Comments on: "A Scanner Darkly" Remix contest

"A Scanner Darkly" Remix contest

Tlogmer — Sun, 21 May 2006 03:02:01 -0800

(turn up the volume) in the Scanner Darkly remix contest is already better than the (turn it back down) official trailer.

By: Tlogmer

Tlogmer — Sun, 21 May 2006 03:03:03 -0800

*Technically, it's for the audience award, not the main award.

By: lemonfridge

lemonfridge — Sun, 21 May 2006 03:42:03 -0800

who says its better? I dont.

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Sun, 21 May 2006 03:43:52 -0800

Some guy on the Internet said it was better. Like, duh.

By: spazzm

spazzm — Sun, 21 May 2006 04:13:21 -0800

None of the downloads on the official site are working. Why do otherwise intelligent people insist on creating elaborate, expensive content, then making it impossible to view?

By: Flashman

Flashman — Sun, 21 May 2006 04:34:40 -0800

"Have you passed through this dark night?"

By: sindark

sindark — Sun, 21 May 2006 05:05:15 -0800

I think the remix feels too long and repetitive to be a good trailer, though the production values do seem to be fairly high.

By: neek

neek — Sun, 21 May 2006 06:08:08 -0800

I am left with the annoyed feeling that I was tricked into watching the stupid trailer yet another time. I love Mr Dick. I have yet to love any of the movies made from his works. At least "Scanner Darkly" is weird enough that even trying to make it into a movie seems like a gutsy thing to do. Still, I yearn for an honest film version of VALIS starring Buscemi with a beard as Dick.

By: cortex

cortex — Sun, 21 May 2006 06:46:18 -0800

Not even Blade Runner?

By: photoslob

photoslob — Sun, 21 May 2006 07:18:17 -0800

For the love of Pete - when is the movie going to be released? I've been watching trailers for it for what seems like the last 2 years. I'm starting to think this is some sort of prank on Linklaters part. There isn't a movie just the same 3 min's of scenes to be remixed over and over again.

By: mkhall

mkhall — Sun, 21 May 2006 07:27:47 -0800

There isn't a movie just the same 3 min's of scenes to be remixed over and over again. Which is rather Dickian in its own right.

By: barjo

barjo — Sun, 21 May 2006 07:40:51 -0800

Still, I yearn for an honest film version of VALIS starring Buscemi with a beard as Dick. I've fantasized about a nonfiction film concentration on his visionary experiences, with Philip Seymour Hoffman as Dick.

By: barjo

barjo — Sun, 21 May 2006 07:48:47 -0800

Oh, and directed by David Cronenberg.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sun, 21 May 2006 08:17:03 -0800

Flashman, what are you quoting? I read your quote and I think, No, it's "Is this darkness in you, too? Have you passed through this night?" barjo, Cronenberg would fuck up Dick like nobodody's business. He's probably the least qualified director I can think of to do his stuff. Have you seen eXcremenz? I shiver at him attempting a real PKD piece as I do when I think of The Black Dahlia being done by De Palma.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sun, 21 May 2006 08:17:49 -0800

nobody's. I don't know nobodody. :)

By: lowest.common.denominator

lowest.common.denominator — Sun, 21 May 2006 08:29:17 -0800

Still, I yearn for an honest film version of VALIS starring Buscemi with a beard as Dick. I've fantasized about a nonfiction film concentration on his visionary experiences, with Philip Seymour Hoffman as Dick. Yeah, i'd watch either of those. Who would direct valis though? And wouldnt it have to be about 4-5 hours long? Great book though, starts off a bit week and meandering but by the second act youre hooked. Does anyone else whos read a scanner darkly find the official trailer a little misleading in terms of what the movie is actually going to be about? Seems like it could draw a lot of people in who are going to be expecting a lot more of an action matrixy movie. Arent they going to leave a little disappointed if they're after cheap action. Still, cant wait for this one.

By: matteo

matteo — Sun, 21 May 2006 08:46:11 -0800

I agree with dobbs, Cronenberg + PKD = disaster

By: Flashman

Flashman — Sun, 21 May 2006 09:03:35 -0800

Yeah Dobbs (Matt, from McGill?) that's what I was quoting - badly as it turns out. It just sort of slipped out, stream of consciousness style after seeing the clips. TRL's one of my favourite films. BTW I liked Existenz too... well, it was good on mushrooms.

