A new biopic film entitled Only Apparently Real is in the works, based on the life of legendary science fiction author Philip K. Dick.
Dick is widely considered one of the greatest science fiction writers to have ever lived, and his novels have provided source material for a number of successful and beloved films, including Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990), Minority Report (2002), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and Paycheck (2003). His unique works often had elements of dystopia and deep paranoia, which are believed to have stemmed from his own struggles with schizophrenia. His characteristic dark atmosphere struck a chord in the post-Watergate world of increasing uncertainty and distrust of institutions.
Dick is a fascinating figure, whose unusual private life figures much more prominently in his popular image than for most other writers (at least, before the advent of the internet). Only Apparently Real will draw, per The Hollywood Reporter, from Paul Williams' similarly titled 1986 biography. Williams was a music journalist and writer who in the 1970s wrote a prominent profile of Dick for Rolling Stone and later became the executor of Dick's literary estate after his death. The biographical film is currently being led by prominent producer Jon Shestack (Air Force One, Dan In Real Life) and is in the very early stages of pre-production.
Only Apparently Real will center around a famous incident in 1971 in which Dick claimed his house was broken into, his home burglarized, and his manuscripts stolen. There are many theories about the incident, but Dick is known to have struggled with drug use, frequent hallucinations, and writer’s block at the time, so the truth is not easy to determine. The film will almost certainly explore how Dick's own life contained many of his novel’s themes of paranoia, identity crises, and the blurring between reality and fantasy.
Furthermore, the film is being financed by a cryptocurrency DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), an organization that has no official head and makes decisions through the democratic votes of its members. It will be interesting to see if this unusual form of financing will affect the production of the film, though most control should still be in the hands of the film’s producers anyway.
As of yet, very little is set in stone for Only Apparently Real. Not even a director has been chosen. Another major question is the starring role. If the film does depict the 1971 break-in, its success likely hinges to a large extent on who plays Dick himself, which is bound to be a challenging role. As is typical of stories involving Dick, many questions still remain.
Only Apparently Real is scheduled to begin shooting this fall.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter