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A Scanner Darkly Film Preview
Jason K writes "Hi, webmaster of PhilipKDick.com here. Thought that the Slashdot community might like to see this exclusive report that was just added to the official Philip K. Dick web site by his daughters about the 'A Scanner Darkly' film production. The film production of A Scanner Darkly is based on the classic PKD drug novel of the same name. It is directed by Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, School of Rock) and stars Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson. Linklater is using a more sophisticated version of the 'rotoscoping' animation technique that he debuted in 'Waking Life'. This is shaping up to be the most faithful adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel or story to date." Waking Life was a little odd.
...and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Wow, how soon we forget.
I actually became more impressed with Blade Runner after reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - because as much as I liked the latter, it's not terribly filmable as written. Roger Ebert's said a number of times that all a movies adapted from a book owes is to be a good movie; whether or not it's line-for-line identical is irrelevant.
"Why can't everyone just be straight with me?"
"Because we live in a bendy world, dear."
I dunno if overkill can be done in this respect, it was one of the most depressingly dark novels I have read from Mr Dick... especially the dedications at the end of the book (to those casualties of the acid culture of the early to mid sixties).
Stuck down a hole! In the middle of the night! With an owl!
In that it was thoughtful and interesting and totally willing to have scenes as simple as an interesting person saying interesting things. Hardly the typical crapfest that slashdotters seem all too willing to gush over.
The next advertising system.
/. community and quite frankly, it's beginning to become insulting.
Haven't we figured it out, yet? Posting ads to slashdot, under the quise of "News for people with big brains," has got to stop. They're pandering to the
Think that is a good thing? The Minority Report and Total Recall books were ridiculously antiquated and would have made terrible movies if they hadn't been changed. In Minority Report punch cards were a major plot point.
If this movie IS faithful to the novel and you're expecting something like Dazed and Confused, then you'll be very disappointed. A Scanner Darkly is really more of a descent into insanity novel. The drugs are merely the means of descent. It's a very good book. I'd like to see more of Dick's novels get made into movies. I am much more familiar with them than his short stories which typically get made into movies.
Actually, I think Keanu is perfect. As much as I love PKD, a lot of his characters have very little affect, and seem detached from their surroundings. This is especially true of Bob Arctor, who spends most of the book taking high doses of Substance D, which has disassociative side efects. Arctors increasing detachment from the world (and from himself) drives most of the story, in fact. Keanu's wooden style seems perfect for the character.
-Brendan
But that's just my opinion :^).
Stuck down a hole! In the middle of the night! With an owl!
People stopped making Tom Hanks apologize for "Bosom Buddies" a long time ago.
I'm more concerned about "Johnny Mnemonic" (less because of Reeves, more because of how W. Gibson talked it up pre-release) and the headache-provoking animation technique of "Waking Life."
I survived the Dick Cheney Presidency 7 to 9 AM 7-21-07
Congratulations for not realising that the first 'Lord of the Rings' movie _was_ a rotoscoped cartoon.
personally, i found the technique used in waking life very refreshing and don't follow your "no-innovation" argument!
of course the effects were at times quite disorienting and even disturbing. but as the animation filters were fitted to the actual surroundings, the topic of a discussion and the mood, the imagery took over a part that is usually reserved to the movie score/music.
i found it awesome and groundbreaking in a very sympathetic way, but as always your milage may vary!
Damn straight, dude!
Hollywood hasn't butche^H^H^H^H^H^Hused enough material from the greatest SF authors of our time.
I hope they get around to mutil^H^H^H^H^Hmaking movies from all the best works of my favorite SF authors. It would be so much better than what my imagination (coupled with a great book) can envision.
- The picture is being co-financed by Warner Independent, a new division of WB devoted to serious films with modest budgets.
Warner Independent? Isn't that a bit like Kraft Foods creating a new division called Mom & Pop?I have nothing against a studio deciding to do "serious films with modest budgets", but this blatant abuse of the word independent is moronic and, of course, deceiving.
Why is it so fucking hard for people to understand that the protagonist of PKD stories is just some working class stiff who's trying to get from one day to the next. I actually think Arnold did a half-decent job of portraying that, despite his grotesque physical appearance. Based on his performance in the Fifth Element, Bruce Willis is also a worthy PKD "hero". Personally, I would cast Ed O'Neill or William Macy or Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the lead in a PKD story. FUCK KEANU! That asshole deserves multiple lifetimes of punishment for sucking even more life out of big budget Hollywood.
As for punchcards being left out--it didn't seem to bother them that the precog results were delivered on balls through pneumatic tubing...LOL.
If this movie does well, I hope the PKD estate allows someone to do The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.
That book was quite the head-trip, and with the right director would make an awesome film.
Don't worry if you're "deep enough". You're no doubt of above average intelligence, despite this being /. and all. Please excuse the folowing dissertation.
Probably, it's just that Dick doesn't float your boat. If we all liked tha same thing, what a boring world we'd have.
But I think you've hit on one of Dick's ironies. That people need a box to experience empathy. Remind you of anything?
Anyway, it's not so simple, where one can clear things up by saying whether Dick favored or disapproved Mercerism. In fact, this ambiguity is a major part of the book at the end. Is Mercerism a hoax? Or is it true, i.e., is there an underlying truth to Mercerism that will never be perceivable by the androids?
The love of animals is a central tenet of Mercerism. Yet, as happens in all religions, the expression becomes perverted. Animal ownership becomes a signifier of status, prestige, and even corporate power.
Also, I think that Dick was saying that the values behind Mercerism are central to being human, not whether or not it would be good for humanity.
Anyway, I think that Dick just isn't your cup of tea. Maybe you haven't really suffered, or maybe you've suffered, but haven't suffered enough. If this is the case, I hope you never have to, but if it happens, there are authors like PKD that are great to turn to.
PKD is definitely for the wounded and those that have been crushed. Most of his characters are damaged and flawed, and perhaps they are hard to like if you're not damaged and flawed. Mercer knows I'm plenty of both. I should start a blog or something. =)
Not all his novels are this deep, however. Some of his others, while dealing with interesting issues, are lighter and more fun.
Anyway, sorry if I was a dickhead, but, after all, I am a Dickhead.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.