The film Blade Runner (1982) was a box office flop, but is now regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films ever made.

Recently, a number of storyboards from the massive collection of Geoff Hutchins at http://www.ridleyville.com have been posted online.

These may have been made by Ridley Scott himself. Since he was trained for seven years in art school, he's well known for making extensive storyboards for his films and considers it his "most complete and personal film." Partly because it was made following his older brother Frank's death.

Some of the images look like they're made from stills or photocopies of the movie. Especially since the first one is a picture of Leon Kowalski (Brion James). I'm not sure how to explain that one.

See more after the jump and click on the images to enlarge.

See more Blade Runner memorabilia at http://www.ridleyville.com

Wikipedia Description
Blade Runner is a 1982 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.

The film depicts a dystopian Los Angeles in November 2019 in which genetically engineered organic robots called replicants—visually indistinguishable from adult humans—are manufactured by the powerful Tyrell Corporation as well as by other "mega–manufacturers" around the world. Their use on Earth is banned and replicants are exclusively used for dangerous, menial or leisure work on off-world colonies. Replicants who defy the ban and return to Earth are hunted down and "retired" by police special operatives known as "Blade Runners". The plot focuses on a brutal and cunning group of recently escaped replicants hiding in Los Angeles and the burnt out expert Blade Runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who reluctantly agrees to take on one more assignment to hunt them down.

Via Gizmodo

What do you think of the illustrations? Do they look like Ridley Scott's artwork? If not, do you know who did it?

@ Copyright 1982 Ladd Company, The, Shaw Brothers, Warner Bros. Pictures. All rights reserved

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When legendary Star Wars artist Ralph McQuarrie died, we lost the most influential concept artists in film history.

Here's the description of the video:
"On August 24, 2012 at Star Wars Celebration VI, fans witnessed the premiere screening of the Ralph McQuarrie Retrospective.

"Now, take an exclusive look at the first 4 minutes of the film! Legends of the entertainment industry remember McQuarrie and his work and influence on the industry, their careers, and on the Star Wars movies in particular.

"McQuarrie's concept art is credited with helping George Lucas get the green light to produce the first Star Wars movie, and generations of artists and movie makers were inspired by this late artist's work. Watch the first four minutes here."



As amazing as this film is, there's no word on when it actually comes out. So, we'll have to keep our eyes open.

See more of Ralph McQuarrie work and life at RalphMcQuarrie.com

What do you think of Ralph McQaurrie's influence on the Star Wars films?

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Shawna Trpcic, is a professional Hollywood costume designer and worked on a bunch of Joss Whedon projects including Firefly, Angel, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and Dollhouse. On December 15th, she auctioned off a bunch of items in her eBay store.

The items are no longer for sale, but you can see a sample of the images to get an idea of the broad range of designs.

Firefly (2002) "Inara" by Shawna Trpcic

See more images after the jump and click on them to enlarge.

Firefly (2002) "Mal, Zoe and Jayne in their underwear" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Inara" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Kaylee" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Simon Tam" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Alliance uniform" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Helmet" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Mal & Zoe as Browncoats" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Inara sword fighting outfit" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Female alliance officer" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Joss Whedon as Badger" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Early design for Shepherd Book" by Shawna Trpcic

Firefly (2002) "Early design for Jayne Cobb" by Shawna Trpcic

Here's an idea what the final designs looked like.

(Via Blastr)

See more Shawna Trpcic work at http://ishawna.com/

What do you think of the illustrations? Do you think Jayne looked better wioth the berret?

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Update: Images removed by request of the artist.

Check out what the Prometheus (2012) space suits almost looked like.

Here's how costume designer Janty Yates described the suit design to Clothes On Film:
"We wanted to go somewhere where it wasn’t traditional spacesuits. Sleek and slimline, to avoid the sort of ‘Michelin Man’ look of the NASA suit

"...It is a prequel, but Nostromo (the spacecraft featured in Alien) was a space tank. It was a functional space tank, and they were functional engineers, so that was a functional space suit. Basically, it was issued with the spacecraft; it was literally intended to be used to maintain space stations and vehicles. But this spaceship for Prometheus was custom-built by Weyland Industries, so the spacesuits were custom-built with it. The idea that we went with was all of your body functions would be integral to the suit."

Some alternate designs were done by concept artist Matthew Savage (Doctor Who, X-Men: First Class) and he shared them on his site. He sent me some high resolution images to share with you.

Check after the jump and click to enlarge.

See more of Matthew Savage portfolio at http://www.mattsav.co.uk/ and look at more of his work at my site.

Official Synopsis:
Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery.

Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof
Stars: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green and Michael Fassbender 

What do you think of the illustrations?

