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According to Variety, the Halcyon Company has inked a 3 year first-look deal for all the works of Philip K. Dick that have not previously been adapted. Every. Single. One.
From the press release:
A joint announcement was made today by Halcyon co-CEOs Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson, and Electric Shepherd Productions' Isa Dick Hackett and Laura Leslie: Halcyon will have the first option to develop projects in conjunction with Electric Shepherd Productions, the Dick Estate's multimedia production company. Based on material from Dick's vast body of work, co-productions may include film adaptations, as well as television and other media projects. Details of the production slate are forthcoming.This begs the question: Which PKD work do you most want to see adapted to film? Do you care? (As a side project: provide a catchy headline for this post!Dick's works include more than 120 short stories and 45 novels, including Ubik (recently described as the writer's masterpiece by The New Yorker and deemed one of the "All-Time 100 Greatest Novels" by Time), The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (adapted as Blade Runner), The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer. Dick's novels and short stories have been adapted into nine feature films including: Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly. Together these titles have grossed over 1 billion dollars in revenue worldwide.
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For reference, here is the list of adaptations of his work according to the Philip K. Dick website...
COMPLETED FILMS
- Blade Runner (1982) - Based on "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
- Screamers (1995) - Based on "Second Variety"
- Total Recall (1990) - Based on "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"
- Confessions d'un Barjo (French, 1992) - Based on "Confessions of a Crap Artist"
- Impostor (2001) - Based on "Impostor."
- Minority Report (2002) - Based on "The Minority Report."
- Paycheck (December 25, 2003) - Based on "Paycheck."
- A Scanner Darkly (July 7, 2006) - Based on "A Scanner Darkly"
- Next (April 27, 2007) - Based on "The Golden Man"
- Ubik Video Game - Cryo Interactive (1998)
- Blade Runner Video Game - Westwood/Electronic Arts (1999)
PLAY: "Flow My Tears the Policeman Said" by Linda Hartinian (performed by Mabou Mines in 1988)
BOOKS ON TAPE
- Minority Report and Other Stories (Unabridged) Read by Keir Dullea - HarperCollins Publishers (2002)
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Abridged) Narrated by Matthew Modine - Warner Adult (1994)
- Paycheck (Abridged) Read by Keir Dullea - HarperAudio (December, 2003)
- Galactic Pot Healer (Abridged) - Blackstone Audiobooks (1998)
- Martian Time-Slip (Unabridged) - Blackstone Audiobooks (1998)
- "Colony" - aired on "X Minus One" (Oct.10, 1956)
- "The Defenders" - aired on "X Minus One" (May 22, 1956)
- Comic version - "The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick" by R. Crumb (1986)
- Various eBooks
Comments (8)
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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday October 09, 2007 at 2:40 PM
© 2007 SF Signal
The pay-off was a little disappointing after all the build up, but the tone and idea of "Time Out of Joint" strike me as particularly well suited for a film adaptation, particularly in this modern age. You could change virtually the whole thing - the period, the escape attempts - and still have the essence of the story there. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened to a PKD, either.
Posted by Matt Dovey on Tuesday October 09, 2007 at 3:00 PM
I was thinking about TOOJ, too, since I have a soft spot for it. Done right, it would be a great movie adaptation. Get the guy who directed "Pleasantville" to do it...
Posted by Paul on Tuesday October 09, 2007 at 3:12 PM
I'm re-reading Ubik now in preparation for a book group discussion. I always thought that one would make a great, creepy movie. It'd probably have to be updated a bit (less coin-operated appliances, less smoking) but the story in itself would lend itself well to a screen adaptation, I think.
Posted by Stefan on Tuesday October 09, 2007 at 4:19 PM
Ubik would be great. I'm also fond of Solar Lottery. Martian Time Slip would be interesting, but threads similar territory to Total Recall. Or like a stronger combo of the We Can Remember It For You Wholesale and the movie.
Eye in the Sky would also be interesting. Or just make them all. 
Posted by Eric on Tuesday October 09, 2007 at 5:23 PM
Start with the 100+ short stories that are yet to be filmed. Dick's short stories are more concentrated and punchier than his books. Which of his novels measures up to "Second Variety" for sheer memorable impact?
The real trick is translating that impact to screen. Total Recall captured that paranoid reality warp in certain moments. A Scanner Darkly belabored the point and lost the effect of inhabiting a mind as it disintegrates. Minority Report dropped the ball entirely and went off to play a different game. It takes a writer who can manage a tricky balance between subtlety and bombast.
Posted by Matte Lozenge on Tuesday October 09, 2007 at 7:48 PM
I do not like Dick that much. 
No, seriously.
Posted by General X on Wednesday October 10, 2007 at 3:16 AM
I'd say Ubik, but I love the book and would hate to see it destroyed on the big screen, so I'll go with TOOJ. Get Jim Carrey in as Ragle Gumm and you could have general audiences think that this was a clone of the Truman Show, which would be a good setup for the second act.
Posted by Jon Dowland on Wednesday October 10, 2007 at 5:13 AM