UK SF Book News

Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Book, Comics & Graphic Novel news from UK-based authors, creators, publishers, retailers and ‘zines

Site Search




Top 50 Tags

anthology art awards BFS Birmingham book deal book news book signing BSFA Chaz Brenchley comics competition convention Doctor Who fantasy Fantasycon film and tv Forbidden Planet Gollancz Books horror humour Iain [M] Banks indie press interview London Mark Chadbourn Michael Marshall [Smith] Mike Carey Neil Gaiman non-fiction online Orbit Books PS Publishing publishing industry Ramsey Campbell retailers Richard [K] Morgan science fiction short fiction Solaris Books special offer Stephen Baxter Terry Pratchett thriller Tim-Lebbon Titan Books Waterstones writing young-adult zine

View the full UKSFBN Tag Cloud

• Monthly Archive

  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006

• Departments

  • Press Room
  • UKSFBN Talks To
  • What's On
  • Quick Links
  • Books Received
  • Site Announcements

Networks




View UKSFBN's Authority



• Site Admin

  • Log in
  • Wordpress
  • XHTML

Brian J Robb's new book, Counterfeit Worlds: Philip K. Dick on Film [Amazon] is fascinating and insightful look at all those movies - like Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly - that were inspired or based on PKD stories.

Beginning with a concise biography, Robb examines the evolution and production of each project in depth, uncovering a wealth of new information, including the stories behind the unmade film Ubik and the stillborn sequels to Total Recall.

That the book is a labour of love is clear from the sheer amount of detail incorporated into its pages. So we tracked Robb down to quiz him about his baby…

UKSFBN: How did you get involved with doing the book?

I'd done a previous book for Titan on Wes Craven (Screams & Nightmares) [Amazon], and was kicking around new project ideas with my Editor Adam Newell. Adam knew I was a huge Philip K. Dick fan and he suggested doing something on the films made from Dick's work. It developed from there: I suddenly discovered that this project retrospectively justified all the time and money I'd ever spent on Philip K. Dick ephemera...

UKSFBN: How long did it take you to put all the information together for the book?

BJR: Well, ignoring the twenty years since I first came across PKD as a teenager (which I now count as twenty years of research!), it took about a year. Many months were spent in research before writing, and I was surprised how much relevant material I actually had to hand. I'd seen all the films and was very familiar with Dick's biography and work, so it was just a case of putting it all together.

The bulk of the book was written over the summer of 2005 and reworked, polished and edited during early 2006. The aim was to tie-in with the movie release of A Scanner Darkly, so our publication date was moved a bit, which helped. The chapters on Ubik and Barjo were the ones about which little was known, so more work was needed there. However, the most research was required for the chapter on theatrical works based on Dick's novels (a chapter that was eventually cut from the book for space reasons.)

UKSFBN: What other sources of information did you use, apart from your own collection?

BJR: I was able to speak to people like Paul Sammon (the great chronicler of Blade Runner), Gary Goldman (who was involved in scripting Total Recall) and Richard Linklater (writer-director of A Scanner Darkly). An associate was able to interview Peter Weller (Dick fan and star of Impostor) for me, too...

UKSFBN: And who was the most fun to interview?

"A Scanner Darkly... the most faithful (and suitable) Dick adaptation to-date."BJR: Linklater was definitely the most enjoyable interview: he's a smart guy who knew exactly what he wanted A Scanner Darkly to be and he delivered it. He was very sensitive to the needs of the Dick estate (run by Dick's daughters) and has produced the most faithful (and suitable) Dick adaptation to-date.

UKSFBN: Which chapter was the hardest?

BJR: Dick's early TV and radio work was difficult to excavate, with contradictory sources. Blade Runner was a hard one, just because of the sheer size of the project: it took almost twenty years to get it made and it went through so many variations (and is still doing so with the upcoming revised DVD release).

UKSFBN: What was the most satisfying aspect of the book for you?

BJR: Finishing it!

UKSFBN: And would you do another book like this one?

BJR: Sure, but there are few things about which I could be quite so passionate as Philip K. Dick's work...

Robb's Counterfeit Worlds: Philip K. Dick on Film [Amazon] is available now from all the usual sources.

Source: Brian J Robb

Comments

Do you have anything to add to this item?