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I have heard this a couple of times now but I don't know the reasoning behind this. I know that the film adaptation of the novel was released shortly before the authors death.

Also, if this is the case, what was Ridley Scott's response to his distress?

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  • Thanks for the link there. However, I heard that his take on the film was not what he had imagined and that he was not impressed. Perhaps I have been misinformed though. – PrimalScientist Aug 02 '13 at 12:36
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    Given that letter he wrote and how he died inbetween the letter and the movie's release it seems pretty unlikely that he had a problem with it. Do you perhaps have a link to anyone claiming he did? – jono Aug 02 '13 at 12:53
  • Will research and see what I can come up with. – PrimalScientist Aug 02 '13 at 12:57
  • After some 'quick' research, it seems he had a problem with early scripts (Herb Jaffe). Considering how long ago it was actually written. I have just seen some information from a fan website: Link

    Perhaps this is what was actually meant when I read the report (I cannot remember where now as it was a while ago but was always something I sort of thought about...)

     – PrimalScientist Aug 02 '13 at 13:12
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    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep wasn't a short story, it was a novel... – evilsoup Aug 03 '13 at 10:01
  • @evilsoup Agreed. I just edited the original question. – Andres F. Aug 04 '13 at 01:02
  • Yes, thanks all for amendments and answers. – PrimalScientist Aug 04 '13 at 14:04

1 Answers1

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"Why was Philip K Dick so distressed..."
Easy answer; he wasn't.

If you read Mike Scott's excellent answer, you will see that, although he never saw the completed version, what he did see impressed him significantly enough that he sent a glowingly complimentary letter to the production company, thanking them for their contribution to the field of SciFi, which he felt had been stagnating.

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K-H-W
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  • Yeah, I read it. PKD did feel that SciFi was stagnating and that the original scripts were extremely sub-par. However, his attitude obviously changed when a new script was written in 1980 and submitted in 1981. Upon seeing an unfinished version of the film he was obviously delighted. Thanks all who helped answer my question. – PrimalScientist Aug 02 '13 at 14:24
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    You mean the field of futurism ;-) – Zommuter Aug 02 '13 at 14:24
  • Yes, the field of futurism!! =] – PrimalScientist Aug 02 '13 at 14:27