Cinefantastique Online

The Los Angeles Times has posted an article about the late science-fiction author Philip K. Dick, whose work presage the cyberpunk era, forming the basis for such films as BLADE RUNNER, TOTAL RECALL, MINORITY REPORT, and A SCANNER DARKLY. The gist of the piece is that his family has formed a production company to oversee future film adaptations, insuring that they stay more true to Dick’s intellectual concepts instead of opting for easy sci-fi spectacle. According to daughter Isa Dick Hacket, there are six projects in the works, including an adaptation of the novel Ubik and a semi-biographical piece that mixes elements of Dick’s life with plot threads from his last, unfinished novel, The Owl in the Daylight. The script is being written by Tony Grisoni (FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS), with Paul Giamatti (LADY IN THE WATER) set to star. While waiting for those projects to reach fruition, the family can take solace in the fact that a new “final cut” of BLADE RUNNER, a box office flop during its first release, will get a limited re-release on October 5 (in New York and Los Angeles) to promote the 5-Disc Ultimate Collector’s DVD set due in stores in December.