Paul Giamatti has been cast to play acclaimed (sometimes surreal) science fiction author Philip K. Dick in an authorized biopic about his life. What makes it authorized? It's being produced by the Philip K. Dick Estate through their production house Electric Shepherd Productions, according to Variety.
Confused? Understandable. Last week we brought you the news that Bill Pullman has also been tapped to play the oddball author in a movie about his life. Pullman's movie is called Panasonic, and it has nothing to do with the Philip K. Dick estate, and in fact, may have little to do with reality, since it's described as somewhat surreal. Giamatti's movie is called Anonymous Content, and it's Dick approved.
Of the two, Giamatti and Pullman, Giamatti certainly is closer to looking the part. For starters, he's bald and he grows a mean goatee.
It's been more than twenty years since the death of acclaimed (sometimes psychadelic) science fiction author Philip K. Dick, and though many of his novels have become movies during that time nobody even once considered making a movie out of him. Now we have two Dick movies in production. What's with the sudden interest? Hard to say. Maybe it's the increased popularity of biopics combined with a renewed interest in making movies out of his work. Or maybe it's just that not-as-cool-advertised Philip K. Dick robot which a few geeks were shuttling around to comic conventions and managed to get on the news that piqued people's interest in seeing the real Dick.
