Filming for the upcoming TV series Blade Runner 2099 will take place in Northern Ireland. The original Blade Runner movie, which was directed by Ridley Scott in 1982, is executive producing the new series that has been ordered by the world’s largest streaming service, Amazon.
Richard Williams, CEO of Northern Ireland Screen, disclosed on Tuesday. Pre-production, he claimed, would begin practically immediately. The shooting will start in the spring of 2023.
He explained that this was a television series set in the same universe as Blade Runner. It will be large, extremely large.
The TV show’s creators, Alcon Entertainment, also produced the Blade Runner 2049 sequel, a 2017 motion picture starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford.
One of the most recognizable science fiction movies of all time is the original Blade Runner.
The movie, which starred Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Darryl Hannah, was about a police officer in a dystopian Los Angeles whose duty was to find synthetic beings or replicants.
In addition to influencing a wide range of other movies and popular culture, it also foresaw technological and environmental changes.
The new TV series, which takes place 50 years after the events of the 2017 sequel, has yet to announce its cast.
‘Ambitious’ objective for a four-year plan
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In its new 2022–2026 strategy, Northern Ireland Screen recommended that the TV, film, and video game sectors strive to contribute more than £430 million to the region’s economy during the ensuing four years. This is when the announcement was made.
Up until 2026, it intends to spend around £53 million on TV, film, and video game development to achieve an “ambitious and hard” £431 million profit.
However, compared to 2021–2022, less funding is available for broadcasting in the Irish and Ulster-Scots languages.
The cessation of “an uptick in funding in 2021/22 following the implementation of promises within New Decade New Approach,” according to Northern Ireland (NI) Screen, was the cause of this.
The accord known as New Decade New Approach (NDNA) allowed for the reinstatement of the Northern Ireland Executive in January 2020.
It included a government pledge to boost funds for the Irish Language Broadcast Fund and Ulster Scots Broadcast Fund.
The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport offered that “one-off increase” (DCMS).
The increase in financing, however, “is not to be continued in 22/23 and future years,” according to NI Screen’s business strategy for 2022–2023.
A one-year increase in production money is difficult to manage since it raises production company financial demands that cannot be matched in subsequent years.
“The number of projects that can be supported, as well as the number of training positions and skill development that can be supported in 2022–23, will be impacted by the fall in funding from DCMS.”
In 2022–2023, about £3.9 million and £1 million will be made available for the Irish Language Broadcast Fund and Ulster Scots Broadcast Fund, respectively.
This will pay for a variety of activities, including the production of 60 hours of Irish television, 10 hours of Ulster-Scots television, and some radio programming, as well as the employment of several trainees through both funds.
The chief executive of NI Screen, Richard Williams, told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster that there was no reason why the creative industries couldn’t continue to expand in the years to come, but he also expressed his disappointment at the drop in funding for Irish and Ulster-Scots language programs.
New goals following prior Achievements
The first year of the organization’s new Stories, Skills & Sustainability strategy for 2022-26 is covered in NI Screen’s 2022/23 business plan.
Plans to expand the television drama, independent cinema, and animation industries as well as the number of video game firms were part of the prior strategy from 2018 to 2022.
For instance, up to 2022, NI Screen invested around £300,000 per year in the funding of video game development.
The 2018-22 strategy also set a broad objective to provide a minimum of £300 million in economic benefit from the screen industries to Northern Ireland over that time.
According to NI Screen, that goal was surpassed, hence it was raised for the new 2022–26 strategy.
In the business plan, it was said that the strategy “includes an upgraded economic spend objective of £430 million, a 43% increase over the £300 million target for Opening Doors 2018-22.”
The majority of NI Screen’s funding comes from the Department for the Economy (DfE), which boosted it to around £18 million in 2022–2023.
The entire 2022–2023 budget for NI Screen is roughly £27 million.
Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, the former first and deputy first ministers of Northern Ireland, made early contributions to the growth of the film sector, which Mr. Williams applauded, but he noted that more recent governments “have not delivered to the same extent.”
“If there was the same coordinated leadership as there had been in the past, would it have a greater influence, especially in the American market? Yes, that’s true, “Added he.
“Confident” work will be produced
Hugh Grant and Chris Pine’s Dungeons & Dragons and Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington’s The School for Good and Evil are just two of the recent films shot in Northern Ireland that NI Screen has contributed funding to.
The major TV shows Bloodlands and Line of Duty were recently filmed there. Additionally, plans for Studio Ulster, a £25 million state-of-the-art virtual production studio that will be erected in Belfast by 2024, have been disclosed.
Nevertheless, a significant television project from Star Wars director JJ Abrams that was scheduled to shoot in Belfast was canceled in June.
Mr. Williams stated that a new project will be disclosed “within a matter of days” and that he understands the pressures that independent contractors are experiencing. He added that he was unable to share any other information.
“I have complete faith that we will have enough projects to fill Belfast Harbour Studios as well as Titanic Studios. Unfortunately, I don’t have complete control over the data that supports that “said he.
“The work will undoubtedly be done… We continue to receive assistance from the Northern Ireland Executive, which provides the means for us to build the necessary facilities, offer small incentives, and train the workforce that will enable us to bring in more business.”
Plans to provide training and job placements in the film and TV business to roughly 100 persons are also part of NI Screen’s 2022–26 strategy.
The Department for Communities funds the Creative Industries New Entrants program, which is managed by NI Screen in collaboration with BBC Northern Ireland.
Opportunities will be targeted toward those who are least likely to work in the field, such as people with disabilities, members of racial or ethnic minorities, and people from lower socioeconomic status.
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