‘Blade Runner 2049’ director Denis Villeneuve had to ask Ridley Scott to leave the film set – because he couldn’t work under the pressure of being watched by his hero.
The ‘Arrival’ director and Scott – who helmed the original ‘Blade Runner’ movie in 1982 – worked closely on the script of the sequel starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling, but he helmed it alone.
Denis told Deadline: "He came on set one day and after a few minutes standing behind me it was unbearable.
"I made a joke, I asked him, ‘Hey Ridley – who is your favourite director?’ And he said, ‘I love Kubrick and Bergman.’
"’So Ridley, how [would] you feel if you were on set and you had Bergman just behind you?’
"And he burst out laughing and he walked off the set.
"Because I was trying to direct Harrison Ford and I was like, ‘No, it doesn’t work.’"
Denis told how the award-winning ‘Gladiator’ director promised to leave him to helm on his own, which he admitted was a "gift".
He explained: "He was there a lot, and not a lot, for the best.
"He was there a lot because I was dealing with the screenplay – I was dealing with his ideas, his universe, his characters – so I was thinking about Ridley all the time. I had a responsibility to honour the legacy of the original movie.
"Now he told me right at the start he would give me all the space, all the freedom, that it would be my responsibility, and that if I needed him he would be at the other end of the line. But otherwise I would be alone. And that for me was the best gift I could receive, because I would never have been able to work with Ridley behind me."
Denis Villeneuve: I couldn’t work with Ridley Scott on set
