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Here’s your daily dose of an indie film, web series, TV pilot, what-have-you in progress — at the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.

In the meantime: Is this a project you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.

Devoti Tutti

Logline: Saint Agatha of Catania was killed in 251 Ad for resisting the advances of a Roman governor. Her story has always been told by men — until now.

Elevator Pitch:

13-year old Agatha was the Malala of 2000 years ago: She refused to submit to the tyranny of a patriarchal, repressive society. For refusing sex with the governor,her breasts were cut off. Her ‘No’ resulted in torture and death. She was canonized and today the annual Feast of Saint Agatha attracts millions of visitors, who are passionate in their devotion to this courageous girl. Devoti Tutti tells Agatha’s story...

Shout! Factory has acquired the giallo thriller, The Editor, for U.S. distribution, the El Rey Network is hosting a RoboCop marathon this weekend, and submissions are now open for The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival.

The Editor: Press Release -- "Los Angeles, Calif. (May 1, 2015) – Shout! Factory, a leading multi-platform entertainment company, and Kennedy/Brooks, Inc. have entered a picture deal to distribute The Editor in the U.S. Directed and produced by Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy, this stylish, giallo-inspired horror comedy premiered with critical praise at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and is scheduled to play at the San Francisco International Film Festival on May 1. The announcement was made today by Shout! Factory’s founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, and filmmakers Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy.

In this picture deal, Shout! Factory secured exclusive U.S. distribution rights to The Editor, including broadcast,...

Editor's Note: Also be sure to check out Ben's review of the movie from Sci-Fi London

Adaptations of Philip K. Dick stories are commonplace but they rarely manage to be successful, often taking great ideas and sucking out what makes them great leaving an oft glossy but empty shell. John Alan Simon's debut Radio Free Albemuth takes a different approach. The independently produced feature written and directed by Simon, is more prudent in production but keeps most of Dick's ideas in tact and the resulting feature emerges a little better because of it.

The story unfolds in a fascist state where Nick Brady (Jonathan Scarfe), a radio store [Continued ...]...

I’ve always felt that instead of asking “what is God” we should be more focused on asking “what is the nature of God?” Should we really be so concerned with who or what such a power is, if we do not truly understand what purpose that power holds in our lives? Watching Radio Free Albemuth is a personal cinematic experience and this is what I feel is at the core of the film’s story.

Based upon science-fiction legend Philip K. Dick’s posthumously published novel of the same name — a story line that first began with Valis (1980) — Radio Free Albemuth is adapted for the screen and directed by John Alan Simon. Originally filmed in 2007, experiencing more than its share of difficulties, the film found itself stranded in post-production in 2010 where it remained until a successful Kickstarter campaign allowed the filmmakers to complete the film for official release. I...

Crowdfunding sites have proven a boon to independent filmmakers whose work might otherwise never reach a wide audience. Radio Free Albemuth, an ultra-low-budget Philip K. Dick adaptation filmed all the way back in 2007, is one such example; writer-director John Alan Simon finally turned to Kickstarter in 2013 to fund a theatrical and digital release after nearly seven years of movie limbo. That said, it's easy to glean why this unapologetically niche film nearly died on the vine.

Albemuth is set in an alternate-reality California, where the country's increasingly fascistic president keeps tabs on the population through a uniformed volunteer group named Friends of the American People. Fans of the author will recognize its autobiographical elements: Our heroes are a...

One of the truly nagging difficulties with indie films is that it is often quite a while before you actually get the chance to catch them. Such is the case with Radio Free Albemuth, which made the festival rounds a few years ago now, and is finally getting released. If nothing else, it should be enough for many to know that it is based on a Philip K. Dick work. If that isn’t enough, it managed quite a lot of praise from those who caught it during that festival tour.

Starring Jonathan Scarfe, Alanis Morissette, and Boardwalk Empire’s Shea Whigham, the film is hitting in select theaters on June 27th, and has released a new poster.

