It is something of a rare treat to see a movie at Warner Brothers. I was fortunate enough to purchase a few tickets to a Blade Runner benefit screening right on the studio’s lot in Burbank for Paul Prischman, who among many other things, was associate producer on the Final Cut that film lovers like me salivated over last year when it was finally delivered to our grubby hands in gorgeous multi-disc DVD, HD DVD, and Blu Rays of all flavors under the rainbow. He’s also worked on another one of my favorite filims– Kingdom of Heaven. Bless him.
Paul is battling brain cancer. This screening is just one of the many promised fundraising events coordinated by his friends.
Although my brother lived in Burbank for a number of years, and therefore I’ve driven by the studio countless times, I’ve never been inside. This, is a good way to do it. Visitors were to park at a WB lot across the street from the actual complex. There a first wave of security checked your identity not long after you left your vehicle (paypal receipt and driver’s license were required), after which, you could cross the street and negotiate another security checkpoint before actually entering the lot. There, more guards greeted the attendees, while we filed through a metal detector. Cellphones weren’t even allowed, forget about cameras. They weren’t kidding around. (someone did get escorted out of the theatre for I assume, photography)
It was quiet on this weekend day, save for the security along the route that ushered the crowd along making certain nothing untoward was going on, I suppose. We had to literally walk across the Warner’s lot to get to the theatre— which might look like a detriment on paper, but was actually a helluva perk. You were walking through cinematic history, no doubts about it. Although it was mostly discrete, with closed off soundstages, I did spot a few interesting things like a parking space reserved for Zach Snyder (300, Watchmen), and a herd of Nerd Herd Toyota’s (NBC’s Chuck). Mostly I just soaked in the coolness of strolling on hallowed cinematic ground.
Eventually we hit the “New York Street” portion of the Warner’s lot, a street with buildings dressed to look the part of its namesake. Amongst countless other films, one called Blade Runner was filmed right here about two and a half decades ago. The Stephen J Ross theatre was here, and was absolutely gorgeous inside. Seeing a film here is certainly a wonderful experience. Blade Runner looked absolutely pristine. And barring the few shots where we see characters using flickery CRT tube screens, the world looks convincing even by today’s standards. The restoration coupled with the 4K projection made everything POP, and that’s no off-hand catchphrase.
The Q&A afterward featured concept artist Syd Mead, screenwriters Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, production exec Katherine Haber, producer Michael Deeley, replicants Joanna Cassidy and Nina Axelrod, and finally, Ridley Scott. It was both entertaining and informative with quite a few questions and subsequent answers regarding ‘Unicorn scene’ (of which Ridley chose to test for his next film that would feature the mythical heavily), and of course the whole issue of ‘Replicants’ and whether a certain character was or was not one.
To watch one of my favorite films, at this venue, with fellow die hards, and with so many of the crew in attendance was simply amazing on a personal level. It also felt good to contribute in some small way to a good cause. Although the mood of the event was at times subdued considering the circumstances, there was an amazing energy of support in the air. As aintitcoolnews puts it, Paul is “one of the good guys”. While I don’t know the man, one can easily see this to be true by the company he keeps.
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