" Interview with Tessa Dick" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dick Phillip K)About
Philip K. Dick: An interview
Editor's Note
1: A rare surprise for me was the submission (quicky accepted) of this little
gem—an interview with Philip K. Dick's family by Annie Knight. Her contacts
with Tessa, Chris, and Ranea included follow-up phone calls and a lunch at Coco's
Restaurant. Annie begins by recounting how she accidentally met a young woman
in a bookstore... [Annie Knight
relates:] As my copy of A Maze Of Death was lying on the table at
work, a woman asked who it belonged to, and after I told her it was mine, she
introduced herself to me as Ranea Dick, daughter-in-law of Philip K. Dick, the
science fiction writer. After my jaw hit the floor, she told me that her husband,
Chris Dick, was, naturally, the son of P.K. Dick. After my asking and hyperventilating,
she kindly agreed to ask her husband, Chris, if he would be willing to do an
interview. A few weeks
later, I met Ranea, Chris, and Tessa Dick (PKD's former wife) for dinner, where
they graciously and openly filled me in on many aspects regarding the author
and his writing as well as very intriguing tidbits about his personal life. After visiting
numerous P.K. Dick sites on the Web and reading various snippets of literary
criticism regarding his works of fiction as well as the films based on them,
it was an incredible opportunity to hear, first-hand, the experiences Tessa,
Chris, and Ranea had to share. Thanks to them, all the P.K. Dick fans out there
as well as those anticipating the film, Minority Report who may
not even realize the movie is based on Dick's short story, can get the facts
on the late author who dynamically ascends the mere label of "science fiction
writer." Annie:
What was his writing behavior like? Tessa:
[He would spend] three days straight writing a couple hundred pages. I didn't
get any sleep either because every ten minutes [he would ask] "How do you spell
_____, I need some coffee, Is there any food?" …He'd lay down for about
ten minutes, get up again, and write some more. Annie:
Did he have a separate room for writing? Tessa:
Well, we lived in a two bedroom apartment, so that doesn't leave a lot of room;
but we had to move because the people below us had to get up early and we made
all this noise at night. So we moved to a place over a garage. Then we had a
little baby [Chris] that screamed constantly. He was known as "Fussy" for six
months…actually, Chris became a character in one of the novels. Annie:
Which one? Tessa:
Actually, Phil's daughter, Laura, and Chris were in The Transmigration of
Timothy Archer. Chris was [the character] Manny…You know, Emanuel.
Emanuel means something like "the lord has come" and Christopher's name means
"bearer of Christ." Laura was [the character] Angel, and in the novel, Manny
and Angel get together and save the world. Annie:
Anything else you remember about his writing process? Tessa:
Right after The Man In The High Castle [later in the conversation Tessa
explains that this novel was written on his Hermes portable typewriter], he
wrote six novels in six weeks because he knew he was going to get the Hugo award
[for The Man In The High Castle], and he wanted to cash in on it real
quick because he was so broke. When he was with
me, he wrote A Scanner Darkly under two weeks. But we spent three years
rewriting it. I got sick of it. The last time the publisher sent out galleys
for us to proof, I refused to do it. Anytime I wanted to change anything besides
spelling, we had to have a big argument over it, so I just figured I was better
off just leaving it alone. Annie:
So you were pretty involved in his writing process? Tessa:
Well, for A Scanner Darkly. Annie:
When you were with him, were there books he particularly cared about more than
others? Tessa:
He figured The Man In the High Castle to be his masterpiece, but he was
hoping to write another one. Annie:
Did his writing behaviors change any towards the end of his life? Tessa:
His writing was the one constant in his life. He wanted to be a musician when
he was young, but he had more desire than talent, so he became a writer. That's
where he did have talent Annie:
What did he play? Tessa:
He played a triangle with Harry Parch. He got to hit the triangle (laughing).
[Parch] was an avant-garde musician up in Northern California. He made his own
instruments…anyway, Phil worked at Tower Records in San Francisco for a
long time, and they wanted to promote him to be a manager, but his agoraphobia
was getting worse. He didn't like being around people, and here he was, a salesman
in a record store. That was how he met his ex-wife, Cleo. They were both students
at UC Berkeley and she would come in and buy records. Annie:
What did he study at Berkeley? Tessa:
Phil studied philosophy for one semester, and then he dropped out because, at
the time, they had mandatory ROTC since Korea was going on. Chris::
Tell her about the broom. Tessa:
For ROTC, they had to march with their M-1. But he would march with a broom
because he didn't want to carry a gun and they told him he couldn't do that.
