Where's Deckard's Spinner?

In the game, Ray McCoy travels around the city in his spinner - and very handy it is too.

In the movie, Deckard uses his sedan which as far as I know, is a purely ground vehicle. The only time you see Deckard flying in a spinner is when it's being piloted by Gaff.

Not a huge issue I know and probably of little significance. But it just seemed odd to me after all these years, especially when you see how crowded and full of junk the roadways are in LA 2019...

well there was that one goof where was driving his sedan around but was inside a spinner when he made the phone call to pris

well there was that one goof where was driving his sedan around but was inside a spinner when he made the phone call to pris

Yeah, kipple and I were just discussing that which is what got me thinking.

Perhaps they originally intended Deckard would fly around (either on his own or piloted by Gaff) but had to drop the F/X shots in the latter half of the movie due to budget constraints or changes in plot/script.

There's no mention of it in Future Noir...

Possibly it was the game's whole idea about the spinner flying the police around because really, don't you think driving back and fourth across L.A. would be just too time consuming? Going from Animoid Row back to Police HQ back to Animoid Row etc...

Possibly it was the game's whole idea about the spinner flying the police around because really, don't you think driving back and fourth across L.A. would be just too time consuming? Going from Animoid Row back to Police HQ back to Animoid Row etc...

Good point - what about the movie though. First half Deckard is flown around by Gaff and in the second half he takes the ground car...and then Gaff lands on the roof in the spinner.

Possibly it was the game's whole idea about the spinner flying the police around because really, don't you think driving back and fourth across L.A. would be just too time consuming? Going from Animoid Row back to Police HQ back to Animoid Row etc...

Good point - what about the movie though. First half Deckard is flown around by Gaff and in the second half he take the ground car...and then Gaff lands on the roof in the spinner.

This alll goes back to the subplot of Deckard and Holden being monitored by Bryant and Gaff. Or it could just be that maybe it was just written and shot this way, so that's why it is. I think this is being a bit too analitical.

Well, yeah - this whole forum is a 'bit too analytical'

Well, yeah - this whole forum is a 'bit too analytical'

lol. Yeah, but now is more anamlitical than I've seen. Something so small and insignificant. This is something my brother might ask, and my simple response would be, "because that's the way they shot and edited it." It doesn't have to have a significance. It just is because that's the way it was done at the time. But then again...maybe Ridley has another side of the story? Or Charles de Lauzirika maybe?

Not a huge issue I know and probably of little significance.

Where should we 'draw the line'?

Not a huge issue I know and probably of little significance.

Where should we 'draw the line'?

Possibly at the question "why does Deckard take X number of sips of his drink instead of X number? Isn't he highly stressed?"

or

"Where are all the gas stations in Blade Runner? How come people never complain about the high gas prices?"

Possibly at the question "why does Deckard take X number of sips of his drink instead of X number? Isn't he highly stressed?"

or

"Where are all the gas stations in Blade Runner? How come people never complain about the high gas prices?"

Damn!!! Those were my next questions!! I was saving those for next week, but since you mentioned them now, you can tell me your theories.

Go ahead, I'm all ears

Some cool bits from BR would be missing if it wasn't for the sedan. ?Tunnel sequence? There' no need of tunnels with a spinner, would you drive it when you can fly it?, I don't think so. ?Thieving midgets? Couldn't reach the car (we see a spinner can "park" in midair, hovering in the same place for a while when the cop comes to harass Deckard) or would be afraid of it taking off while they are on top of.

I think it has to do with that. They ordered Deckard's sedan from Weinfield's shop from the start, so I don't think it had to do with budget, I mean, it should've been cheaper not to have a street sedan built in the first place and give more screen time to the awesome spinner with that money. I interpret Deck's car as a vehicle for showing us more of the city at ground level, needless to say one more cool piece of futuristic eye candy.

The question was where's Deckard spinner?... I always thought of it as Gaff's spinner, never as Deckard's. So, my answer would be that Gaff is piloting it, maybe following Deck closely from above.

Some cool bits from BR would be missing if it wasn't for the sedan. ?Tunnel sequence? There' no need of tunnels with a spinner, would you drive it when you can fly it?, I don't think so. ?Thieving midgets? Couldn't reach the car (we see a spinner can "park" in midair, hovering in the same place for a while when the cop comes to harass Deckard) or would be afraid of it taking off while they are on top of.

I think it has to do with that. They ordered Deckard's sedan from Weinfield's shop from the start, so I don't think it had to do with budget, I mean, it should've been cheaper not to have a street sedan built in the first place and give more screen time to the awesome spinner with that money. I interpret Deck's car as a vehicle for showing us more of the city at ground level, needless to say one more cool piece of futuristic eye candy.

The question was where's Deckard spinner?... I always thought of it as Gaff's spinner, never as Deckard's. So, my answer would be that Gaff is piloting it, maybe following Deck closely from above.

Good points. I was actually thinking of the tunnel sequence as well, but that's it. Never got as far as posting about it. It would be pointless and hard on the budget to have deckard's sedan and not even use it. But then again, maybe when they ordered his sedan, it was for one of the original sequences that were never shot (see my Syd Mead article )

I believe that Deckard traveled by sedan when alone to keep his character "grounded" and "street level" when working alone.

Let's not forget that he'd quit the LAPD Blade Runner Unit. The movie doesn't say for how long Deckard was off the force (and the story makes us believe it was before the Nexus 6 had been introduced). It's plausible that the LAPD would have revoked his Spinner permit when he left and, due to his long absence and presumed short return, didn't bother to re-qualify the permit.

Considering Deckard was a short-term "contract killer" it makes sense that the LAPD wouldn't want him having pilot access to their (presumably expensive) flying cars.

What about the original storyboard introduction where Deckard lands in his spinner on the farm, kills the replicant and takes the jawbone, and flies back to L.A.? Do you guys think Ridley had thought about the blade runner world so thoroughly that he even had the flying/driving license system mapped out? I'm still stuck on the idea that Deckard needed a "babysitter", Gaff, to watch over him and make sure he didn't try and run off on the job or find any clues that he was a replicant himself. That's why Bryant had Gaff take Deckard everywhere, to keep an eye on him.