Any cinemagoers who found this year's sci-fi blockbuster Blade Runner 2049 a bit wearisome are in good company. Ridley Scott, director of the original 1982 film Blade Runner, has described the 163-minute sequel as "f---ing way too long."
Scott, 80, told New York magazine's Vulture website that he saw himself as partly to blame for the film's length. "I have to be careful what I say," he whispered, before continuing less carefully: "It was f---ing way too long. F--- me! And most of that script's mine."
Scott was an executive producer on the film, but not credited for any contribution to its script. "I sit with writers for an inordinate amount of time and I will not take credit, because it means I've got to sit there with a tape recorder while we talk," he explained. "I can't do that to a good writer. But I have to, because to prove I'm part of the actual process, I have to then have an endless amount [of proof], and I can't be bothered."
The film, which stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, was widely acclaimed by critics, with The Telegraph's Robbie Collin calling it "one of the most spectacular, provocative, profound and spiritually staggering blockbusters of our time" in a five-star review.
In his interview with Vulture, published on Tuesday, Scott spoke candidly about his last-minute decision to remove Kevin Spacey from his latest film All the Money in the World, after several complaints of alleged sexual misconduct levelled at the actor.