Well, the following week, they were learning how to take the M-1 apart and put
it back together, but somehow, accidentally, Phil dropped the firing pin into
the wrong place and the gun was useless and could never be fired again. So he
marched with the broken gun, but he got an F in ROTC, or they kicked him out.
See, he never told the same story the same way twice, but some of the details
remained the same. Anyway, he dropped out of college because he just couldn't
handle the ROTC. After that, he went to sign up rather than get drafted because
he no longer had his exemption for being in college. That's when he found out
about his high blood pressure. They wouldn't take him [because of it]. He would
go join the army and fight in the war because that was better than being drafted,
but he wouldn't do ROTC and be a chicken lieutenant, hiding in the tent. He
really was against the war, but if he was gonna do it, he was gonna be cannon
fodder, not an officer. After we continue
eating for a while, Tessa remembers another anecdote involving Chris and Phil: Tessa
(to Chris): Do you remember flipping quarters at Jeeter's [K.W. Jeeter] house?" Chris::
We were flipping quarters, and I won about eight or nine quarters, and for some
reason my dad and me went outside. We were sitting on the stairs, and a homeless
guy came up, asking us if we could spare a quarter for a cup of coffee. I reached
in my pocket and gave the guy all the quarters I had won. My dad was really
proud of me because he was like that-he really cared about people, and even
felt sorry for some of them. I think he was really surprised that a seven-year-old
kid would give up all those quarters…my favorite thing was to have him
take me to buy my Star Wars toys. It was really hard to get him to go do it…
we bought the "Millennium Falcon." That was a big deal for me because he never
went anywhere, and never left his house. I didn't realize what a big deal it
was then, but the older I get, the less I want to go anywhere. We live in the
mountains, on a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere. Ranea:
Yeah, I have to beg him to take me to places like Disneyland. Tessa:
Phil took me to Disneyland once and we managed to stay for about two hours until
he went out to the parking lot and sat on the hood of the car. He couldn't get
in and drive home because our friends drove us there, so he just waited there
until we all went home. He could not stand crowds. Chris::
He didn't like driving either. I remember he had a car for about three or four
years before he passed away and it only had about 600 miles on it. Tessa:
For several years, he didn't have a car. He just lived in places where he could
walk to everything… After a while,
the conversation begins veering in the direction of the movies based on P.K.
Dick's novels: Chris::
I'm really excited about Minority Report with Steven Spielberg and Tom
Cruise. Spielberg hasn't released any bad movies at all. As for Total Recall
and Blade Runner, both were real good. Screamers was low budget.
I enjoyed the story. I thought it was really good actually, but I didn't like
it being low budget because that means the movie is not as good, and I think
that hurt his image. But I think Minority Report will really help to
launch things and make him more popular. What I really like is that the movies
reach a lot of people and get them to enjoy his books because people don't read
that much anymore, as it is… The story
about the Blade Runner toys: Tessa:
Since the movie got an R rating, Mattel discontinued all the Blade Runner
toys, because how do you sell toys to kids from an R rated movie? Of course
today that wouldn't be a big thing, but then it was. But one day, I saw them
at Mervyns's, discounted at half price, and I bought as many as I could afford.
Annie:
When was this? Tessa:
Right after the movie came out, and Phil had just died. Annie:
So he was around for the making of the movie? Tessa:
He got to see the rough cut, which was no good, and then saw a rough cut of
the remake, which was much better. Annie:
How did he feel about the movie overall? Tessa:
Well, he was much happier with it after David Peoples, a script doctor, fixed
it. The main thing was that Peoples did put in the little origami animals,
because Phil's novel was mostly about the animals and that we were going to
lose them because we don't take care of them. The original script was just a
bunch of robots and people shooting it out. But that's what people want to see! Chris::
Of course, the artist is more interested in what the story is really about…
I thought that was interesting how they were making robot animals because they
still had a desire to have pets, even when they couldn't have the real thing.
What was interesting too was that all the races were intermixed, people were
speaking mixed languages, the cities were overcrowded, and crime was real bad.
His science fiction is so good, I think, because it's not wild, unimaginable,
fanciful thinking about things that never happen. These things really are happening
or will happen. Back in the 50's, when this was written, it did seem like a
fantasy when now it's a reality. Later, through
email correspondence, Tessa relayed to me in greater detail how Plato's Cave
Theory and aspects of certain Native American cultures influenced Dick's writing.
She explains: "In Plato's Cave,
you are seated and tied up so that you can't move. You can't even turn your
head. Behind you, people are carrying objects past the opening of the cave,
so that the sunlight casts the shadows of the objects onto the wall of the cave.
All you ever see is the shadows, so you believe that they are real objects.
