Still searching for Philip K. Dick

Recently, I was lucky enough to interview Anne Dick, Philip K. Dick's third wife, about their life together and the recent publication of her revised memoir Search for Philip K. Dick, 1928-1982. The interview appears in this week's Orlando Weekly.

The project itself grew out of a need for answers. “[It] was an attempt to understand what had happened to our relationship at the time of our divorce,” she says. “Actually, writing things down turned out to be therapeutic. In words I could go back and feel more in control during those chaotic times.”

As explored in Search and later books, Philip Dick famously used aspects of his real life in his surreal and often outlandish stories. “He wrote Confessions of a Crap Artist [one of his earliest and perhaps most successful ‘autobiographical non-science fiction mainstream’ works] on our honeymoon! I was stunned and somewhat dismayed, but I didn’t say anything except that I thought it was a good book. Privately I thought to myself, ‘I guess this is what writers do.’ There were a number of other Point Reyes books in which the principal female character is more or less based on me.”

Dick revealed several arguably unflattering aspects of her ex-husband. “Many people know now how eccentric Phil’s life was. Many great writers had strange and unsettling lives.” She explored several of his positive traits as well. “He always tried to help people throughout his life. His books are full of light. I think most people are different and strange way down in their psyches, and in some people their unusual characteristics are closer to the surface.”

After the interview, my brief piece "The essential Philip K. Dick: a beginner’s guide" gives some reading tips for the PKD neophyte.


Check it all out at the Orlando Weekly.

Ubik Screenplay

Commissioned in 1974 by Jean-Pierre Gorin, Philip K. Dick wrote the screenplay adaptation of his finest novel Ubik. While the film was never produced, the screenplay was finally published in 1985 as a 1200 copy limited from Corroboree Press, complete with four full color tipped in plates by Doug Rice. This was the only print edition of the screenplay, until now.

Subterranean Press released this announcement:

[W]e’ve reached agreement to publish two of Philip K. Dick’s works. The first, Nick and the Glimmung, is a YA sf novel making its first US appearance, and first publication anywhere in nearly 20 years. The second is Dick’s own screenplay adaptation of his novel Ubik, which appeared from a small press in the mid-eighties, and has been out of print since. We’re still in the process of selecting an artist for the YA novel, but Ubik: the Screenplay, will sport a cover by Dave McKean.

It's about time someone reprinted the screenplay. I am surprised with the sustained PKD hoopla of the past 20 years, that it's taken this long.

L. Ron vs. PKD

This Red Meat strip (via Total Dick-Head) speaks entirely for itself.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Radio Free Albemuth movie?!?!?

This little gem comes from via David Gill and his Total Dick-Head blog:

In a sudden and exciting twist, John Alan Simon announced last night on the PKD litserv, that production had wrapped on a new cinematic adaptation of Dick's novel Radio Free Albemuth. WOW!
Continued...

The Ultimate Blade Runner!

The Blade Runner Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition is coming! This puppy has five different versions of what is still the best PKD-inspired film:

1. RIDLEY SCOTT'S ALL-NEW "FINAL CUT" VERSION OF THE FILM
   Restored and remastered with added & extended scenes, added lines, new and cleaner special effects and all new 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio.
   
   
2. 1982 THEATRICAL VERSION
   This is the version that introduced U.S. movie-going audiences to a revolutionary film with a new and excitingly provocative vision of the near-future. It contains Deckard/Harrison Ford's character narration and has Deckard and Rachel's (Sean Young) "happy ending" escape scene.
   
   
3. 1982 INTERNATIONAL VERSION
   Also used on U.S. home video, laserdisc and cable releases up to 1992. This version is not rated, and contains some extended action scenes in contrast to the Theatrical Version.
   
   
4. 1992 DIRECTOR'S CUT
   The Director's Cut omits Deckard's voiceover narration and removes the "happy ending" finale. It adds the famously-controversial "unicorn" sequence, a vision that Deckard has which suggests that he, too, may be a replicant.
   
   
5. WORKPRINT VERSION
   This rare version of the film is considered by some to be the most radically different of all the Blade Runner cuts. It includes an altered opening scene, no Deckard narration until the final scenes, no "unicorn" sequence, no Deckard/Rachel "happy ending," altered lines between Batty (Rutger Hauer) and his creator Tyrell (Joe Turkell), alternate music and much more.

And if that wasn't enough, there is a gazillion hours of extras including

• Commentaries by Ridley Scott, executive producer/co-screenwriter Hampton Fancher, co-screenwriter David Peoples, producer Michael Deely, production executive Katherine Haber, visual futurist Syd Mead, production designer Lawrence G. Paull, art director David L. Snyder, Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner author Paul M. Sammon, and special photographic effects supervisors Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich and David Dryer
  
  
• DOCUMENTARY DANGEROUS DAYS: MAKING BLADE RUNNER
  A feature-length authoritative documentary revealing all the elements that shaped this hugely influential cinema landmark. Cast, crew, critics and colleagues give a behind-the-scenes, in-depth look at the film -- from its literary roots and inception through casting, production, visuals and special effects to its controversial legacy and place in Hollywood history.
  
  
• Philip K. Dick: The Blade Runner Interviews (audio)
  
  
• Screen Tests: Rachel & Pris

And believe it or not, there is much more!

Releasing on December 18 (just in time for my 40th birthday!), this is the perfect thing for the geek in your life!

PKD+Burt Bacharach=??

An article on the inevitable combination of Philip K. Dick, Dionne Warwick, and Burt Bacharach in this week's New York Times. Three great things that don't go together at all. There's an audio link to one of the songs to the left of the article---I don't think Prince has anything to worry about.