By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Warner Independant
A Scanner Darkly
Warner Independent Pictures recently announced
that their upcoming animated adaptation, A
Scanner Darkly, will again have its release date pushed
from March to July 7, 2006. Though this comes as bad news for those who
have been waiting for the film, at least it now has an established date
rather than just a month.
Scanner Darkly on July 7
I am actually a bit surprised by the recent change
of release due to the increase of early reviews over the past months. Sure,
I could have seen the date being set at late March or April but all the
way back to July?
A while back the production crew of A Scanner Darkly found that
they were short on artists due to the tricky technique that is being used
for the film and had an open call to get more help. Is the animation style
of A Scanner Darkly still slowing up production?
A Scanner Darkly is set in suburban Orange County, California in
a future where America has lost the war on drugs. When one reluctant undercover
cop (Reeves) is ordered to start spying on his friends, he is launched on
a paranoid journey into the absurd, where identities and loyalties are impossible
to decode. It is a cautionary tale of drug use based on the novel by Philip
K. Dick and his own experiences. A Scanner Darkly stars Keanu Reeves,
Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder and Rory Cochrane and is
written for the screen and directed by Richard Linklater.
Like a graphic novel come to life, A Scanner
Darkly will use live action photography overlaid with an advanced animation
process (interpolated rotoscoping) to create a haunting, highly stylized
vision of the future. The technology, first employed in Richard Linklater's
2001 film Waking Life, has evolved to produce even more emotional
impact and detail.
The Scanner Darkly will now be heading to theatres on July 7th.
A Scanner Darkly
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