The Secret War Waged Behind The Scenes Of Blade Runner
There's a whole host of reasons why "Blade Runner" is regarded as one of the most compelling films ever made. There's its masterful blend of film noir and cyberpunk tropes, the questions it raises about identity, and of course, there's the multiple cuts of the film ranging from the theatrical cut to the "Final Cut," where director Ridley Scott was finally able to deliver on his uncompromised vision. However, it turns out that Scott's on-set battles weren't just limited to the story on the screen.
In a 2017 oral history for Vanity Fair published prior to the release of "Blade Runner 2049," a number of secrets were revealed from behind the scenes of the sci-fi classic. In addition to a grueling production process that earned the film the nickname "Blood Runner," a major split between crew members occurred deep into production — and its origin is extremely weird, even by Hollywood standards.
Scott Free or Die Hard
Scott hadn't been making things easy for his collaborators. He butted heads with screenwriter Hampton Fancher, leading to David Peoples rewriting vast portions of the "Blade Runner" screenplay (and Fancher cursing both of them out when he found out.) He inserted clues into the narrative that Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard was actually a replicant; this led to conflict with Ford, who hated the idea. However, the biggest battle wasn't even Scott's fault.
While "Blade Runner" was filming, the Manchester Guardian published an article where Scott expressed his preference for working with mainly British crews, and mentioned that they replied "Yes Guv'nor" to every one of his requests. Sounds innocent enough, right? It turns out that this article would wind up driving a wedge between members of the production. Katy Haber, who was an assistant to "Blade Runner" producer Michael Deely at the time, revealed the details.
Talk About Your Graphic Tees
According to Haber, one of the crew members took it upon themselves to show the article to other cast members:
"Ridley read the article and left it in his trailer ... and his camper driver found the article, printed up 20 or 30 copies, and left them next to the coffee canteen so that the entire crew could see it."
This was the last straw for make-up supervisor Marvin Westmore. After he read the article, Westmore printed a number of T-shirts for the American members of the cast; some bore the simple phrase "YES GUV'NOR MY ASS!" while others read "Will Rogers never met Ridley Scott." Rogers, a legendary American actor, was infamous for saying "I never met a person I didn't like" — a clear sign that the American crew was at the end of their rope.
When Haber told Soctt about the shirts, he was worried at first ... but then he came up with the perfect comeback. Ridley and the British crew members — including Haber, Deeley, and producer Ivor Powell — soon donned their own shirts within hours that read "XENOPHOBIA SUCKS." This led to a round of laughs-and a mending of fences. It's also proof that everyone loves a well-designed T-shirt.