Philip K. Dick Fans: "A Scanner Darkly" Movie in Production!!!

[quispquake]

Directed by Richard Linklater!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Certainly one of my favorite books ever, and I couldn't have asked for a better director...

Here's the info:

http://www.philipkdick.com/films_scanner-061204.html

[bkcc]

1. Not sure how I feel about this one.

I too am a huge fan of PKD, but some of the adaptations have been really bad.

"A Scanner Darkly stars Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane."

Reading the above cast list certainly doesn't inspire confidence, but I'm going to hope it's good anyway.

[RandomKoolzip]

3. "Keanu Reeves?!?!"

Okay, it's gonna suck. Let's ot get our hopes up. Keanu=total suckiness.

[chenGOD]

5. I don't mind any of those actors much...

Robert Downey Jr especially is good, and Woody Harrelson. Winona can be kind of hit or miss, but she's usually better than not. I like Keanu more for who he is than his acting. But he was really good in My own Private Idaho and Feeling Minnesota. He also wasn't bad in Johhny Mnemonic or the Dracula film he was in. Ok he kind of sucked in the 2nd and 3rd Matrix..but he wasn't alone in that suckage...and rory cocharane was also in dazed and Confused..which explains why Linklater wants him...

[RandomKoolzip]

2. The movies based on great psychedelic/outsider books

are always disappointing. Look at what Hollywood did with Dick: "Total Recall," anyone? Who's gonna play the lead, Ryan Philippe? Freddie Prinze, Jr.? Do you think the studios are going to let Linklater make a faithful adaptation of a book which is like one long claustrophobic speed hallucination? Doubt it.

You can make a list of all the great movies based on psychotronic books on one hand.

Now, if only someone like Terry Gilliam would tackle an earlier Dick work like "The Man in the High Castle," maybe, MAYBE we'd have a classic on our hands. But the later, schizoid Dick should remain untouched by Hollywood.

[eyesroll]

6. I have a certain nostalgia for "Total Recall"

but it was by no means a good movie, or a good adaptation of "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale."

But you're right -- Hollywood usually screws up Dick. Witness "Minority Report."

("Blade Runner" was good, though.)

[LTR]

7. The movies based on DIck's books vary wildly from the books

But they still tend to be pretty good.

"Blade Runner" was the best. I even liked "Total Recall".

For a Gropenegger flick, it was pretty cerebral.

"Minority Report" had a great story and was shot very well. Very suspenseful.

And, for an interesting comparison, "Imposter" was a movie released around the same time as "Minority Report", and was loosely based on the same story. But there are lots of differences. "Imposter" (with Gary Sinese) was a decent popcorn yarn with a phenomenal ending, but looked pretty cheap compared to Spielberg's glossy "MR".

If you seperate the books from the films, the films stand up in their own right.

[eyesroll]

8. I didn't care for Minority Report

most Spielberg SF ends up Hollywoodized. It was very pretty, though.

[LTR]

9. For Spielberg, it was pretty good

He's been on a roll lately. I actually liked AI, Catch Me If You Can, and Minority Report.

And MR was not in the least bit sappy, unlike many of his films.

[UGABrother]

4. It's definitely worthy of a movie

The adaptations of PKD's books are always entertaining in their own right, even though none of them has done justice to the original. I think it's because a lot of what's good about Dick's books are the situations he comes up with--the characters aren't as important so there's only so much damage crappy actors can do.