Introduction

The aim of this dissertation is to provide an accessible background to the film Blade Runner. By collecting information from a variety of sources I hope to provide a thorough, yet by no means exhaustive, document of the transformation of a rebellious work of literary science fiction into a mass media commodity. The adaptation of Philip K. Dick's science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) into the film Blade Runner (1982), by the British director Ridley Scott, is the final result of a series of misunderstandings between the author himself and the Hollywood system. Philip K. Dick was a very prolific and unique writer, working in the science fiction genre. He wrote novels and short stories before his sudden death on the 2nd of March, 1982, just before the release of the film Blade Runner. There have also been three more film adaptations from his short stories. His 1966 short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, first published in the magazine "Fantasy and Science Fiction" in 1966, was	produced at the Walt Disney studios from a Dan O'Bannon (Dark Star - (1974), and Alien - (1979)) screenplay, under the title Total Recall (1990). His 1953 short story Second Variety was also adapted by Dan O'Bannon for the film Screamers (1996). The third film was titled Confession D'Un Barjo (date unknown). This was based on the 1975 novel, Confessions of a Crap Artist. A further adaptation of one of his novels is rumoured to be in preparation: this one will be based on his highly personal novel A Scanner Darkly (1977). Nothing is certain on this yet, but it looks as though an Australian director is being lined up to helm the project. The Ladd Company production of the science fiction film Blade Runner made Philip K. Dick doubt that he would ever see any of his work filmed and completed. He was alienated by the Hollywood system during the pre-production of the film, and was consulted only at the final stages. Though the film is only loosely based on the novel, the two basic themes of the book are retained. The first is what, for Philip K. Dick,

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