Animated Discussions
by Rudy Panucci and Melanie Larch

Thanks to the magic of the internets, fans of cutting edge animation can get free sneak peeks at two cool new projects.

IGN is offering the first 24 minutes of Richard Linklatter’s adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly. We actually didn’t care much for Linklatter’s previous foray into the world of rotoscoped animation, Waking Life. It was basically a sub-par arthouse flick with animated effects that served no real purpose. A Scanner Darkly is different, and suggests that Linklatter may have just been getting his feet wet with Waking Life in order to prepare himself for this project. A Scanner Darkly is a futuristic tale of drug interdiction and intrigue from the creator of Blade Runner. You can check out the first big chunk of this movie, which is currently in limited release, right here.

Mike Mignola, the cartoonist/creator of Hellboy, has a new project coming to the cable channel, Sci Fi. The Amazing Screw On Head is described as “an animated comedy” by Sci Fi. Based his 2002 comic book, it’s a send up of Steampunk and Lovecraftian horror. This series tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s top spy, a bodyless head who is a master of disguise! You can watch the first episode of The Amazing Screw On Head here.