William Gibson Interviewed | Page 4

the winds of democracy blow over the East. But
now, after the arrival of people like Zhirinowsky, I have second
thoughts again and I fear for them.
Now you also write "geo-anthropological" reports...
That's right. I did a portrait of Singapore for "Wired Magazine". That
place gave me the creeps.
You are considered the true father of cyberpunk. What do you think of
how this word has spread in the world and has gained new meanings ?
It depends whether you believe in such a thing. "Cyberpunk" has
become a historical word, one of these words which you use to describe
a definite period of time. The risk is that it could suddenly become
outdated, passe. Now it is a very fashionable thing to say: wearing
cyberpunk outfit or behaving cyberpunk has become hip: you see it on
MTV. I was never comfortable with this interpretation. Billy Idol (ED.
he released in 1993 the album "Cyberpunk") has turned it into
something very silly.
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. 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. What do you think
of his portrayal of your character ?
Keanu is fantastic! I have this problem: I have never been able to
describe the character of Johnny, until he came aboard. One day in the
early stages of developement, we were discussing the character, and I
wasn't making a good job of doing that. But he really got Johnny from
day one. It helped me better understand this person that I had imagined,
so I was able to make small adjustments to the story. I have always had
a good attitude towards actors, and Keanu helped me reinforce that idea.
Once "Johnny" got its second chance, Robert (Longo) and I have talked
to each others on the phone at least once every day. Subsequently, I
was often on the sets during the filming, doing rewrites. The sets of this
picture were awesome! Everything was hung 50 feet up in the air. They
were quite dangerous: you really had to watch where to put your feet.
But I was able to not black out.
You and Bruce Sterling are the forefathers of the new science fiction.
Isn't it ironical that he is very fascinated by hackers and the new edge,
whereas you're not a technical person ?
Bruce practically lives on the Internet. I don't even have a modem or
e-mail. My computer is outdated by any standards of criteria. I never
was a technical guy and never will be. I'm a writer, and poetry and pop
culture are the two things which fascinate me most. I'm not deeply
excited by hi-tech. The Edge of the U2 was over here the other day and
he was showing me Net stuff. He showed how he could telnet to his
Los Angeles computer and he was very excited. I'll never be like that.
However, I feel obliged to be ambivalent towards technology. I can't be
a "techie", but I can't hate it, either.
You have written "Virtual Light". So, what do you think of Virtual
Reality ?
If we take what I consider the "Sunday paper supplement" of VR, I
mean Goggles & Gloves, I think that it has become very obvious, very
cliche. I think that real VR is gonna come out from the new generation
of visual effects in movies. I met Jim Cameron when he was editing
"Terminator 2": he showed me the clips of the T-1000 emerging from
fire in the L.A. canal. He said they were gonna use the actor for the
whole shot, but it was easier for them to do it in digital. This is the

future. One day there will be entire virtual replicas of real actors.
Incidentally, the book I'm writing