How far are you willing to take your nostalgic attachment to your favorite movie?
We’ve seen some pretty over the top tributes across the years. Tattoos. Baby names. Cosplay dogs.
For some people, not letting go of their fondest cinematic memories means constantly grabbing tighter. For the folk at Budget Direct, it meant commissioning a series of artist’s impressions of how themed sci-fi and fantasy gardens might look.
You can study the images closely for inspiration for your own back yard, or you can just read on about some of the biggest movie tributes that the wildest film fanatics have made…
Blade Runner 2049
In 1982, geeks across the world had their minds blown by Blade Runner’s vision of what the future might look like. Its retro-futuristic lived-in look felt somehow glamorous at the same time as being realistic and a little frightening.
Fan Luka Hrgović was so impressed by the look of the two Blade Runner pictures, he set out to raise $80k to film his own fan fiction spin-off flick. Okay, so his lead actor looks a little more like the guy who used to run the video store round the corner than Ryan or Harrison, but the effects look pretty amazing. Could you pull this off in your back yard?
Star Wars
It’s great if your obsession with a movie can get you outdoors. Tending your Naboo-themed garden can be a great way to balance the dozens of hours you’re going to have to commit to sitting in the dark watching infinite sequels and spin-offs to the archetypal space opera.
Reddit user and Star Wars fan runwithpugs also likes to get outside to pay tribute to that galaxy far away. Every May 4th, he hits the streets in his pumps and runs around his neighborhood in a route the shape of G̶e̶o̶r̶g̶e̶ ̶L̶u̶c̶a̶s̶’̶s̶ Darth Vader’s head.
Avatar
Who’s the biggest Avatar fan you know personally? What? Nobody’s mentioned the film to you since 2010? Surely it’s not the most forgettable box office hit ever?
Then you need to meet Iggy, aka Mr. Avatar, of Edmonton, Alberta. He has ten (maybe more by now) tattoos of Neytiri (the movie’s love interest, remember?) across his body and an Avatar-themed pickup on his drive.
Iggy’s the first person you’ll want to invite over once you’ve finished creating your Avatar-themed garden! Right?
Lord of the Rings
The biggest tribute you can pay Peter Jackson’s Hobbit cycle is to go back to basics and read Tolkien’s books cover-to-cover.
Failing that, you could follow Lindsay Chong’s example and rewatch the movies 1,000 times. One. Thousand. Times.
Okay, so she’s read the books too. But that’s an eye-watering statistic.
If you’re planning your own LOTR-themed garden, you might borrow from Chong’s latest technique – she mostly listens to the films in the background while she studies. How about blaring all that swordplay and orc-ish melodrama from your speakers while you’re catching some rays in your own private Rivendell?
Alice In Wonderland
Creating an Alice In Wonderland garden can be an activity for the whole family, assuming you wife and kids haven’t grown tired of your obsession and left you already.
But be warned: Alice fans are keen-eyed, and the details matter. Budget clothing store Primark came-a-cropper when one obsessive fan noticed that the time on the watch of Primark’s white rabbit-themed purse read 8 o’clock – rather than the 12.25 reading that the watch permanently shows in the movie.
Madness, huh?
