “Blade Runner” franchise is also expanding again with an upcoming Prime Video limited series “Blade Runner 2099,” which is set in the vein of “Brave New World.” Scott will produce the 10-episode show with Jeremy Podeswa (“Game of Thrones”) directing the pilot and Silka Luisa (“Shining Girls”) as the showrunner.
“I’ve created the pace visually for a while,” Scott told THR about his films being adapted into shows. “I know exactly what I’ve done and how it has been influential, because I keep seeing it — ‘Oh, there’s me … there’s me…’ It was annoying initially, but now it’s amusing and healthy. […] I can’t hope for anything more other than to keep it alive. I don’t care what the platform is. I’m keen to go home and watch it. All these subjects are embalmed forever and that’s very healthy.”
