About two weeks ago I wrote about Guy-Roger Duvert´s upcoming cyberpunk/sci-fi/tech noir movieVirtual Revolution“. Well, guess what? I had the pleasure to do a Q and A section with Guy-Roger some days ago! And this is what Duvert had to say about the movie, his indiegogo campaign, Virtual reality, transhumanism and the thought of eternal life.

Robin TGG
For those who don’t know who you (or your team) are, could you please do an introduction of yourself? And tell a bit what your movie “Virtual Revolution” is all about?

Guy-Roger Duvert
Hello Robin! I started in the film business as a film music composer. I scored a few features, and I provide regularly music for trailers (Transformers 3, Prometheus, Lone Survivor…). As a director I shot a few shorts and some corporate movies. Last year we released a medieval fantasy short, “Cassandra”, which got selected in 91 festivals and received 50 awards. The team working on Virtual Revolution is basically the one that did Cassandra, only a bit bigger.

Virtual Revolution is a sci-fi film that questions the impact of virtual reality on our societies. We started working on it one year ago and we start shooting it in 4 weeks!!!

guy-roger duvert la movie awards

Guy-Roger Duver won quite a few awards at the L.A movie awards for his movie “Cassandra”.

Robin TGG
Virtual Revolution is said to take place in Europe around the year 2047, in the city of Neo-Paris, is there any specific reason behind why you choose to let the plot take place in Paris in the year 2047?

Guy-Roger Duvert
I liked the idea of having a cyberpunk story based in Old Europe. Our artistical orientation is definitely retro based futurism. Which means we constantly mix old elements to futuristic ones in our sets, our decoration. Using an old city like Paris is perfect for that! Also I was born in Paris, so I know the place well. Finally it allows us to have a very distinct identity, as most cyberpunk films are set in the US or in Asia.

As for the year, we just felt that a credible prediction of the evolution of the VR technology should bring us at the end of the 2040s.

virtual revolution movie the hall

This picture gave me some really nice “Blade Runner” vibes.

Robin TGG
If I’m not totally wrong now, Virtual Revolution is a mix of tech noir, cyberpunk and Sci-fi right? How did you come out with that combination? Was it something that you have always wanted to do? Or was it just something that happened along the way during the development stage?

Guy-Roger Duvert
You are totally right. We mix indeed these 3 elements. Cyberpunk and sci-fi were there from the start, as the story is about the future of a specific technology and it’s impact on people. So, from the start the story was SF and cyberpunk. As for the tech noir feeling, it came naturally. I guess that an inspiration like Blade Runner has probably a lot to do with this choice! Also, it is quite a logical choice to mix old and new, when the main character, Nash, a Hybrid, is himself tormented between past and future, between traditions and technologies.

Robin TGG
Have you always been into tech noir, sci-fi and cyberpunk? And which movies, games, books and such has been your inspiration for Virtual Revolution?

Guy-Roger Duvert
Definitely yes! I was talking about Blade Runner which is for me the best sci-fi film ever! (The game is amazing too!) But I had many other inspirations for VR. Deus Ex, which also took inspiration from Blade Runner but succeeded in creating its own identity, was also an influence. Ghost in the Shell, also (above all stand alone complex and solid state society). Akira, shadowrun. I’m also a big fan of Asimov and K. Dick but I don’t think they were that influential on VR. I also watched the game Remember Me with interest, as it is set in Paris, in the future. Their world is very different from the one described in VR, but I liked the way they transformed some Parisian settings.

Robin TGG
Could you tell a little more about the main protagonist Nash? As he seems to have a rather interesting background.

Guy-Roger Duvert
Nash used to be a cop. His girlfriend was among the ones spending more and more time online but still attached to reality. Until the day she died, killed by terrorists who want to prevent people from spending their lives online. That’s when Nash decided to become a shadow agent for a corporation developing and managing some of the virtual worlds. His mission is to track down and eliminate the terrorists who threaten the system. So he’s a guy who wants to do the right thing, but who doesn’t hesitate to get his hands dirty. He embraces technology and uses it but he still feels nostalgic of the past. He is critical towards the institutionalized addiction to virtual worlds but he also spends a lot of time himself online. So he is a Hybrid, on so many levels, which makes him an interesting protagonist.

virtual revolution movie street fight

I don´t know about you, but this picture made me think about Shadowrun.