If someone came into the cave, untied you and dragged you outside, at first
you would be blinded by the sunlight because you grew up in the relative darkness
of the cave. As your eyes got used to the sunlight, and you began to see the
real world, you would believe that it was a hallucination. For you, the shadows
are "real," but the real objects are "not real." In Phil's novels, often what
seems to be real turns out to be an hallucination, while apparent hallucinations
turn out to be real." In regard
to a Native American influence upon the author and his writing, Tessa adds:
"Phil heard many
stories from his grandfather, who fought against the Native Americans in the
late 1800s. Phil had great respect for Native Americans and their traditions,
even though he was not even part Native American. Phil believed that he had
a spirit guide, and that his spirit guide was a very old and ancient Native
American shaman. I am part Cherokee and something of a throwback. People who
know faces can tell that I'm Native American just by looking at my face, even
though most people don't even think of it. " I must admit
that as of six months ago, I had never read anything by Philip Dick. But after
reading The Crap Artist, A Maze of Death, The Man In The High
Castle, and a few of his short stories including Recall Mechanism
and The Minority Report, I now know the grave error I have made in not
consuming Dick's writing sooner. His indulgence of character development makes
me want to grab that shovel myself and dig faster and deeper into their subconscious
inked out on paper. So, to meet Tessa, Chris:, and Ranae Dick and talk
to them about the author was more than a dream come true for someone who while
reading his books wonders what kind of a person created such monumental stories
that have the ability to lead me, willingly, by such a short leash. Eagerly awaiting
(perhaps skeptically too) the film version of The Minority Report, I
wonder how the film and my imagination's version of the story will match up.
— Annie
Knight Afterwords… by John T. Cullen It seems timely
that this interview by Annie Knight has found its way to Deep Outside SFFH
in the 20th year since the release of Blade Runner and Philip K. Dick's
death in 1982 at the age of 53. As an editor, I was delighted when Annie's interview
unexpectedly fell into my lap this (2002) summer. During the editorial process,
I exchanged a few emails with Tessa Busby-Dick, a few selected snippets of which
I'd like to share (edited but hopefully without losing some of the impromptu
e-mail flavor) with readers. Also, this has been an opportunity for our Media
Critic, John K. Muir, and our Critic at Large, A. L. Sirois, to ask a few questions
of Tessa, whose answers we offer here. John Cullen:
Thanks so much, Tessa. I am very happy that [Annie's] interview came my way.
It's very well done and I think it will give a lot of enjoyment to a lot of
people. Tessa:
I'm glad to see that Phil is finally getting some of the attention that he deserved.
Too bad he didn't get it during his lifetime. John Cullen:
Blade Runner, and the book (Do Robots Dream of Android Sheep?)
it is based on, and the whole legacy of PKD, are a benchmark against which the
best SF will be measured for a long time. Thanks again for your helpfulness…it
is much appreciated!!... Tessa:
Thanx for getting back to me. I'm glad to see even Hollywood taking Phil seriously,
for a change. Bladerunner had Phil's sense of the dark side, but it lacked
depth and spirituality. Total Recall had his sense of humor, but it lacked
the serious philosophical issues that Phil explored in his writing. Screamers
didn't even try. I had high hopes for Impostor, but it limped along...Chris
took me to see Minority Report…it was the second time that Chris
saw it…and we were favorably impressed. The first time that Chris saw it,
he was hung over and hadn't slept in three days, so he didn't like it, but on
the second viewing, sober and having slept, he liked it more than I did. What
impressed me the most was that the audience was quiet, attentive and respectful…not
a common phenomenon in an American movie theater. John Cullen:
Thankx...I saw Impostor and Minority Report...I actually...can
you get this?...got into a violent exchange of emails with some dingdong who
grinds out review-sausage... I never really respond to reviews, but I was having
one of those days. She did have the grace to write back, and soothed me a bit.
Basically, these people expect a *short story* to deliver a major statement...I
enjoyed Impostor as a short story...I went in with that in mind...a short
story by a first rate author writing around 1951, I believe, which would put
it not long after the Golden Age...and right in a wonderful period that spawned
or nurtured Beaumont, Serling, Bradbury, Bloch, Del Rey, ...just a lineup too
spectacular and lengthy to even try to list here... Tessa:
Yes, Total Recall…those people were dead the minute those doors
opened, but they just had to go for the cool special effects with their eyeballs
popping out, and then the sappy ending where they hug and kiss. And then Mars…hey,
they just might be right about the volcano full of water…have you been
watchigtn the NASA web site? You should have seen Bladerunner before
David Peoples did his script doctor magic & they re-shot a few scenes. Ridley
Scott told Phil that it would get by on special effects. NOT! It was nothing
more than the Streets of San Francisco transplanted to LA…not even
a good Raymond Chandler story, just a shoot 'em up. Rutger Hauer was excellent.
