Giuseppe Salza

“ You're not fascinated by technology, and yet you come up with ideas on the edge...
When I write my books, my favorite part is always "art direction", not the plot. I admit I like giving people a visual impression of the world I'm creating. ”

“ Finally, I think that cyberpunk is one of these journalistic terms, that media like to rely on. I am aware that most young writers are delighted being considered cyberpunk authors. But I'm older. I remember well the Sixties. I know that once you have a "label" attached onto you, it is over.
Let's go back to "Johnny Mnemonic". Which direction have you given the screenplay ?
"Johnny" is about the politics of Information. It's an action film of course, but it doesn't forego for flashy and graphic FX: there's too much of that already on MTV. Besides, Billy Idol burned that look. ”

“ They shouldn't expect that this is what the future is gonna look like. We (ED. science fiction writers) are sort of charlatans: we come up with a few ideas and we make a living out of that.
When I wrote "Neuromancer", I would have never imagined AIDS and the collapse of the USSR. We never get the future right. I always thought that USSR was this big winter bear that would always exist. ”

“ The NSA wants to legislate that every computer manifactured in the U.S. will have a chip built inside that will allow the Government to decrypt the information. The worst thing is that people are not informed of what is at stake here. Who would buy a computer with a spy inside? ”

“ We preferred opting for an anti-realistic look: we want to plunge the audience into a very strange but consistent universe. In short, we have decided to tell a story. That's what science fiction literature has often managed to achieve, unlike most films.
Which science fiction movies you like most ?
I like "Blade Runner", Andrej Tarkowski's "Stalker", Chris Marker's "La jetee", and also the British pilot for the "Max Headroom" series. (ED. it was directed by Rocky Morton & Annabel Jenkel)
"Johnny Mnemonic" has a superstar, Keanu Reeves. ”

“ Robert (Longo, the film director) and I kind of had a mutual experience with it. We first tried to make a screen adaptation of "Johnny Mnemonic" back in 1989, so we started pitching it around film companies, asking for money. Didn't work out. We realized afterwards that our major mistake was asking too little money. Our aim back then was to make a little art movie, we figured that we would need less than 2 million dollars. Jean-Luc Godard's "Alphaville" was our main inspiration back then. We should have asked more money.
We went through several script drafts and stages. ”

“ Most of the new edge guys are into computers, and they're coming up with new gear nobody had the slightest clue about five years ago. I saw recently a prototype which looked like a beeper, but it was a virtual telephone. ”

“ Bruce Sterling and I went to the National Academy in Washington to address the Al Gore people. We told them that this is the last chance to give the poorest schools equal chances than the richest. In a few years it will be too late and we won't be able to fill up the gap. ”

“ Mnemonic", movies, SF, net culture and issues.
What are your initial impressions on how "Johnny Mnemonic" is turning out ?
I have just seen the pre-assembled 10-minute show reel. I think it is fantastic! It felt very good seeing the universe of "Johnny Mnemonic" taking a life on its own. If it had been different, I wouldn't probably be here. But it can be safe to say that "Johnny Mnemonic" has been the optimal screen experience so far. ”