Robin TGG
Virtual Revolution focuses a lot on virtual reality (thus its name), how much time did you spend on researching today’s VR technologies in-order to create the plot and world for Virtual Revolution? And how far do you think that VR technology has come by the year 2047?

Guy-Roger Duvert
I did a bit of research, indeed. The future of VR will follow 3 steps: first with external devices that provide data still interpreted by our organs (oculus rift…etc.). In that case only some of our senses can be used (eyes, ears, for instance). Then we will send the info directly to the brain. That’s when virtual reality will feel as real as reality, as all of our senses will be used. But it will be probably intrusive at first (a jack in the head, or a cell implanted in the brain, for instance, a bit like The Matrix). According to Kurweitz, who is according to Bill Gates the best expert when it comes to AI, and who already made accurate technological predictions in the past, this (virtual reality feeling as real as reality) should happen in the 2030s. Then we will have the last phase: induction. You won’t even need surgery to use the devices to get connected. I met with companies that are already researching on this last phase, even if there is still a lot to do! Anyway, that’s where we should be in 2047.

Robin TGG
The budget of the film is said to be around $900,000, is that correct? If so, do you aim to turn Virtual Revolution into a 30 minute or 1.5 hour-long movie experience?

Guy-Roger Duvert
Yes, the budget is correct. And the film will be one hour and half. So, a real full feature film. Cassandra was a way for us to prove that we know how to deliver high production value with limited resources. So we’re not venturing into unknown waters here. 😉

virtual revolution poster

Virtual Revolution is like a mix of Deus Ex, Blade Runner, Matrix and Shadowrun.

Robin TGG
Do you think that the real world will look anything like Virtual Revolution once we reach year 2047?

Guy-Roger Duvert
Yes and no. We actually gave a lot of thoughts to many details, to make sure the world we describe is credible (for instance, does paper still exist? What’s the energy used in our flying cars?…), so I feel that for most part what we describe is very realistic. There is just one aspect where we voluntarily “cheat”: architecture. What we show couldn’t happen in 2047. More like in 2100. The same way Blade Runner was supposed to be in 2019. We wanted the film to be visually stunning, so that’s a compromise we decided to make.

Robin TGG
What´s your thoughts about Transhumanism? (Human, 2.0). And do you think that the human race will ever be able to reach eternal life?

Guy-Roger Duvert
Transhumanism is according to me part of the natural evolution of the human being. That being said, there isn’t one way but several, and it is hard to know which way we should follow. For instance we can become strongly cybernetized (like in ghost in the shell), or we can work on DNA modifications to make us mutants immune to disease, or aging. Maybe it will be a mix. Hard to say. What’s for sure is that some of transhumanist technologies will be great and some others not. I feel that being for or against transhumanism is to be late on the topic, the same way some people were for or against electricity. We have to choose wisely what transhumans should be, though.

As for eternal life, I see two steps. The first is our capacity to stop aging. On that I have no doubt that we will succeed, and probably in the next decades. But not everyone will benefit from it. Only the wealthier, like always. The second step is much more hypothetical: it’s our reaching an evolution making us spirits, like in some of Asimov novels or in Stargate SG1. On that one, I honestly have no opinion at all. I like the idea, though.

virtual revolution sexdroids

I´m 100% positive that there will be sexdroids on our streets in the next 10-15 years from now (or even sooner than that).

Robin TGG
I just got one more last question. What´s your thoughts on advanced a.i´s and robotics? Because personally, I can´t help to think about the outcome in movies, anime´s and games such as Terminator, Matrix, Ghost in the Shell, Armitage III, System Shock and Deus Ex.  

Guy-Roger Duvert
These two technologies are on their ways. In LA, I met with a guy working for a company researching on cybernetic prosthesis. I asked him to play Deus Ex Human Revolution, and then I asked him if he felt that the technologies described in the game could be real in 2027. He said that except for the most extreme powers (like jumping from the top of a building), yes, definitely. About AIs, it is a fascinating question. Now, almost all studies that try to see what could destroy our civilization include the taking over by an AI as a possibility.

I feel that, as long as you don’t give any kind of control to an AI, when it is just a machine working data and giving solutions, it can stay under control. But give it a body, or the possibility to communicate in the net, and the danger is huge. The Asimov rules could be a temporary solution, but Asimov himself showed the limits of such solution. I could be wrong, but chances are that, for our own sake, we will probably all soon have some EMP devices with us…”

tgg author avatar robin ek
Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround

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