2017 Brought
Blade Runner Back

It's funny they set the sequel to Blade Runner in the year 2049 when it could've easily been set in 2017. Though maybe that wouldn't have made sense since the original was set in 2019. Maybe a prequel could've worked? In any case, 2017 was the year they brought Blade Runner back, both on screen and in real life.

The Blade Runner sequel, Blade Runner 2049, arrived in the original's 35th-anniversary year. At its LA premiere that October, Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott were reunited under the same roof. The two infamously clashed while making the first film, though they've long since made peace.

The event was scaled back in respect for the victims of the Las Vegas tragedy just a few days before. What would've been a standard red-carpet night at the Dolby Theatre became a screening with the carpet cancelled and much less fanfare. My friend worked for a popular entertainment magazine at the time, and she got me in.

I didn't want to miss this chance to get my Blade Runner movie poster signed, so I brought it along despite how low-key the night was. My friend tried to dissuade me at first, but she also wanted some autographs, so she eventually caved and even helped me meet Ford and Scott.

They were the two I was most hoping to catch that night, and I'd hoped some of the other original cast members would be there too. Anyway, at least Ford was there, since he was my favorite part of the first film.

Meeting them was all I expected. Ford was always the quiet type in real life, so I wasn't surprised he felt kinda guarded during our interaction. He probably didn't expect a fan to approach him and ask for an autograph that night, since it felt more private. Nevertheless, he still signed my poster and shook my hand.

Ridley Scott was more personable, but even with our pleasant encounter, I still felt how intense he was. I don't know; he was still very nice, but something about him felt different. Not off or weird, just different. I'm only grateful I got his autograph that night.

As if that night wasn't enough, some of the original cast members reunited at NY WinterCon that December. Kevin Thompson, Joanna Cassidy, William Sanderson, Sean Young, and Rutger Hauer all attended the 35th-anniversary reunion at Resorts World in Queens and talked about making the movie. These were the exact people I'd wished were at the Blade Runner 2049 screening. And yet, even with all of them there, I didn't get all of their autographs that day.

I only got Joanna Cassidy and Sean Young to sign the same poster. I don't know what happened; I just missed my chance to meet the others, which is sad because Rutger Hauer passed away two years later.

Over the past few years, I eventually met Daryl Hannah and Edward James Olmos and got them to sign the poster, too. They were pleasant encounters, but 2017 still sticks out to me as one of the best years for a Blade Runner fan like me.