Hey, Scanner Darkly has a good plot. Just a dull script that's a really really bad adaptation of a great book.
Admittedly, only one scene is actually perfect (the suicide) and the rest are mixed. (in the movie, that is)
And yes, that's a PRE-VISUALIZATION trailer. That is NOT what the movie is going to look like. It's a cheap marketing trick to get money for a project, as funding is hard to find these days for niche projects like this. You make something, you show something, say, "it's gonna be like this, BUT EVEN BETTER" and they'll go for it. It's a trick employed by many folks, even game designers. (Blur Studios' Crysis video, anyone?) So yes, the video looks terrible and I hope to God the movie isn't like that. Those are cheap AfterEffects & Vegas-level
filters that are not even using proprietary software, which is what a project of this kind of level needs (and what Scanner Darkly/Waking Life used).
The look of a rotoscoped western could work, the main thing is just how gimmicky they make it and how much detail they put in. There's a good chance they could pull this off by simply making sure some key shots have all the detail, grit, and necessary texture that you need to emulate the old-school flavor.
I think trying to shrug off the film instantly by "looking fake" is kind of ridiculous. Film is fiction, it's fake by nature. Not every film requires that it appears real. If that's not your thing, that's fine, but to be so dismissive always came off to me as not getting the point and not bothering to look deeper.
However, that pre-viz teaser? Looks terrible. And shrugging THAT off is probably a good idea. We have no idea what an extra $20million can do for this project.
With a good script and a kick-ass director, plus if they even nail half the cast they're talking to, this could be a really fine inventive feature.
Also, sidenote - it's not directed by a Sergio, it's
produced by one. Director is listed as Andrew McKenzie, who I cannot figure out is.
Anyway. That's it.