Any Sci-Fi fans out there need to take a look at this one, and make sure you get to it if you can. Philip K. Dick stories may sometimes get twisted around in the film adaptation,...

Coming to theaters & VOD June 27th, here’s a first look at the new theatrical poster for Philip K. Dick’s Radio Free Albemuth.

The film stars Alanis Morissette, Jonathan Scarfe, Shea Whigham, Katheryn Winnick & Scott Wilson.

In case you missed it, check out the trailer.

From sci-fi author Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly) comes his most prophetic thriller to date.

It’s 1985 in an alternate reality and Berkeley record store clerk Nick Brady (Jonathan Scarfe, Perception) begins to experience strange visions transmitted from an extra-terrestrial source he calls Valis. He and his wife (Katheryn Winnick – Vikings) move to Los Angeles where he becomes a successful music executive with a secret mission to overthrow the oppressive government led by Us President Fremont (Scott Wilson – The Walking Dead).

With the help of his best friend, sci-fi writer, Philip K. Dick himself (Shea Whigham – Boardwalk Empire, American Hustle) and a beautiful,...

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes casting details on The Chair, Camp of the Damned, and Love Sick, trailers for Chimeres and Phantasmagoria, production and distribution news on Australian film, The Pack, and much more:

Exclusive Casting News for The Chair: We’ve been told that Travis Love (Shumpert from The Walking Dead) has been added to the cast of the upcoming horror/thriller, The Chair. Love will play the Commanding Officer in a flashback scene that features Jimmy (Jacob Banser) and Sullivan (Brian Thompson).

Synopsis: “Based off of the Alterna Comics graphic novel of the same name, The Chair follows the story of Richard Sullivan, an innocent man struggling to escape execution on death row. Witnessing the torture and murder of his fellow inmates at the hands of the prison’s sadistic and psychotic Warden,...

Radio Free Albemuth is a film version of the Philip K. Dick novel, directed and adapted by John Alan Simon.  The sci-fi thriller, which was shot back in 2007, is finally getting a release via Freestyle Releasing and Freestyle Digital Media (Fdm), which acquired all DVD/VOD rights. Produced by Dale Rosenbloom, Stephen Nemeth and Elizabeth Karr along with Simon, the project will debut in limited theaters and on all digital platforms June 27. Photos: 10 Classic Sci-Fi Movies With Better Effects Than Modern Films Radio Free Albemuth stars several faces you may recognize from other recent projects: Shea

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Philip K. Dick novels have had a tumultuous realization on the big screen. His novels have been the inspiration for classic scifi like Blade Runner and Minority Report and faithful adaptations like A Scanner Darkly, but his less mainstream works have struggled to find a home on the big screen. A prime example is the acclaimed novel Radio Free Albemuth. Adapted independently in 2007 as to maintain the subversive messages within the story, Radio Free Albemuth has had a seven year journey to...

The first Philip K Dick Film Festival was attended by over a thousand people this month at various screenings (10 features, 50 shorts) and panels. Named for the iconic novelist and short story writer whose work inspired the films Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report, the three-day Philip K Dick Film Festival started a tradition of honoring films inspired by authors who have explored the metaphysical and eerie in all its manifestations.

Best Science Fiction Feature: Radio Free Albemuth

In an alternate reality America circa 1985 under the authoritarian control of Nixonesque President Fremont (Scott Wilson), Berkeley record store clerk Nick Brady (Scarfe) begins to experience strange visions from an entity he calls Valis that cause him to uproot his family and move to Los Angeles where he becomes a successful music company executive. With the help of best friend, science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick himself (Whigam) and a mysterious woman named...

New York, NY – The first Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival is pleased to announce that they will host the New York premiere of Justin Timpane’s Ninjas vs. Monsters, the concluding chapter of the Ninjas trilogy. The film will screen on Saturday, December 8th at 11 pm at IndieScreen in Brooklyn. Ninjas vs. Monsters joins such esteemed films as Radio Free Albemuth, Juan of the Dead, The Last Push, … Continue reading →...