I also liked him in Ladyhawke. Well, I do run on. Bladerunner
lacked the best part of the novel, which was the Mercer boxes. Phone sex with
a twist…you actually experience it, rather than talking about it…and
then Mercer shows up in their visions and tells them to protect the animals
and revere life. More later. Tessa John Cullen:
[I reproduce part of this email with trepidation, being a devoté of
the mov(ies) Blade Runner, and yet thinking perhaps this stray late night
thought about a possible new take on Do Robots Dream of Android Sheep?
might have some philosophical underpinnings of its own.] ...I'd forgotten
about the Mercer boxes...read the book a long long time ago...reminds me of
the Feelies in Brave New World...you know, I get the sense that there might
be another movie there for Tom Cruise...if someone were playing the cards right,
they'd approach TC with an idea for (sacrilege!) a remake of BR using the Mercer
Boxes. At the same time, I have to recall that Ridley Scott had endless troubles
trying to get BR financed and completed. Whatever its flaws, it is a miracle
it got made at all, and obviously it has an undying cult fandom. I have both
the gushy version and the director's cut on DVD. The real thing to do would
not be to challenge Ridley Scott's vision, but it is 20 years later now...I'd
make a different movie, shooting for top values in atmospherics, characterization,
etc...and peg it on the premise that it's absolutely faithful to the PKD vision... Tessa:
Well, a Philip K. Dick's Bladerunner might fare better than Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein or Bram Stoker's Dracula (one can always hope). Coppola
would be the one to do it, don't you think? PKD works are much more popular,
now, since Tom Cruise did the big publicity tour…he's a big fan, you know.
will read the attachment later…gotta go out and buy more bottled water…it's
in the '90s today! A. L. Sirois:
Off the top of my head, I'd like to know if there are any plan to film any of
Dick's NON sf work, like CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST. Or if there are any plans
to film UBIK, or THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (both sf, and very well known). Tessa:
So far as I know, the only new movie in the works is A Scanner Darkly,
Warner Bros., to be directed by George Clooney. John K. Muir:
What is it about Dick's science fiction work that makes it such fertile ground
for Hollywood producers? Tessa:
The characters are well-rounded, which appeals to actors. Phil's vision of the
future gives producers confidence that his works will make big films with big
ideas, and not just throw-away or feel-good films. John K. Muir:
Thoughts on Minority Report? Tessa:
Minority Report draws upon ideas from Phil's entire body of work, presenting
a holistic view of the paranoiac vision that haunted him. The screenwriter correctly
interpreted his philosophic vision as a cautionary tale about the nightmare
that lies in wait for us if we choose security over liberty. John K. Muir:
Of all the adapted works (to film)…Blade Runner, Total Recall,
Imposter, Minority Report…which has been the most faithful
to Dick's ethos? Least faithful? Tessa:
Minority Report has replaced Bladerunner as the film that is most
faithful to Phil's writing. Screamers remains the least faithful...reminds
me of an old B movie in the same genre as The Man from Planet X. John K. Muir:
Why do you think Dick's original titles are rarely used (i.e. Blade Runner
vs. Do Androids... or Total Recall vs. We Can Remember It For
You Wholesale...)? Tessa:
Actually, the books rarely carry Phil's original titles, as the editors usually
wrote new titles after reading his manuscripts. Phil often commented that he
couldn't write good titles. If he could, he would have been an advertising writer
instead of a novelist. John K. Muir:
How does the current state of the art (special effects...) help or hurt in bringing
out the values of the author? Which do you think would have been the author's
favorite adaptation, regardless of faithfulness to his work? Why? Tessa:
[This is one question? Looks like two unrelated q's to me]. * Special effects
catch the attention of the movie-going audience, bringing more young people
and technical types into the theater. * Phil would have liked Minority Report
more than the others, primarily because it takes place in Washington, D.C.,
where he spent some of the happiest years of his childhood. In addition, the
hero succeeds more through intellect than by physical prowess. John K. Muir:
So much of Dick's work seems to be about the concept of identity and what identity
is. Do you think the films capture this notion? Which more than the rest? Tessa:
Bladerunner and Minority Report capture Phil's concern about what
makes us human, as well as what makes us moral creatures. The other films don't
really try to achieve this goal. Screamers seemed to promise an exploration
of these concepts, but it devolved into a B-movie clone of "creature features"
like The Night of the Living Dead or The Creature from 20,000 Fathoms.