By: Flashman

Flashman — Sun, 21 May 2006 09:05:15 -0800

(PS maybe it's because that's what K Reeves himself is channelling in those voiceovers)

By: squirrel

squirrel — Sun, 21 May 2006 09:15:08 -0800

I like the concept, but couldn't make it though the "top remix."

By: lowest.common.denominator

lowest.common.denominator — Sun, 21 May 2006 09:22:20 -0800

Also, cant watch the movie in ubuntu dapper, they've wrapped it in some retarded flash 8 thing. Mentioned before on filter is the other trailer for a scanner darkly, put together by a company called rustmonkey who were turned down. Was going to post it but the site seems to be down. Good stuff. I'm looking for a cache now, if anyone finds it or has it, post it. Rustmonkey is apparently run by Daniel Thron, the man behind the cutscenes from the excellent computer game series, thief.

By: NortonDC

NortonDC — Sun, 21 May 2006 09:24:18 -0800

By: Drexen

Drexen — Sun, 21 May 2006 09:43:43 -0800

If Cronenberg could do for Dick what he did for Burroughs, I would be very happy.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Sun, 21 May 2006 09:51:49 -0800

All they did was remix the trailer? Boring.

By: shoepal

shoepal — Sun, 21 May 2006 11:18:44 -0800

photoslob, there was an article in Wired about the delays the film experienced and such which is why for a long time there's only been a bit of footage available in the trailer format. It's an interesting read.

By: Meccabilly

Meccabilly — Sun, 21 May 2006 11:37:56 -0800

It was good in parts, but waaaaay to long. Could do with the middle cut out and a snappier end. Not as good as the official trailer ;) Also I think this film looks v v v cool... Cronenberg also a bit to into his own thing to do PKD work justice, but what do i know? ;)

By: ninjew

ninjew — Sun, 21 May 2006 11:54:45 -0800

Having just watched Waking Life for the first time the other night, I'm really looking forward to A Scanner Darkly. Only because it seems like they've really advanced the rotoscoping process, because it really does seem a bit primitive in Waking Life. Although, given the context, a bit of fuzziness seems appropriate in terms of what is happening in the movie. Also, how is it Linklater didn't somehow squeeze in Adam Goldberg and Nicky Katt cameos?

By: Kirklander

Kirklander — Sun, 21 May 2006 12:06:38 -0800

Cronenberg could do Ubik.

By: lukemeister

lukemeister — Sun, 21 May 2006 12:21:02 -0800

The film is supposed to be shown at Cannes on Thursday night, May 25.

By: abulafa

abulafa — Sun, 21 May 2006 12:58:23 -0800

Rustmonkey's version: several interesting ideas with amateurish voice-acting and an unshakable feeling I was going to hear a Tim Burton/Danny Elfman musical number any second. Better luck next time. Linklater's rotoscope mindfuck is hard to beat (not to mention his ability to capture big ideas in little slices of return-to-normalcy era suburbia).

By: empath

empath — Sun, 21 May 2006 13:00:49 -0800

So is this movie about Morgellon's Disease?

By: Ryvar

Ryvar — Sun, 21 May 2006 13:38:20 -0800

Rustmonkey is apparently run by Daniel Thron, the man behind the cutscenes from the excellent computer game series, thief. Goddamn. Thief had the most fucking stylish cutscenes of any computer game ever, too. None of this shit holds a candle to that those clips.

By: MythMaker

MythMaker — Sun, 21 May 2006 14:02:38 -0800

empath, here's the plot of the novel, if you're interested. It's got spoilers, though. But, no, it's not about Morgellon's Disease. It's about drugs.

By: lowest.common.denominator

lowest.common.denominator — Sun, 21 May 2006 14:10:07 -0800

The rustmonkey site now seems to be working. Direct link to the pitch trailer. Rustmonkey's version: several interesting ideas with amateurish voice-acting and an unshakable feeling I was going to hear a Tim Burton/Danny Elfman musical number any second. Better luck next time. I thought the voice acting was a little heavy handed in parts but you have to remember the actual movie is going to star keanu reeves, so comparitivly this little trailer is in a league of its own. The thing i dont like about it is the conception of the suit. Considering its such a central aspect of the book the rustmonkey man-in-a-slideshow-mask version doesnt really cut it for me. Cronenberg can really pull the stops out when it counts and is no slouch when it comes to adaptations. Think naked lunch, crash, madame butterfly and spider, all fantastic deep complex well made movies based on highly revered source materials. Basically, think anything apart from a history of violence. I think he'd make a great director for any pkd novel, if the subject was freaky enough.

