The late author Philip K. Dick has never been more popular than he is now, between the Blade Runner sequel 2049, which was just released today, the Amazon series The Man in the High Castle, and the new anthology series (also from Amazon) Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams -- all of which, of course, are based on Dick’s work.
That work was celebrated at New York Comic Con today with Amazon’s World of Philip K. Dick panel, which featured a look at footage from both series and cast and creator Q&As. Actor Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) and executive producers Michael Dinner, David Kanter and Ronald D. Moore were on hand to discuss Electric Dreams, along with Isa Dick Hackett, Dick’s daughter and an EP on both series.
Moore, who of course is well known as the man who rebooted Battlestar Galactica as well as for his work on Star Trek and Outlander, recalled getting a call from Isa Dick Hackett. “I thought, wow, that’s an amazing idea,” he said. “I was just taken with the idea before I had even read the short stories. … Right off the bat, I was like, this is just an amazing opportunity.” One of the particularly appealing aspects of the show for Moore was that it was an anthology series. He also was keen to work with the themes that are inherent in Dick’s work.
“The short story that [my episode] was based on, I did a pretty big adaptation,” said Moore. “It was about the nature of reality, and what’s real or not. There is this ongoing theme that runs throughout [the show]. … As well as the question of what it means to be human. It’s just a rich vein that you can mine.”
Electric Dreams is already airing in the UK on Channel 4 and will debut on Amazon in the U.S. in 2018. Part of the approach that the producers and writers are taking with the show is to take the kernel of Dick’s idea and attempt to expand it. “Some of the adaptations are based on taking one or two ideas from the story and having the writers take their own interpretations,” said Kanter. “And some of the best episodes are where the writers freely adapted the stories from their contemporary [viewpoint].”
Showrunner Michael Dinner talked about how Electric Dream’s format allows for a variety of talent to contribute to the show.
“We just thought it would be interesting to invite people to play in the sandbox with us,” he said. “The idea of inviting writers we really admired, and directors we really admired, and to see if the actors come. And they did. … I like to think of it as 10 separate movies.”
Isa Dick Hackett, who has become the caretaker of her father’s legacy, spoke about why they decided to adapt specifically the short stories from his canon.
More from New York Comic Con:
“I think the short stories are some of the gems of his particular ideas,” she said. “A lot of the films have been based on the short stories. But we had this idea that we really wanted to make them film centric. … So in most cases it’s [the filmmakers] selecting something that really spoke to them. … That excited me and was a way to bring in some new voices and some diversity.”
For Dick Hackett, it’s essential that the episodes adhere to the ideas and themes that made her father’s work special.
“The great existential themes,” she said. “He really wanted to explore the great themes -- what it means to be human. Identity. So those are the things that we’ve woven through [the show]. Clearly, what it means to be human. And that means empathy.”
Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottCollura.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire