Huh. I can already see the controversy brewing among fellow sci-fi nerds as there are more than a few supposedly apocryphal tales about Dick that made their way into his public persona. I do hope they script a convention appearance into the film, as it would be pretty nifty to see him bumping into Bradbury, Heinlein, or an aging Bester.

Bill Pullman

Story here.

Link to relevant thread. (Always wanted to do that.)

Don't forget the cross-link from THAT thread to this one!

I've also moved your comment about the biopic to this topic, and moved the PKD stories thread to the "lists" forum.

Giamati seems to be up for the part now...

Alan Thomas wrote:
: Giamati seems to be up for the part now...

No, that's a different movie entirely.

Yes, Pullman and Giamatti will both play characters called "Philip K. Dick", but since the two Dicks will be based on scripts by completely different people, it stands to reason that they are not the same "part".

I'm sure this is the sort of identity-confusion issue Dick (or one of the Dicks, let's call him the ur-Dick) would have enjoyed.

<< desperately resisting using "Dick" in a joke ... >>>

It's a good thing he wasn't a Mennonite, or we'd be spelling his name "Dyck" and then debating 'til the cows come home whether to pronounce it "dick" or "dyke" ...

Wow, Confusing. That is straight out of a Philip K. Dick novel.

I have spent the last week re-reading late PKD, a bunch of short stories along with Confessions of a Crap Artist and Mary and the Giant. There have been a few books on sci-fi done by Christians (though I have always wished that John Wilson would write a book just on PKD), but I hope that this film opens more eyes to how germane sci-fi is to the theological criticism of culture. There was a massive movement in PKD's life with very bold notes of spiritual insight, even "revelation." This really leaks out in his later work, and I would readily class the two aforementioned books with anything by Flannery O'Connor. Hopefully some of this will come out in whatever film(s) are currently being put together. I am not trying to say he became "Christian" or anything along those lines, rather that there is something archetypal about his experience.

I am just taking news of "two" films at face value here. Seems a bit odd. Both films claim that they won't be doing this as a typical "biopic," though Giamatti's PKD will specifically riff on The Owl in Daylight. Definitely tips the scales in his favor. The screenwriter for this is the same guy who co-wrote Fear and Loathing, which was certainly an unparalleled success. He seems to have the inside track on how to think like a crazy person, which will come in handy when scripting PKD for Giamatti.

The other option, which has been titled Panasonic seems a bit less promising. Nothing against Pullman, I think he has the chops.

I am sure some sci-fi geek out there is all over this like Matt Drudge and will have news on either as soon as it pops up.

Bill Pullman Is Kind Of, But Not Really, Philip K. Dick
Actor Bill Pullman is bringing the whirlwind life of visionary science-fiction author Philip K. Dick to the big screen...sort of. The film "Your Name Here" -- previously known as "Panasonic -- will tell the story of an enigmatic writer named "William J. Frick" in the non-libel, unsanctioned biopic of the classic storyteller.
MTV Movies Blog, May 17

Taryn Manning Does The Robot For Philip K. Dick Biopic
Portraying the sexpot "Dallas" star [Victoria Principal], Manning plays opposite Pullman as a doppleganger version of eccentric sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick, whose novels about time travel, androids and alternate universes have yielded such classics as "Minority Report," "Total Recall," and "Blade Runner." "Pullman plays William J. Frick, but it's based on Phillip K. Dick," she grinned, explaining that legal mumbo-jumbo kept the production from using real names . . . "It is all kind of weird and bizarre - and I am a robot in it." . . .
MTV Movies Blog, October 15