Cyberpunk Now

After being reported cancelled, it appears that director Shekhar Kapur’s new movie, Paani (“Water”) may be made. In a recent interview between Kapur and the Times of India, he said:

Your next film Paani is about water wars. What made you choose this particular topic?

I don’t think you’ll be living in India and not be aware of this issue. I grew up as a kid thinking that water would never run out. And now as a grownup I realise that water is running out. People keep saying that we are facing an environmental issue if we are not careful. But the problem right now with water is that 90 per cent of this world is already short of water and we are heading towards huge social unrest over water. The film is about the same issue.

After gestating for five years, it’s a topic that Kapur feels passionate about, both in interviews about the film and as noted on a Bollywood News site:

In a tweet on March 7, 2011, film helmer Shekhar Kapoor said:
“Paani is not just about Water, it is about Water as a weapon of war against people by those in Power.”

There’s an outside chance that fans might get to see a decent cyberpunk movie, perhaps as early as 2013, between a movie based on Neuromancer directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube and Splice) and a follow-up to Bladerunner directed by Ridley Scott.

The Natali-directed film for Neuromancer sounds more interesting, though lining up financing in order to do it properly may be a challenge.

Seven Arts Pictures PLC has announced an agreement with Prodigy Pictures, Inc. to jointly produce and distribute the highly-anticipated motion picture Neuromancer, based on the best-selling science fiction novel by William Gibson.

Prodigy hopes to arrange substantial financing for the film, which is expected to have a production budget of approximately $60 million.

Fans have been somewhat lukewarm about Scott returning to make a new Bladerunner movie. Part of the issue is when the movie takes place and, given that prequels tend to be a little too much retreading of familiar ground, the movie could simply wind up being a dull nostalgia-fest.

The filmmakers have not yet revealed whether the theatrical project will be a prequel or sequel to the renowned original.

In the meantime, despite which movie you’re anticipating (or not), Memetic Tees has some great shirts with a variety of designs to display your inner geek without looking like you lack a sense of style.

While cyberpunk is often about the impacts of technology on daily life, the impact on deeper structures like morality and social structures is also present. Unfortunately, with visual media, it’s easy to lose sight of that. That’s why I thought it was interesting that a brief article in the Italian version of Vogue about the game Deus Ex: Human Revolution focused on that in examining the gameplay options.

I’ve been reading quite a bit about liminal spaces as they relate to cyberpunk. I’ve also been thinking about how few films capture what might be termed a cyberpunk aesthetic. That’s why the short film “Abigail” by filmmaker Emily Yoshida caught me off-guard since, to judge from the trailer, it encapsulates the idea of liminality with a futuristic feel that also reminds me of what films like Johnny Mnemonic and Code 46 perhaps should have been.

It shouldn’t be surprising considering that she cites Bladerunner as an influence and I hope I’m able to see the film at some point.