Philip K. Dick’s groundbreaking literary work has been the source material for science fiction films for years. Some of the many features either directly adapted from or loosely stemming from his books and short stories include Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly. While all four of the mentioned films received critical praise from film fans and reviewers, not all of these adaptations of Dick’s work have been met with praise by his own fans. In fact, more often than not, “Dick-Heads” have openly criticized most of the translations for not being as faithful to the source material. This is why it brings me great joy to announce to the many Dick fans that they should be able to breathe a sigh of relief with Radio Free Albemuth. John Alan Simon’s interpretation of the novel is surprisingly spot-on. Unfortunately, the film itself suffers because of this.

Beginning today, Sliff, the St. Louis International Film Festival, celebrates its 20th year honoring feature films, short films, animation, and documentaries. The Tivoli Theater, Plaza Frontenac, Webster University, and Washington University play host once again this year. From Nov. 10 – 20, the “Gateway to the West” will welcome many acclaimed films and filmmakers that will undoubtedly be some of the films on everyone’s top lists at the end of the year. Some of the most anticipated films playing the festival include, The Artist, A Dangerous Method, Shame, The Descendants, and We Need to Talk About Kevin. Oscar buzz has already been generated by a few of these films from previous festival appearances. Some of these films playing the festival may not appeal to the “genre” loving readers of this site. That is why, we here at Destroy the Brain! have gone through the 400 plus films being presented and have spotlighted the...

Ridley Scott is finally returning to science fiction with the Alien prequel-thing Prometheus. That alone is almost enough to erase the vinegar-spag after-taste of A Good Year from our collective memories. That Scott will be returning to the world of his iconic Blade Runner is even better news. We’ve examined the possibilities in great depth already, but what about the Philip K. Dick book which inspired it? That’s where I come in.

Let’s discuss the great sci-fi writer with that hilarious last name for a minute. Philip Kindred Dick and his twin sister Jane were born six weeks premature in Chicago. Dick’s sister died six weeks later. The loss of his twin affected him profoundly – indeed, the motif of a “phantom twin” shows up often in his fiction. His family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and Dick attended Berkeley High School with fellow future...

Radio Free Albemuth is an adaptation of the novel by Philip K. Dick and is written and directed by John Alan Simon.

In an alternate version of 1985, the corrupt U.S. President Ferris F Fremont crushes American civil liberties after warning against a fictitious terrorist organization called Aramchek.

As human rights are being trampled, a record executive begins receiving broadcasts in his dreams from an omnipotent extraterrestrial being known as Valis, which is building a resistance movement against Fremont and his cronies.

The film stars Jonathan Scarfe as Nicholas Brady, the record executive, and Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) as author Philip K. Dick, who wrote himself as a character into his autobiographical-based novel, his first one to deal with issues of spirituality and religious experiences.

Also appearing in the film are musician Alanis Morissette and character actor Scott Wilson (Dead Man Walking, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon) as President Fremont.

The 14th annual Revelation Perth International Film Festival is, once again, packed to the gills with worldwide wonderful, weird and revelatory filmmaking. The fest runs this year on July 14-24.

The highlight of the festival is the once-in-a-lifetime live performance of Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, which will be performed on July 17 at 7:15 p.m. American animator Brent Green will be traveling Down Under to provide the live musical score and narration for his emotional, live-action animated tale about undying love and creation. He will also be accompanied by band mates and foley artists, Mike McGinley, John Swartz, Donna K and Drew Henkles.

Some other films to look out for at the fest will be the Australian premiere of Zach Clark‘s terminally twisted Vacation!, a black comedy about four girls on a debauched weekend of drinking and drugging that ends horribly for all involved; Marie Losier’s acclaimed...