I was certainly disappointed with that film. A Few Selected
Links Article:
The Orange County Weekly, June, 2002 About
Philip K. Dick: An interview
Editor's Note
1: A rare surprise for me was the submission (quicky accepted) of this little
gem—an interview with Philip K. Dick's family by Annie Knight. Her contacts
with Tessa, Chris, and Ranea included follow-up phone calls and a lunch at Coco's
Restaurant. Annie begins by recounting how she accidentally met a young woman
in a bookstore... [Annie Knight
relates:] As my copy of A Maze Of Death was lying on the table at
work, a woman asked who it belonged to, and after I told her it was mine, she
introduced herself to me as Ranea Dick, daughter-in-law of Philip K. Dick, the
science fiction writer. After my jaw hit the floor, she told me that her husband,
Chris Dick, was, naturally, the son of P.K. Dick. After my asking and hyperventilating,
she kindly agreed to ask her husband, Chris, if he would be willing to do an
interview. A few weeks
later, I met Ranea, Chris, and Tessa Dick (PKD's former wife) for dinner, where
they graciously and openly filled me in on many aspects regarding the author
and his writing as well as very intriguing tidbits about his personal life. After visiting
numerous P.K. Dick sites on the Web and reading various snippets of literary
criticism regarding his works of fiction as well as the films based on them,
it was an incredible opportunity to hear, first-hand, the experiences Tessa,
Chris, and Ranea had to share. Thanks to them, all the P.K. Dick fans out there
as well as those anticipating the film, Minority Report who may
not even realize the movie is based on Dick's short story, can get the facts
on the late author who dynamically ascends the mere label of "science fiction
writer." Annie:
What was his writing behavior like? Tessa:
[He would spend] three days straight writing a couple hundred pages. I didn't
get any sleep either because every ten minutes [he would ask] "How do you spell
_____, I need some coffee, Is there any food?" …He'd lay down for about
ten minutes, get up again, and write some more. Annie:
Did he have a separate room for writing? Tessa:
Well, we lived in a two bedroom apartment, so that doesn't leave a lot of room;
but we had to move because the people below us had to get up early and we made
all this noise at night. So we moved to a place over a garage. Then we had a
little baby [Chris] that screamed constantly. He was known as "Fussy" for six
months…actually, Chris became a character in one of the novels. Annie:
Which one? Tessa:
Actually, Phil's daughter, Laura, and Chris were in The Transmigration of
Timothy Archer. Chris was [the character] Manny…You know, Emanuel.
Emanuel means something like "the lord has come" and Christopher's name means
"bearer of Christ." Laura was [the character] Angel, and in the novel, Manny
and Angel get together and save the world. Annie:
Anything else you remember about his writing process? Tessa:
Right after The Man In The High Castle [later in the conversation Tessa
explains that this novel was written on his Hermes portable typewriter], he
wrote six novels in six weeks because he knew he was going to get the Hugo award
[for The Man In The High Castle], and he wanted to cash in on it real
quick because he was so broke. When he was with
me, he wrote A Scanner Darkly under two weeks. But we spent three years
rewriting it. I got sick of it. The last time the publisher sent out galleys
for us to proof, I refused to do it. Anytime I wanted to change anything besides
spelling, we had to have a big argument over it, so I just figured I was better
off just leaving it alone. Annie:
So you were pretty involved in his writing process? Tessa:
Well, for A Scanner Darkly. Annie:
When you were with him, were there books he particularly cared about more than
others? Tessa:
He figured The Man In the High Castle to be his masterpiece, but he was
hoping to write another one. Annie:
Did his writing behaviors change any towards the end of his life? Tessa:
His writing was the one constant in his life. He wanted to be a musician when
he was young, but he had more desire than talent, so he became a writer. That's
where he did have talent Annie:
What did he play? Tessa:
He played a triangle with Harry Parch. He got to hit the triangle (laughing).
[Parch] was an avant-garde musician up in Northern California. He made his own
instruments…anyway, Phil worked at Tower Records in San Francisco for a
long time, and they wanted to promote him to be a manager, but his agoraphobia
was getting worse. He didn't like being around people, and here he was, a salesman
in a record store. That was how he met his ex-wife, Cleo. They were both students
at UC Berkeley and she would come in and buy records. Annie:
What did he study at Berkeley? Tessa:
Phil studied philosophy for one semester, and then he dropped out because, at
the time, they had mandatory ROTC since Korea was going on. Chris::
Tell her about the broom. Tessa:
For ROTC, they had to march with their M-1. But he would march with a broom
because he didn't want to carry a gun and they told him he couldn't do that.
