A new feature film is in development based on the life of late sci-fi author Philip K. Dick. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the new movie, called Only Apparently Real, is being produced by Jon Shestack. The film is based in part on a biography of the same name penned by Paul Williams, a friend of Dick's who had served as executor of the author's estate. Former attorney Michael Richter wrote the script for the feature film adaptation and will also produce alongside Shestack.
Reportedly, the film takes great inspiration from Dick's real life, which was "filled with drug use and hallucinations, a suicide attempt and letters to the FBI, paranormal experiences and believing he was living parallel lives in two different time periods, one in the present and the other in the Roman Empire." The report adds that the biopic "centers on a break-in at Dick’s house that took place in the early ’70s. He was in the midst of his fourth divorce, trying to give up amphetamines, battling writer’s block, and possibly being spied on by the United States government. Then his house was ransacked, his safe blown open and his manuscripts were stolen. But then again, maybe they weren’t and maybe there was never a break-in."
Also covered in the biopic will be how the death of twin sister in their infancy and how it served as a constant theme in Dick's life. The author had attributed many of his personal problems and mental struggles with his sister's death, always bothered deeply by the tragic loss and contributing to his attachment anxieties. Shestack notes that Dick's "life was as surreal as his books. He was a high-level functioning person and you never know, even when reading his journals, what is real and what isn’t.”
No director has yet been attached to Only Apparently Real, nor have any actors been announced for the role of Dick. A release date hasn't yet been set.
Philip K. Dick's Work Has Inspired Many Movies
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A legend of the sci-fi genre, Dick has been immortalized with his various literary works still celebrated to this day. There have been many movies to be made based on his material that have further contributed to his popularity. Blade Runner serves as one of the most revered examples, with other movies based on Dick works including Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, The Adjustment Bureau, and Radio Free Albemuth. Shows like The Man in the High Castle and Electric Dreams have also been produced.
New adaptations will continue to be made for some time to come. In November, it was reported that Francis Lawrence was on board to direct a Vulcan's Hammer movie based on the Dick novel. That film doesn't have a release date set at this time, though you can read the official synopsis for Dick's book below to get an idea of what the film will be like.
After the twentieth century’s devastating series of wars, the world’s governments banded together into one globe-spanning entity, committed to peace at all costs. Ensuring that peace is the Vulcan supercomputer, responsible for all major decisions. But some people don’t like being taken out of the equation. And others resent the idea that the Vulcan is taking the place of God. As the world grows ever closer to all-out war, one functionary frantically tries to prevent it. But the Vulcan computer has its own plans, plans that might not include humanity at all.