By: lowest.common.denominator

lowest.common.denominator — Sun, 21 May 2006 14:16:29 -0800

The direct link i posted above doesnt actually work, sorry bout that.

By: cropshy

cropshy — Sun, 21 May 2006 15:24:48 -0800

If Cronenberg could do for Dick what he did for Burroughs, I would be very happy. God, I hated Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. The man has no understanding of Burroughs' work or life.

By: cortex

cortex — Sun, 21 May 2006 16:36:51 -0800

God, I hated Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. The man has no understanding of Burroughs' work or life. Buh?

By: cropshy

cropshy — Sun, 21 May 2006 18:40:34 -0800

Buh? Cronenberg's Naked Lunch was unwatchable, borning shit. I'll never get those two hours of my life back.

By: Drexen

Drexen — Sun, 21 May 2006 19:03:11 -0800

God, I hated Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. The man has no understanding of Burroughs' work or life. I disagree. Cronenberg was friends with Burroughs. Admittedly it doesn't work as a documentary, but it's fantastic as a neat Burroughsian fusion of Burroughs' work, life and mythology. As far as I know, Burroughs approved of the film -- see this interview with the two of them (the one that starts 1/3 of the way down).

By: cropshy

cropshy — Sun, 21 May 2006 19:21:37 -0800

I know Burroughs liked it, but the movie had nothing to do with the book it was supposedly an adaptation of.

By: skallas

skallas — Sun, 21 May 2006 20:09:09 -0800

>>For the love of Pete - when is the movie going to be released? This month or next. Im sure you can google the release date. The real problem was about 6-12 months of setbacks due to all sorts of problems in post production. There was a wired article about all of linklater's problems a few weeks back. Hopefully, this wont hurt the movie, which is either going to be a really good take on a PKD story or a pile of steaming 'waking life' poo.

By: skallas

skallas — Sun, 21 May 2006 20:22:37 -0800

Which trailer is the "top trailer?" Right now two are tied with 17 votes. The one with the Godspeed song as a soundtrack?

By: blacklite

blacklite — Sun, 21 May 2006 21:26:18 -0800

I have no idea which remix is the top remix, but I was quite impressed by the official trailer, much more than the remixes. Maybe the remixes are better if you've read A Scanner Darkly previously? Anyway, I will watch this when it comes out. Since, you know, I can't quite manage to get to Cannes this year.

By: cortex

cortex — Sun, 21 May 2006 21:59:41 -0800

cropshy, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with just about everything you've said.

By: Drexen

Drexen — Mon, 22 May 2006 07:11:52 -0800

cropshy: "I know Burroughs liked it, but the movie had nothing to do with the book it was supposedly an adaptation of." That's a pretty wild exaggeration there, and it's also different from your original argument. What's more, it's beside the point. Cronenberg sensibly didn't attempt a straight adaptation of an unfilmable book, but instead gave us a heavy dose of Burroughs' life, style, and combined works - borrowing themes, motifs and images from Naked Lunch and other books. I don't think a straight book-adaptation or a straight documentary would have been very Burroughsian or very useful from a cinematic viewpoint.

By: Drexen

Drexen — Mon, 22 May 2006 07:17:42 -0800

Uh, but to get back on topic - the whole "Mashup our trailer!!" thing seems a bit, I don't know.. tired. I wouln't say any of the results are especially remarkable. Maybe it's just because none of them really assuage my fear that the actors are going to ruin the film.

By: mikeh

mikeh — Mon, 22 May 2006 08:25:22 -0800

I think this is where the barely-legal sites win since the timeframe is quick for this contest despite the fact that contestants are only to use their own assets in addition to the video and audio clips supplied. I would bet that there are some sweet versions using copyrighted music that aren't going to make it. As for the Burroughs/Cronenberg derail, it's a toss-up on how effective Naked Lunch was. I like Cronenberg and thought that he made one of his own films using elements from most of Burroughs' fiction (although drawing more heavily from Exterminator and the nova trilogy than the book in question) and elements of Burroughs' life. Whether you like that is more a question of your like for Cronenberg and depth of your Burroughs knowledge. Burroughs was notorious for giving the thumbs-up to just about anything in his later years, so that's somewhat of a hollow endorsement.

By: cropshy

cropshy — Mon, 22 May 2006 14:14:37 -0800

I've been a Burroughs fan for too many years, read too many of his books, and know far too much about his life to be satisfied with a movie like Naked Lunch. But maybe if the movie had actually interested me instead boring me to tears, it may have at least been entertaining. Also, it might have helped if I was a fan of Cronenberg, but I'm not.