One of the independent films I enjoyed at SXSW 2010 was Skateland, set in small-town Texas during the 1980s. Starring Shiloh Fernandez (Deadgirl, Red Riding Hood) and Ashley Greene (The Twilight Saga, Radio Free Albemuth), Skateland was produced by Freeman Films, an Austin-based movie production company founded by Skateland writer/executive producer Brandon Freeman. As a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Freeman enjoyed working within the local film community to bring his first feature film to the screen. Skateland opens in Austin this Friday -- check out my SXSW review and Don's review.

I spoke with Brandon Freeman by phone last week as he prepared for the L.A. premiere of Skateland. Find out what he had to say about working with Ashley Greene before her Twilight stardom, the portrayal of the feminist movement of the 80s in his movie and the impact of MTV on small-town Texas after the jump.

With The Adjustment Bureau now in theaters (great Pkd-centric review here, although I still really liked the film), and with Jfd's next few podcasts being writer themed (in honor of March Is Reading Month), I thought the time was right to gather up some exciting new(?) Philip K. Dick movie/TV adaptation news (most of which came over from Quiet Earth).

-First up, a match made in Heaven, as Michel Gondry is set to adapt Dick's famous 1969 novel Ubik, which was set to get a big-screen adaptation as far back as 1974 by French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Gorin (Tout Va Bien). Dick even wrote a screenplay version himself, but the project never got off the ground. This is all probably for the best, given the evolution of reality-shifting visual effects, and also because I can't imagine another known working filmmaker of the last many years more suited for Ubik than Gondry. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind...

It's no secret that Philip K. Dick is my favourite American writer. I've said it here many times before. I think the themes he tackled time and time again have had a profound influence on what we know as modern science fiction today. So, with the latest Dick adaptation, Adjustment Bureau, premiering this Friday, March 4, and Ubik announced to finally have a director, I thought I'd take a look back at all the films that have been adapted from his massive repertoire of short stories and novels over the years and see how they all stack up.

I've put the films in order of my own personal preference. Obviously many of you will probably disagree with my order, but I think because I tend to enjoy Dick's earlier writing which tends to lean towards high concept, fast paced scifi weirdness I tend to go for the more hard scifi,...

Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, Radio Free Albemuth follows the awakening of record store owner, Nicholas Brady, through visions communicated from a satellite of unknown origins (though probably Valis). Under guidance from his visions, Nic rises up against the world's fascist government masquerading as the United States of America.

We've been following development on the film for a while now, and even reviewed a workprint that played at last year's SciFi London. I've seen it too and can tell you it's well done and faithful to Dick's style and intentions. So yeah, we're thrilled to finally bring you Dick heads the first trailer.

Synopsis:

Berkeley record store clerk Nick Brady (Jonathan Scarfe) begins to experience strange visions from an entity he calls Valis that cause him to uproot his family and move to Los Angeles where he becomes a successful music company executive. With the help of best friend,...

Today a new poster for the upcoming thriller The Adjustment Bureau have been released.

Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? Matt Damon stars in the thriller The Adjustment Bureau as a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he’s ever loved across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York.

On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt)–a woman like none he’s ever known. But just as he realizes he’s falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart.

David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself–the men of The Adjustment Bureau–who will do everything in their...

Year: 2009

Directors: John Alan Simon

Writers: John Alan Simon & Philip K. Dick

IMDb: link

Trailer: N/A

Review by: Ben Austwick

Rating: 7 out of 10

[Editor's note: This film is unfinished and is a work-in-progress.]

Philip K Dick, surprisingly for such an unusual writer, is beloved by film makers who have found a rich seam of inspiration in his work without fully exploring its madness. Ridley Scott's Bladerunner is a much loved film but bears only a passing resemblance to the story it is based on, Minority Report and Total Recall take the slightest of inspiration from his writing, while the much more faithful A Scanner Darkly has plenty of detractors among Dick's fans. Nevertheless these fans look forward to any adaptation with baited breath, and the development of Radio Free Albemuth has been followed closely by the science fiction community. The good news is that this is the closest to Philip K Dick cinema has got yet, though a...

