Philip K. Dick has slowly but steadily become a cultural icon with his works of mind-bending fiction. His first novel debuted in 1955, and ever since, his cumulative works have sold roughly 20 million copies and been translated to 25 different languages.
Considered by some measures to be the most adapted science-fiction author in the history of film, Dick has created futuristic worlds in many of his works, several of which have been adapted into feature films: “Blade Runner,” based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?; “Total Recall,” based on the short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale;” “Screamers,” based on the short story “Second Variety;” the French film “Confessions d’un Barjo,” based on “Confessions of a Crap Artist;” and “Minority Report,” “Impostor” and “Paycheck,” based on works of the same name. The movies have brought new fans to Dick’s work.
Never out of print in its 27-year existence, A Scanner Darkly is one of the three top-selling Dick novels and only the second novel of Dick’s to be adapted. The story of how A Scanner Darkly became a film begins with a respect for Philip K. Dick shared by writer/director Linklater and producer Tommy Pallotta—a mutual admiration often talked about on the set of “Waking Life.”
In crafting the adaptation, Linklater wanted to convey as much of the comical perspective as possible. …