@ Copyright 2012 Twentieth Century Fox, Dune Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, Matthew Savage All rights reserved

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Update: Images removed at the request of the artist

Check out some newly released concept art for X-Men: First Class (2011) by Matthew Savage. Savage is a professional concept artist, writer and director who has done some great work for Doctor Who and other projects. A few years back, he worked on X-Men: First Class and shared some of his illustrations on his site mattsav.co.uk/. 

Check out some alternate costumes for Beast, Havok and Mystique and an alternate view of the Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) submarine with rich wood paneling. Click on the images to enlarge.

First, the final version from the film.



 Now, the concept designs.

Matthew Savage X-Men: First Class (2011) "Costume Concepts"

Matthew Savage X-Men: First Class (2011) "Alternate Havok Costume Concepts"



 Shaw's submarine interior as it appears in the film.



Matthew Savage X-Men: First Class (2011) "Submarine Interior"




Matthew Savage X-Men: First Class (2011) "Submarine Interior"



Matthew Savage X-Men: First Class (2011) "Submarine Interior"




Matthew Savage X-Men: First Class (2011) "Interior Interrogation room"



 Official Synopsis:
"Directed by Matthew Vaughn, X-Men: First Class charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men."


See more of Matthew Savage's portfolio at http://www.mattsav.co.uk/

What do you think of the illustrations?
 

@ Copyright (2011)  Bad Hat Harry Productions, Donners' Company, Marv Films, Matthew Savage. All rights reserved



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Professional concept artist Matt Busch (The Matrix), is following in the path of Matthew Savage and Aaron Simms to make his own film titled Aladdin 3477. It's a modern retelling of the 1,001 Arabian Nights tale he's been working on for almost 20 years when it was first conceived as a comic book. The story evolved through several other graphic novels and film developments and eventually became Aladdin 3477.

The official website describes it this way:
Set in exotic locations all over, above, and below the planet, this is an Aladdin adventure like you’ve never seen. Based on the Arabian Nights classic tale Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp, this futuristic spin is literally years ahead of its time.

The Aladdin 3477 storyline is much different than the Disney animated version most know. Sticking to the roots of the original story, this live-action take is much darker in tone. No singing. No dancing. And no Robin Williams doing chaotic comedy routines. According to writer/director Matt Busch, Aladdin 3477 will instead resemble more of a Star Wars look and feel with it’s epic scale of action and cinematic wonder.

Currently in preproduction, the Aladdin 3477 movie will be shot on location in a dozen countries around the world. Production will also focus on tangible film-making techniques using motion control and miniatures as opposed to digital animation. Busch elaborates, “This is science fiction, so of course there will be digital effects. However, I think with a lot of today’s movies, something is lost with relentless CGI, so I want to try and shoot as much of it as I can.”
 
The script is almost complete, and the design work is well underway. We’re scouting locations throughout India and Asia before the year is out. We’ll soon start building real sets, vehicles, robots and more.

Principal photography is expected to begin in the summer of 2014, as Busch is taking his time developing the story and visual look of the film. Busch marvels, “This is by far the biggest thing I’ve ever worked on and I’m not skimping on anything. I’m compelled to make this the kind of movie that I would want to camp out in line for.”

Check out some concept art for the film along with a production video after the jump. Click on the images to enlarge.

From a dark alley in India, 3477.

The city's Inner Circle.

A thief and his robot sidekick, Fidgi.

Early Fidgi Design.

An early visual for Princess Kamala.

The Sultan's mechanical aide.

A M.A.R. Bot from Daria Jontak.

Entering Venkata, the Jinn territory.

One of the Grand Vizier's Securi-Bots.

Darshana Shailaja, of Venkata.

 A female version of the Grand Vizier.

Here's the production video


Learn more about the film at http://www.aladdin3477.com/

Via MovieWeb

See more of Matt Busch portfolio at http://www.mattbusch.com

What do you think of the illustrations? Would you watch Aladdin 3347
@ Copyright 2012 Matt Busch. All rights reserved

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Oblivion (2013) is an upcoming science fiction thriller film based on a graphic novel of the same name. It's directed and co-produced by Joseph Kosinski who directed Tron: Legacy.

The rights were bought by Disney, but they let the property go after demanding a PG rating. It was felt this would "creatively strangle" the film, so Universal bought it and plans to make it PG-13.
 
Some concept art has leaked that give some idea of the scope and scale of the film. It's based around a world destroyed and what's left of humanity lives high in the sky.

More after the jump and click on the images to enlarge.

No word on who the artist (or artists) are, but IMDb lists Igor Knezevic, Michael Meyers, Ed Natividad, Raj Rihal and Andree Wallin.

Official Synopsis:
Tom Cruise stars in Oblivion, an original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the director of TRON: Legacy and the producer of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man’s confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. Jack Harper (Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. Living and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.

Oblivion will be in theaters next year on April 19, 2013.

What do you think of the illustrations?
 
@ Copyright 2012 Chernin Entertainment, Ironhead Studios, Radical Pictures. All rights reserved

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