I was assisting Dean Tavoularis, who was Francis’ designer and did all the Godfather films and Apocalypse Now. K (Ryan Gosling) steps away from his "spinner" car toward a bleak and brutal landscape.Īmerican Cinematographer : What impressions did the original Blade Runner make on you?ĭennis Gassner: In 1981 I was working at American Zoetrope, Francis Ford Coppola’s company. In the weeks leading up to Blade Runner 2049’s release, AC caught up with Gassner over the phone to discuss his work on the production.
Skyfall had previously teamed him with Deakins, and the two have also collaborated on several films for the Coen Brothers as well as director Sam Mendes’ Jarhead ( AC Nov. Gassner’s career has spanned classics such as Field of Dreams and Bugsy as well as the recent James Bond adventures Quantum of Solace ( AC Nov. Paull for the original Blade Runner (see AC July 1982) - returned as an executive producer for 2049, and behind the scenes, Villeneuve assembled a team of collaborators that included cinematographer Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC and production designer Dennis Gassner. Scott - who had partnered with cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth, ASC and production designer Lawrence G. As he follows one clue to the next, he eventually finds Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), the erstwhile blade runner of the original film who’s been in hiding for three decades and who just might hold the key to unlocking the full truth behind K’s discovery. While working a case, K makes a discovery that could have profound consequences for humans and replicants alike.
Picking up 30 years after the events of director Ridley Scott’s sci-fi feature Blade Runner, Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 follows “K” (Ryan Gosling), a replicant-hunting “blade runner” for the LAPD - replicants being synthetic humans manufactured as slave labor, some of whom have shown an illegal predilection for free will and rebellion. Unit photography by Stephen Vaughan, courtesy of Alcon Entertainment
Production designer Dennis Gassner discusses the “brutal” environments of director Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious sequel.