Well, the following week, they were learning how to take the M-1 apart and put
it back together, but somehow, accidentally, Phil dropped the firing pin into
the wrong place and the gun was useless and could never be fired again. So he
marched with the broken gun, but he got an F in ROTC, or they kicked him out.
See, he never told the same story the same way twice, but some of the details
remained the same. Anyway, he dropped out of college because he just couldn't
handle the ROTC. After that, he went to sign up rather than get drafted because
he no longer had his exemption for being in college. That's when he found out
about his high blood pressure. They wouldn't take him [because of it]. He would
go join the army and fight in the war because that was better than being drafted,
but he wouldn't do ROTC and be a chicken lieutenant, hiding in the tent. He
really was against the war, but if he was gonna do it, he was gonna be cannon
fodder, not an officer. After we continue
eating for a while, Tessa remembers another anecdote involving Chris and Phil: Tessa
(to Chris): Do you remember flipping quarters at Jeeter's [K.W. Jeeter] house?" Chris::
We were flipping quarters, and I won about eight or nine quarters, and for some
reason my dad and me went outside. We were sitting on the stairs, and a homeless
guy came up, asking us if we could spare a quarter for a cup of coffee. I reached
in my pocket and gave the guy all the quarters I had won. My dad was really
proud of me because he was like that-he really cared about people, and even
felt sorry for some of them. I think he was really surprised that a seven-year-old
kid would give up all those quarters…my favorite thing was to have him
take me to buy my Star Wars toys. It was really hard to get him to go do it…
we bought the "Millennium Falcon." That was a big deal for me because he never
went anywhere, and never left his house. I didn't realize what a big deal it
was then, but the older I get, the less I want to go anywhere. We live in the
mountains, on a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere. Ranea:
Yeah, I have to beg him to take me to places like Disneyland. Tessa:
Phil took me to Disneyland once and we managed to stay for about two hours until
he went out to the parking lot and sat on the hood of the car. He couldn't get
in and drive home because our friends drove us there, so he just waited there
until we all went home. He could not stand crowds. Chris::
He didn't like driving either. I remember he had a car for about three or four
years before he passed away and it only had about 600 miles on it. Tessa:
For several years, he didn't have a car. He just lived in places where he could
walk to everything… After a while,
the conversation begins veering in the direction of the movies based on P.K.
Dick's novels: Chris::
I'm really excited about Minority Report with Steven Spielberg and Tom
Cruise. Spielberg hasn't released any bad movies at all. As for Total Recall
and Blade Runner, both were real good. Screamers was low budget.
I enjoyed the story. I thought it was really good actually, but I didn't like
it being low budget because that means the movie is not as good, and I think
that hurt his image. But I think Minority Report will really help to
launch things and make him more popular. What I really like is that the movies
reach a lot of people and get them to enjoy his books because people don't read
that much anymore, as it is… The story
about the Blade Runner toys: Tessa:
Since the movie got an R rating, Mattel discontinued all the Blade Runner
toys, because how do you sell toys to kids from an R rated movie? Of course
today that wouldn't be a big thing, but then it was. But one day, I saw them
at Mervyns's, discounted at half price, and I bought as many as I could afford.
Annie:
When was this? Tessa:
Right after the movie came out, and Phil had just died. Annie:
So he was around for the making of the movie? Tessa:
He got to see the rough cut, which was no good, and then saw a rough cut of
the remake, which was much better. Annie:
How did he feel about the movie overall? Tessa:
Well, he was much happier with it after David Peoples, a script doctor, fixed
it. The main thing was that Peoples did put in the little origami animals,
because Phil's novel was mostly about the animals and that we were going to
lose them because we don't take care of them. The original script was just a
bunch of robots and people shooting it out. But that's what people want to see! Chris::
Of course, the artist is more interested in what the story is really about…
I thought that was interesting how they were making robot animals because they
still had a desire to have pets, even when they couldn't have the real thing.
What was interesting too was that all the races were intermixed, people were
speaking mixed languages, the cities were overcrowded, and crime was real bad.
His science fiction is so good, I think, because it's not wild, unimaginable,
fanciful thinking about things that never happen. These things really are happening
or will happen. Back in the 50's, when this was written, it did seem like a
fantasy when now it's a reality. Later, through
email correspondence, Tessa relayed to me in greater detail how Plato's Cave
Theory and aspects of certain Native American cultures influenced Dick's writing.
She explains: "In Plato's Cave,
you are seated and tied up so that you can't move. You can't even turn your
head. Behind you, people are carrying objects past the opening of the cave,
so that the sunlight casts the shadows of the objects onto the wall of the cave.
All you ever see is the shadows, so you believe that they are real objects.
