could suddenly become outdated, passe.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