Live Chat With Charles De Lauzirika December 11 2007  

Subject: Live Chat with Charles de Lauzirika
Date: Monday, December 11, 2007


<@RonEpstein> I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Charles de Lauzirika to our chat this evening.  
When you look at DVD and the Special Editions that have been released over the years, there is a lot of
history that lies with Charlie. Charles de Lauzirika has been involved with some of the most elaborate Special
Editions ever released including Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut, Alien Quadrilogy, Gladiator and Twin Peaks.
On December 18th Charlie's latest labor of love, "Blade Runner: The Final Cut/The Collector's Edition/The
Ultimate Collector's Edition" will be arriving on DVD through Warner Home Video.

<@RonEpstein> This evening we are proud to have Charlie with us, along with the folks from Warner Home
Video.  Welcome Charlie!

<@Warner_Brothers> Hi everyone.  Charlie here.  Having some tech issues here at the lovely offices of Warner
Home Video!  But I'll do my best.  
 
<@ParkerClack> Hello Charlie.

<@RonEpstein> Charlie, I understand you came out of USC Film School and started interning for Ridley and
 Tony Scott.  What was the DVD climate like back then?

<@Warner_Brothers> Considering I graduated three years before DVD was launched, it was more of a laserdisc
climate...which was a great thing to have at film school for reference and study...but even better for
watching films in their proper OAR.  I was mostly doing development work, reading scripts and writing story
notes.  I learned a lot but quickly wanted to move on to something more creative.

<@RonEpstein> When DVD slowly became the mainstream, was it difficult to convince Ridley to do these
extravegant Special Edition projects?  What was the first Special Edition you worked on?

<@Warner_Brothers> Ridley was already interested and participating in laserdiscs, so jumping to DVD
wasn't a big leap for him.  He's always interested in being on the cutting edge.

<@RonEpstein> What was the first actual Special Edition that you produced?

<@Warner_Brothers> Gladiator: Signature Edition was the first DVD I served on as a producer.  Around the same
time I was also working on Legend and then Hannibal.

<@ParkerClack> Gladiator looked better on DVD than it did in the theaters, IMHO.

<@RonEpstein> Gladiator was an awesome release.   

<@Warner_Brothers> It's a great disc for home theater demo, that's for sure!  Especially the Battle of Carthage.

<@RonEpstein> From all that I have read about the work you have done, it seems that it was Blade Runner that was
your biggest labor of love.  I know that it took approximately 7 years for this DVD to come to light.  Can you
tell us a little bit about the different versions that are about to be released to DVD next week?

<@Warner_Brothers> In short, there's a version for everybody: The Final Cut, Theatrical Cut, International Cut,
Director's Cut and the long-sought-after Workprint.  

<@RonEpstein> I'm going to open the floor up so that others can ask you questions.  

<+Jacob> from all of the Blade runners.. I want to thank you for making the Blade Runner boxset. I got to
see the digital screening twice and it was very amazing.. it didn't look like a movie of 25 years old.. best
to you and your crew on the Blade Runner set.. what other underrated titles would you like the fans to catch
up.. like revenge or something like that.

<@Warner_Brothers> Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut, by far.  It's like an all-new experience, deeper, more
emotional and powerful.  I can't recommend it enough.  Thanks for the always-kind words, Jacob!
 

<@RonEpstein> Charlie, has there been a set that you have worked on that you wish you could go back and
improve upon -- possibly for reasons that there were legal or time constraints?  I realize there are a lot of
perfectionists like yourself who may not be completely satisfied with a piece of work they were involved with.

<@Warner_Brothers> Wow, good question, Ron.  I think I'd like to revisit most of them for various reasons.  
 But without question, I'd love to revisit ALIEN 3.  It really could have been a grand slam, but right now,
 it's just a triple.  

<+Kris> Do you think every change to the Final Cut had a clear rationale behind it and was for the better?
Did you ever feel things were getting out of hand and small changes -like modifying lights and signs and
other props- were being made just because you could or to justify calling it a new version/cut?

<@Warner_Brothers> Interesting question, Kris.  It was a long, organic process designed to fix things that
took viewers out of the movie...flaws or problems that derailed the experience.  All of the changes were made
with that mindset. Ultimately, this cut was produced to make Ridley happy with the film...once and for all.  
And I think we've finally done that.  

<+ClaytonSmith> Harrison Ford doesn't seem very fond of his experience with Blade Runner, hardly ever talking
about the movie. Was it difficult to get his participation for Dangerous Days? What does he think about the cult
following the movie has obtained over the years?

<@Warner_Brothers> Out of the 80-ish interviews we shot for Dangerous Days and the other featurettes, Harrison
Ford was #2.  He said yes immediately.  And he was charming and a total pro.  Probably the only time I've ever
been starstruck, interviewing Han Solo/Indiana Jones/Rick Deckard face-to-face.  

<@RonEpstein> That must have been the experience of a lifetime, Charlie.   Where did you guys meet to do the Interview?  

<@Warner_Brothers> I shot Harrison's interview in Ridley's office in L.A. -- we also shot Rutger Hauer, Hampton
Fancher, Katherine Haber and Ridley in the same room!  Pay attention to those interviews for a free tour of
Ridley's personal office.  

