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John Alvin's Blade Runner, 2000
By Gary Willoughby
A new Blade Runner poster has appeared in a recent Christie's auction catalog. The new poster is by John Alvin. Mr. Alvin is also responsible for the original American poster. The text below the poster states "Blade Runner, 2000 signed Alvin 2000c.r. acrylic and colored pencils on board. Estimate $16,000-$22,000. Dynamic painting for the upcoming 20th Anniversary is reminiscent of the original One-sheet created by John Alvin, who also produced one-sheets for E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial and over 120 other movies."
To figure out where this came from and for what purpose it was created I called "Scott Free Productions in Hollywood, Ridley Scott's Office. I talked to his personal assistant and she was quite interested in the poster, but she too did not know why it was created. I told her I would try to find out, and would call Christie's Auction House and would call her back. I felt that the poster had to be created for a purpose and campaign. Whether that purpose is the "New" version that will come out on the anniversary is still not known. We have seen the box set on Bladezone and from the photos the poster in the box set seems to be the original. When I called Christie's they only knew what the text below the poster had stated, and that it would be for the re-release of the film. Greg Shaw from Christie's felt that Mr. Alvin had originally made a similar poster with Rudger Hauer in the poster. It seems logical being that the film is about the "Replicants", but the studio chose to go with the version without "Batty". I personally like this version better. I hope that the poster is reproduced and widely distributed. I'll gladly add it to the other eight Blade Runner posters I have in my collection.
The Blade Runner poster (original art) and many other paintings and drawings from motion pictures will be up for auction at Christie's Auction House on June 22nd at 2:30 at:
Christie's Los Angeles
360 North Camden
Beverly Hills
California 90210
To find out about the sale please feel free to call (310) 385-2600. Or if you are interested in the catalog ask for the "Masters of Cinema Art" catalog (310) 395-6300.
I plan on attending the auction on June 22nd and have RSVP'd and perhaps John Alvin himself will be there. I'll keep everyone informed as to the final selling price of the Blade Runner painting.
UPDATE:
While I was unable to attend the auction at Christie's, a phone call revealed that the poster art sold for an amazing $37,600 to a man in Singapore.
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