If someone came into the cave, untied you and dragged you outside, at first
you would be blinded by the sunlight because you grew up in the relative darkness
of the cave. As your eyes got used to the sunlight, and you began to see the
real world, you would believe that it was a hallucination. For you, the shadows
are "real," but the real objects are "not real." In Phil's novels, often what
seems to be real turns out to be an hallucination, while apparent hallucinations
turn out to be real." In regard
to a Native American influence upon the author and his writing, Tessa adds:
"Phil heard many
stories from his grandfather, who fought against the Native Americans in the
late 1800s. Phil had great respect for Native Americans and their traditions,
even though he was not even part Native American. Phil believed that he had
a spirit guide, and that his spirit guide was a very old and ancient Native
American shaman. I am part Cherokee and something of a throwback. People who
know faces can tell that I'm Native American just by looking at my face, even
though most people don't even think of it. " I must admit
that as of six months ago, I had never read anything by Philip Dick. But after
reading The Crap Artist, A Maze of Death, The Man In The High
Castle, and a few of his short stories including Recall Mechanism
and The Minority Report, I now know the grave error I have made in not
consuming Dick's writing sooner. His indulgence of character development makes
me want to grab that shovel myself and dig faster and deeper into their subconscious
inked out on paper. So, to meet Tessa, Chris:, and Ranae Dick and talk
to them about the author was more than a dream come true for someone who while
reading his books wonders what kind of a person created such monumental stories
that have the ability to lead me, willingly, by such a short leash. Eagerly awaiting
(perhaps skeptically too) the film version of The Minority Report, I
wonder how the film and my imagination's version of the story will match up.
— Annie
Knight Afterwords… by John T. Cullen It seems timely
that this interview by Annie Knight has found its way to Deep Outside SFFH
in the 20th year since the release of Blade Runner and Philip K. Dick's
death in 1982 at the age of 53. As an editor, I was delighted when Annie's interview
unexpectedly fell into my lap this (2002) summer. During the editorial process,
I exchanged a few emails with Tessa Busby-Dick, a few selected snippets of which
I'd like to share (edited but hopefully without losing some of the impromptu
e-mail flavor) with readers. Also, this has been an opportunity for our Media
Critic, John K. Muir, and our Critic at Large, A. L. Sirois, to ask a few questions
of Tessa, whose answers we offer here. John Cullen:
Thanks so much, Tessa. I am very happy that [Annie's] interview came my way.
It's very well done and I think it will give a lot of enjoyment to a lot of
people. Tessa:
I'm glad to see that Phil is finally getting some of the attention that he deserved.
Too bad he didn't get it during his lifetime. John Cullen:
Blade Runner, and the book (Do Robots Dream of Android Sheep?)
it is based on, and the whole legacy of PKD, are a benchmark against which the
best SF will be measured for a long time. Thanks again for your helpfulness…it
is much appreciated!!... Tessa:
Thanx for getting back to me. I'm glad to see even Hollywood taking Phil seriously,
for a change. Bladerunner had Phil's sense of the dark side, but it lacked
depth and spirituality. Total Recall had his sense of humor, but it lacked
the serious philosophical issues that Phil explored in his writing. Screamers
didn't even try. I had high hopes for Impostor, but it limped along...Chris
took me to see Minority Report…it was the second time that Chris
saw it…and we were favorably impressed. The first time that Chris saw it,
he was hung over and hadn't slept in three days, so he didn't like it, but on
the second viewing, sober and having slept, he liked it more than I did. What
impressed me the most was that the audience was quiet, attentive and respectful…not
a common phenomenon in an American movie theater. John Cullen:
Thankx...I saw Impostor and Minority Report...I actually...can
you get this?...got into a violent exchange of emails with some dingdong who
grinds out review-sausage... I never really respond to reviews, but I was having
one of those days. She did have the grace to write back, and soothed me a bit.
Basically, these people expect a *short story* to deliver a major statement...I
enjoyed Impostor as a short story...I went in with that in mind...a short
story by a first rate author writing around 1951, I believe, which would put
it not long after the Golden Age...and right in a wonderful period that spawned
or nurtured Beaumont, Serling, Bradbury, Bloch, Del Rey, ...just a lineup too
spectacular and lengthy to even try to list here... Tessa:
Yes, Total Recall…those people were dead the minute those doors
opened, but they just had to go for the cool special effects with their eyeballs
popping out, and then the sappy ending where they hug and kiss. And then Mars…hey,
they just might be right about the volcano full of water…have you been
watchigtn the NASA web site? You should have seen Bladerunner before
David Peoples did his script doctor magic & they re-shot a few scenes. Ridley
Scott told Phil that it would get by on special effects. NOT! It was nothing
more than the Streets of San Francisco transplanted to LA…not even
a good Raymond Chandler story, just a shoot 'em up. Rutger Hauer was excellent.