Though Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and the rest of “The Twilight Saga” cast are best known for their “Twilight” roles, most of the actors in the Saga have more brewing during and after “Twilight”. After researching multiple sources, below is a thorough list of upcoming projects that the actors are involved with or pursuing. ( If you’ve heard differently, or have something to add, please add a note in the comments. )

So, if you’re wondering what on earth you’re going to do once you’ve seen “Eclipse” for the 17th time, you have these other films to look forward to!

Authors Note: “Breaking Dawn” is not greenlit. Therefore, any reference to “Breaking Dawn” is speculation at this point.

Kristen Stewart:

K-11: Though this movie is receiving funding, it might not start filming this year between Kristen’s schedule and the loss of Nikki Reed...

Philip K. Dick wrote some of the most impenetrable and brilliant science fiction of the last century, short but dense novels packed with beautiful prose and sublime ideas. Born six weeks premature, Dick barely survived the first month of life, though his twin sister did not. He was plagued with questions of sanity for the last decade of his life, and died far too young at age 53. He never saw mainstream success in his lifetime, so short of money that Robert Heinlein helped him out every once and a while, though they were diametrically opposed in any element of philosophy. Said Dick:

"Several years ago, when I was ill, Heinlein offered his help, anything he could do, and we had never met; he would phone me to cheer me up and see how I was doing. He wanted to buy me an electric typewriter, God bless him -- one of...

Yes we announced the partial lineup a ittle while back, and now we have the exclusive full lineup to share, and boy, is it a doozy. The festival runs April 28th to May 3rd so get your tickets now!

Opening night film: Splice by Vincenzo Natali.

Cosing night film: Cargo (which we loved, review)

TiMER (UK Premier)

Hunter Prey (International Premier) (teaser)

2033 (UK Premier) (Another film we loved, review)

1 The Stanislaw Lem adaptation (UK Premier) (Yes, we loved this too review)

Transmission (A Ballardian telecom malfunction, UK Premier) (review)

Drones

Eraser Children (International Premier, finally I get to see this tonight!) (trailer)

Radio Free Albemuth (Sneak Preview of this Philip K. Dick adaptation! We should have a trailer soon)

Earthling (International Premier) (review)

Depositarios (International Premier, more Mexican scifi) (teaser)

Plug & Pray (UK Premier, documentary)

8th Wonderland (UK Premier)

and much more! You can head over to the festival website for more details and tickets,...

That's right, it's almost time again for the Sci-fi London film festival and we just got a heads up on part of the lineup which is quite a doozy. What's playing?

8th Wonderland

Depositarious A Mexican scifi I've been keeping my eye on but haven't found anything yet.

1 Pater Sparrow's Stanislaw Lem adaptation which we all loved. (review)

Adas (Transmission) What if all the telecom in the world went dead? We loved this one too. (review)

Earthling (trailer)

2033 Another Mexican scifi, we loved this one as well. (review)

Eraser Children It didn't play last year, but it will this year! (trailer)

Radio Free Albemuth The Philip K. Dick adaptation we're all waiting on. Hopefully we'll have a trailer soon.

And for the Polish Season:

The House of Transfiguration

Test Pilot Pirxa

Golem (I loved this one)

The War of the Worlds: Next Century

And some extras:

Love Story 2050...

The 2009 American Film Market today announced its schedule of seminars and conferences to be held between Nov. 4 and 11. Celebrating its 30th year, the Afm will showcase panels on film financing opportunities, local and international distribution trends, marketing strategies and digital technologies. The sessions will include film executives, producers, writers, directors, distributors, financiers and attorneys. This year’s seminars and conferences will include the annual “Afm Finance Conference” on Friday, Nov. 6; “Pitch Me!” on Saturday, Nov. 7; “No Direction Home – Changing Indie Distribution Strategies” on Sunday, Nov. 8; “Writing for the Genre World” on Monday, Nov. 9; “Case Study: How to Package and Finance Your Independent Project Overseas” on Monday, Nov. 9; and “The New Hollywood Movie Studio, New Media and Social Networking” on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Programming the seminars and conferences will be the American Society of Cinematographers, British Academy of Film & Television Arts/Los Angeles, Directors Guild of America, Film Independent, Hong Kong Trade Development Council,...