<+Zen_Butler> Charlie, do you feel a sense of relief now that the Ultimate 5 disc, it appears, will answer
the prayers of MOST BR fans?

<@Warner_Brothers> You bet, Zen.  But part of me would love to keep working on this forever, believe it or not.  
But I'm very happy by the response.  

<@ParkerClack> There is something that has always bugged me about the movie. There is a shot of Rutger in a
phone booth and he has a finger on his right shoulder. Did that get cleaned up in the final cut?

<@Warner_Brothers> Parker, oh yes!  That was a big, obvious fix we had to tackle.  The new version looks great!  

<+Aaron_Silverman> I've been waiting for this since I traded my original BR DVD for the Criterion edition of
The Killer (which should tell you how long it's been! ;)  Question: If you were writing/ directing the Final
Cut of this film, do you prefer the story to be "Deckard is a Replicant" or "Deckard is human," and why?

<@Warner_Brothers> Personally, I'm leaning towards Deckard being human.  But I don't think it matters either
way.  As Hampton Fancher says on the DVD, the question is interesting.  The answer is stupid.  

<+Kris> There's been a lot of talk of new film scans being made for the work on the Final Cut and so on.
Were the three original versions presented on DVD/BD/HD also derived from these new materials or were they
from some older source?

<@Warner_Brothers> All FOUR of the original versions (don't forget the Workprint!) were taken from original
source elements and giving all-new HD transfers.  The Final Cut went through a 4K digital intermediate process
which is why it looks so great  Also...We didn't want to alter the traditional look of the archival versions,
otherwise that would defeat the purpose of including them.  

<@RonEpstein> We saw a 4k demonstartion from JV while out at CEDIA.  It looked incredible -- like nothing
consumers have ever seen.  

<+Zen_Butler> The Final Cut did look awesome! Saw it twice in LA. Charlie to my recollection in the FC was any
of Vangelis's music added, moved or new?

<@Warner_Brothers> Thanks, Zen!  There was no new Vangelis music, however two bits were extended for the Final Cut:
the Unicorn dream and the end credits.  Otherwise, it's the same, but with a better mix.

<+Jacob> couple of quick questions.. what is your favorite extras that you are most proud of in the new boxset..
and what was it like interviewing Sean Young and Joanna Cassidy?

<@Warner_Brothers> Well, I think Dangerous Days turned out great, but my absolute favorite part of the Ultimate
Collector's Edition is the Deleted & Alternate Scenes section, or BR 5.5, if you will.  Such a blast to put
together. Sean's interview came very late in the process, but she was a lot of fun to interview.  I've had
some great conversations with her since.  Joanna's interview gave birth to the idea of bringing her back to
reshoot her death scene, and we show the actual first conversation about it on Disc 5 in "All Our Variant Futures."

<+ClaytonSmith> As everyone here knows, this Blade Runner collection sets a new golden standard for home video
releases. You and everyone involved did a magnificent job. Even so, was there anything that you wanted to do for
this set that you didn't have time/resources/money/etc. to accomplish?

<@Warner_Brothers> Great question, Clayton...that's true for EVERY project I've worked on. The one thing we came
close to including was a section devoted to Ralph Bakshi's developed-but-abandoned Blade Runner animated series.  
We made contact with Mr. Bakshi and almost pulled it off, but he eventually bowed out.  Maybe for the 2019 Edition!  




<@RonEpstein> Do the folks at Warner brothers want to give away a Ultimate Collector's Edition Deckard
Briefcase?  Do we have a trivia question perhaps?

<@Warner_Brothers> Trivia time...if you're ready...

<@RonEpstein> Okay.  We are giving one of our chat attendees the opportunity to win a Blade Runner: Ultimate
Collector's Edition Deckard Briefcase on format of choice.  The first person top answer the trivia question WINS!

<@Warner_Brothers> QUESTION: What was Leon's last name?

<Zen_Butler> Kewolski
<Aaron_Silverman> Kowalski

<@RonEpstein> Did Zen have the right answer?

<@Warner_Brothers> Question to Ron and Parker...does spelling count?

<@RonEpstein> Nah.  WE won't penalize for spelling

<@Warner_Brothers> Okay...we're giving a 5-disc UCE to Zen for speed, and a 4-disc to Aaron for accuracy.

<@RonEpstein> Very cool!  Congrats guys!

<@ParkerClack> ok, now I'm jealous.


<@Warner_Brothers> We have time for one final question...

<+JasonStreet> I hope it wasn't asked before I joined, anyway: Charles, I recall in an interview you
 mentioned that you wanted to do your own feature film in the near future, any news there?

<@Warner_Brothers> Thanks for asking, Jason.  That's still very true.  If all goes well, we start shooting
 May 5th.  More to come...

<@RonEpstein> Next Tuesday 12/18 you can find Blade Runner: The Final Cut/The Collector's Edition/The Ultimate
Collector's Edition on your store shelves.  I want to thank Charlie de LAuzirika and the folks from Warner
Brothers for joining us tonight.  Congrats to Aaron and Zen on winning Blade Runner on their choice of format.

<@Warner_Brothers> Thanks everyone.  I truly appreciate all the support you've given the various projects I've
worked on over the years and I hope you all enjoy BLADE RUNNER Ultimate Collector's Edition!


Session Close: Tue Dec 11 20:16:55 2007


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