Dicking Around with a Slacker

Via reader Phil Ford, the Austin Chronicle has an interview with Richard Linklater, about his new Philip K. Dick–inspired film A Scanner Darkly, which those of you in Real Cities were able to see this weekend, while those of us in D.C. have to wait a few more days.

Lots of good stuff, but I did have to raise an eyebrow at the contention that one scene would "never pass a Hollywood script committee meeting." If this is just an isolated point about the noxiousness of the script committee meeting, hey, sure. But if School of Rock director Linklater intended a broader jab at "the Hollywood system," it gets tricky figuring out where he thinks he's jabbing from. This is an "independent" film being distributed by the "indie" imprint of Warner Brothers (raising some questions about what, exactly, "independent" is supposed to mean beyond indicating that smart people are supposed to like it), and starring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, and Robert Downey Jr. See also "indie rock" band Modest Mouse, currently signed to Sony's Epic label.