Update: Captions added along with six new stills.

In June of last year we posted a piece on John Alan Simon's adaptation of Philip K Dick's Radio Free Albemuth wondering where it was. Since then, I've had a phone conversation with the director who told me the reason that it's taking so long is that they want to do it right, low budget and all. I know they've redone the cgi for the satellite multiple times and all in all, he says he'd rather take his time then put out crap. Well it's getting close folks, he tells me they are a month or two away from a finished product and we're quite excited. The film stars Alanis Morissette as Sylvia (which he tells me is perfect for her role), Ashley Greene as Rhonda, Jonathan Scarfe as Nicholas Brady, Shea Whigham as Phil, Katheryn Winnick as Rachel Brady, Hanna Hall as Vivian Kaplan,...

Our good friend Steven over at Shesocrazy.com (site Nsfw) just published a few pictures of Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen) of Twilight fame in her bikini. I know a lot of horror fans do not like seeing Twilight coverage on their horror websites, but bikini pictures are always welcomed here at Hyb. You can check out (or not) Greene in the upcoming The Twilight Saga: New Moon in theaters November 20, 2009 or the Sci-Fi pic Radio Free Albemuth and new horror film Summer about a family of serial killers. Her bikini pictures are below.

Looks like yet another Philip K. Dick story is headed to the big screen, and this time around it's one of my favourites. Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is a futuristic thriller of sorts, where a genetically engineered pop singer/TV star awakes one day to find that his identity has been completely erased and no one knows who he is. With no record of his existence he is under suspicion from the law, a situation that worsens when he finds himself accused of murder. Make no mistake, the book is challenging at points and there's a lot of stuff going on, but I think a skilled adaptation could make for an awesome movie. While there is no director or cast on board yet, the company behind the production is The Halcyon Co., the same people responsible for Terminator Salvation and its forthcoming sequels. Apparently they picked up the...

People I'm jealous of today: Alex Billington from Firstshowing who is at Cannes, soaking up the sun and hearing some sweet-ass news first hand. Luckily he's broadcasting it to the world so we now know that Philip K. Dick's (who is incidentally one of my favorite American authors) "Flow my Tears the Policeman Said" is next in line to be adapted by The Halcyon Co. who made headlines when they bought the entire Philip K. Dick estate back in 2007.

Set in a futuristic, dystopian America following a second civil war that left the country in a police state, "Tears" is the story of a celebrity who wakes up after an assassination attempt to find no one has ever heard of him.

No word on who is writing the screenplay but it better be someone good. This is one of the best story's Dick published and I think it has...

Alanis Morissette has joined the cast of novelist Philip K. Dick's semiautobiograhical feature adaptation Radio Free Albemuth.

In writer-director John Alan Simon's film, Morissette plays Sylvia, a woman who shows up in the vision of a record label executive named Nick (Jonathan Scarfe) as a glamorous singer.

In reality, she's an ordinary woman in unexpected remission from lymphoma who, after appearing in Nick's visions, gets a job as his secretary. She becomes his soul mate thanks to the pair's shared spirituality and visions.

"I am a big fan of Philip K. Dick's poetic and expansively imaginative books," Morissette said. "I feel blessed to portray Sylvia, and to be part of this story being told in film."

Shea Whigham (Wristcutters: A Love Story), Katheryn Winnick (Failure to Launch) and Hanna Hall (2007's Halloween) also star. Simon and his Discovery Prods. are producing with Dale Rosenbloom and his Open Pictures (The Girl in The Park) and Rhino Films' Stephen Nemeth (Dogtown and Z-Boys).

Dick's 1976 novel, published posthumously in 1985, is loosely based on his own experience with visions in the mid-'70s.