posted
I don't know if y'all have read this book by Philip K. Dick, but they've made it into a movie. It's a CGI movie, but the characters are all easily recognizable as the actors who are voicing them. And not in a Finding Nemo way, either. This is a download link for the trailer. I got it off of Ain't It Cool News, but the talkbacks are so incredibly foul that I decided to rate the page NC-71 (not a typo) and just post the link for the trailer.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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We've had a thread about it a while ago I think. I don't know how it is made exactly but I can't wait to see it!
Edit: Actually I think it was a slightly different trailer. Even better!
Edit2: imdb lists it as completed with a release date of July 2006 but only for US. They also have links to trailers that work a little better than yours, starLisa.
Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I'd also like to mention that this movie, so far, is unimpressive.
Watching a trailer where Robert Downey Jr. rants and Keauea (whatever) Reeves looks surprised at all the crazy junk that happens to him does not impress me.
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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I thought it looked interesting. But I agree that the scene with Downey ranting just seemed lame.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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One can't really blame Robert Downey Jr. for ranting, as the character Barris is a crazy bastard who often rants in just such a manner. Actually, having read the book a few times, I find it to be an inspired bit of casting. Same with Woody Harrelson. I don't know about Keanu Reeves for Bob/Fred. I like him as an actor, but he probably wouldn't have been my first choice for this role. From the trailers, though, he seems to have done a fine job.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I am going to hate this movie. For the record, 'A Scanner Darkly' is actually my favorite novel. It means a lot to me.
Where it looks like they've got the movie wrong -- painfully, obviously wrong -- is that instead of understanding that the novel was based upon a specific time and place (Philip K. Dick turned 1969 into 1996, much the same way that Orwell turned 1948 into 1984), and a specific culture -- they've taken the characters and events and attempted to put them into circumstances to which modern viewers can more easily relate.
It looks just awful.
You wouldn't make a film of '1984' and set in 2014 and make Big Brother out of President Bush.
Doing this to 'A Scanner Darkly' is just completely missing the point of the book.
posted
TL- I've never read the book, but it sounds interesting. What's the basic plot? This trailer didn't tell me anything about the story, except that people are always being watched. What makes it a great book? (I'm looking for good books to read, and this could be a good one for me)
Posts: 1789 | Registered: Jul 2003
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Because then it wouldn't be '1984' anymore -- it wouldn't be true to what Orwell wrote. That's the point where it would become something else -- something modern and a little gross and jiggling on a spoon.
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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It's a similar problem with Atlas Shrugged. Leave it in its original time, and it's hard to relate to. Update it, and it may not work.
My favorite of PKD's books are Ubik, The Divine Invasion, The Cosmic Puppets, and The Man in the High Castle. I never really liked A Scanner Darkly, and maybe that's why I'm looking forward to the film. I don't think I'd be happy with film versions of those four.
quote:Because then it wouldn't be '1984' anymore -- it wouldn't be true to what Orwell wrote.
Ah. I always assume that film adaptations are not "true" to what the author wrote. It keeps me sane.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Evie3217: TL- I've never read the book, but it sounds interesting. What's the basic plot? This trailer didn't tell me anything about the story, except that people are always being watched. What makes it a great book? (I'm looking for good books to read, and this could be a good one for me)
Here's the blurb from the back of the book: "Bob Arctor is a dealer of the lethally addictive drug called Substance D. Fred is the police agent assigned to tail and eventually bust him. To do so, he has taken on the identity of a drug dealer named Bob Arctor. And since Substance D - which Arctor takes in mammoth doses - gradually splits the user's brain into two distinct, combative entities, Fred doesn't realize that he is narcing on himself."
It's an interesting book. Be warned that just about every major character in it is a drug addict. It doesn't exactly glamorize drug use, but it's very prevalent. May not fit everyone's tastes.
Heh, I just found out recently that my boss represents the executive producers of that movie. [/derail]
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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I cannot, cannot, cannot wait to see this movie. As of right now, I think it's at the top of my list of movies to see this summer.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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That sounds really interesting. I'm going to Borders tomorrow, so I'll have to pick it up. What other stuff has he written, and would you recommend it?
Posts: 1789 | Registered: Jul 2003
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Personally, i couldn't get in to Ubik, or Man in the High Castle. But i really enjoyed Radio Free Albemuth.
Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002
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