Ridley Scott is the executive producer of a new television series, “Prophets of Science Fiction,” which premieres on Discovery Communications Inc.’s Science Channel tonight.
“Prophets of Science Fiction” explores how visionary authors such as Philip K. Dick and H.G. Wells accurately predicted future scientific advancements such as medical research, virtual reality and civilian surveillance techniques.
Scott is a host on each hour-long episode, which includes commentary by experts such as theoretical physicists, biographers, and film directors. “Because I have a television company, we gradually have evolved into doing documentary television and reconstruction documentary, so this is how we found our way into this,” Scott told Speakeasy. “They said to me I seem to be a natural fit to be one of the spokesmen on the show. So that’s how it came about and how could I say no? I am a science fiction enthusiast really, deep down.”
Scott has directed two sci-fi films that helped define the genre and cemented his legacy among sci-fi fans for more than three decades: “Alien” (1979) and “Blade Runner” (1982). He just finished his third sci-fi movie, “Prometheus,” shot in 3-D with CGI, which will be released in June 2012, and he told the Journal recently that he plans to direct a “Blade Runner” sequel.
The premiere episode is on Mary Shelley, author of “Frankenstein.” Others who will be featured in the season are Philip K. Dick, H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, Robert Heinlein and George Lucas.
Scott’s film, “Blade Runner,” was inspired by a novel by Philip K. Dick, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” about Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter searching for sophisticated, rogue androids.
“I think Phil Dick was particularly interesting in that first of all, he was a very modern man and a very modern thinker, but I don’t know what demons drove him,” Scott said in the interview. “I think he was a little bit paranoid and you know how people become obsessive about deterioration or disintegration or growing older? I think he was very conscious of the way the world was going into an area of negativity as opposed to positivity.”
“What science fiction enables us to do is look into those futures from where we are now to where we are going,” Scott continued. “Certain kinds of movies do that and what’s interesting is a lot of them lean very much toward decay. Decay in the metaphorical sense of the world of not getting better but getting worse. People have found the romanticism in that.”
Ridley Scott on 'Prophets of Science Fiction' and Philip K. Dick
No comments:
Post a Comment