I also liked him in Ladyhawke. Well, I do run on. Bladerunner
lacked the best part of the novel, which was the Mercer boxes. Phone sex with
a twist…you actually experience it, rather than talking about it…and
then Mercer shows up in their visions and tells them to protect the animals
and revere life. More later. Tessa John Cullen:
[I reproduce part of this email with trepidation, being a devoté of
the mov(ies) Blade Runner, and yet thinking perhaps this stray late night
thought about a possible new take on Do Robots Dream of Android Sheep?
might have some philosophical underpinnings of its own.] ...I'd forgotten
about the Mercer boxes...read the book a long long time ago...reminds me of
the Feelies in Brave New World...you know, I get the sense that there might
be another movie there for Tom Cruise...if someone were playing the cards right,
they'd approach TC with an idea for (sacrilege!) a remake of BR using the Mercer
Boxes. At the same time, I have to recall that Ridley Scott had endless troubles
trying to get BR financed and completed. Whatever its flaws, it is a miracle
it got made at all, and obviously it has an undying cult fandom. I have both
the gushy version and the director's cut on DVD. The real thing to do would
not be to challenge Ridley Scott's vision, but it is 20 years later now...I'd
make a different movie, shooting for top values in atmospherics, characterization,
etc...and peg it on the premise that it's absolutely faithful to the PKD vision... Tessa:
Well, a Philip K. Dick's Bladerunner might fare better than Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein or Bram Stoker's Dracula (one can always hope). Coppola
would be the one to do it, don't you think? PKD works are much more popular,
now, since Tom Cruise did the big publicity tour…he's a big fan, you know.
will read the attachment later…gotta go out and buy more bottled water…it's
in the '90s today! A. L. Sirois:
Off the top of my head, I'd like to know if there are any plan to film any of
Dick's NON sf work, like CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST. Or if there are any plans
to film UBIK, or THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (both sf, and very well known). Tessa:
So far as I know, the only new movie in the works is A Scanner Darkly,
Warner Bros., to be directed by George Clooney. John K. Muir:
What is it about Dick's science fiction work that makes it such fertile ground
for Hollywood producers? Tessa:
The characters are well-rounded, which appeals to actors. Phil's vision of the
future gives producers confidence that his works will make big films with big
ideas, and not just throw-away or feel-good films. John K. Muir:
Thoughts on Minority Report? Tessa:
Minority Report draws upon ideas from Phil's entire body of work, presenting
a holistic view of the paranoiac vision that haunted him. The screenwriter correctly
interpreted his philosophic vision as a cautionary tale about the nightmare
that lies in wait for us if we choose security over liberty. John K. Muir:
Of all the adapted works (to film)…Blade Runner, Total Recall,
Imposter, Minority Report…which has been the most faithful
to Dick's ethos? Least faithful? Tessa:
Minority Report has replaced Bladerunner as the film that is most
faithful to Phil's writing. Screamers remains the least faithful...reminds
me of an old B movie in the same genre as The Man from Planet X. John K. Muir:
Why do you think Dick's original titles are rarely used (i.e. Blade Runner
vs. Do Androids... or Total Recall vs. We Can Remember It For
You Wholesale...)? Tessa:
Actually, the books rarely carry Phil's original titles, as the editors usually
wrote new titles after reading his manuscripts. Phil often commented that he
couldn't write good titles. If he could, he would have been an advertising writer
instead of a novelist. John K. Muir:
How does the current state of the art (special effects...) help or hurt in bringing
out the values of the author? Which do you think would have been the author's
favorite adaptation, regardless of faithfulness to his work? Why? Tessa:
[This is one question? Looks like two unrelated q's to me]. * Special effects
catch the attention of the movie-going audience, bringing more young people
and technical types into the theater. * Phil would have liked Minority Report
more than the others, primarily because it takes place in Washington, D.C.,
where he spent some of the happiest years of his childhood. In addition, the
hero succeeds more through intellect than by physical prowess. John K. Muir:
So much of Dick's work seems to be about the concept of identity and what identity
is. Do you think the films capture this notion? Which more than the rest? Tessa:
Bladerunner and Minority Report capture Phil's concern about what
makes us human, as well as what makes us moral creatures. The other films don't
really try to achieve this goal. Screamers seemed to promise an exploration
of these concepts, but it devolved into a B-movie clone of "creature features"
like The Night of the Living Dead or The Creature from 20,000 Fathoms.
I was certainly disappointed with that film. A Few Selected
Links Article:
The Orange County Weekly, June, 2002 |
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