Total Recall (2012 film)
Encyclopedia
Total Recall is an upcoming science-fiction
action film
based on the 1990 film of the same name
and the 1966 novelette
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale
by Philip K. Dick
. It is directed by Len Wiseman
and written by Mark Bomback
, James Vanderbilt
and Kurt Wimmer
. It was first announced in 2009. It is scheduled to be released in the United States and Canada on August 3, 2012.
reported that Kurt Wimmer
would write the script for the remake. Mark Bomback
also co-wrote and James Vanderbilt
did a "polish" on the script. Over a year later Len Wiseman
was hired to direct. Paul Cameron is the film's cinematographer
and Christian Wagner
is the film's editor.
In October 2010, it was reported by The Hollywood Reporter
that Colin Farrell
was on the top of the short list
, which included Tom Hardy
and Michael Fassbender
, to play Doug Quaid, the role Arnold Schwarzenegger
played in the 1990 version. On January 11, 2011, it was announced that Farrell had secured the role. Farrell stated in April that the remake would not be the same as Dick's short story. Kate Beckinsale
(who is Wiseman's wife) and Jessica Biel
were both confirmed for roles on May 25. Actresses Eva Green
, Diane Kruger
and Kate Bosworth
were considered for Biel's role. Breaking Bad
actor Bryan Cranston
is in negotiations to play the film's villain. Ethan Hawke
has been cast in a cameo role in which he describes has a monologue
about 5 pages long. Bill Nighy
is in negotiations to play Kuato. John Cho
has also joined the cast.
On a reported budget of $200 million, principal photography
began in Toronto on May 16, 2011, and ended on September 20, 2011. Scenes were filmed at the Pinewood Toronto Studios, as well as the University of Toronto
, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre
, and Guelph
. After securing the film rights from Miramax Films
, Columbia Pictures
will distribute the film.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
based on the 1990 film of the same name
Total Recall
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
and the 1966 novelette
Novelette
A novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale
"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" is a novelette by Philip K. Dick first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in April 1966. It features a classic meshing of reality, false memory and real memory...
by Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
. It is directed by Len Wiseman
Len Wiseman
Len Ryan Wiseman is an American film director best known for his work on the Underworld series and Live Free or Die Hard. His latest project, Total Recall, is set for release in summer 2012...
and written by Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback is an American screenwriter originally from New Rochelle, NY. Bomback is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he studied English Literature and Film Studies.- Screenwriter :*The Night Caller...
, James Vanderbilt
James Vanderbilt
James Platten Vanderbilt is an American screenwriter.A member of the Vanderbilt family of New York, he is the son of Alison Campbell and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III...
and Kurt Wimmer
Kurt Wimmer
Kurt Wimmer is an American screenwriter and film director.Wimmer is of German descent, he attended the University of South Florida and graduated with a BFA degree in Art History. He then moved to Los Angeles where he worked for 12 years as a screenwriter before making his 2002 film, Equilibrium...
. It was first announced in 2009. It is scheduled to be released in the United States and Canada on August 3, 2012.
Plot
As the nation states Euromerica and New Shanghai vie for supremacy in the far future, a simple factory worker suffering from violent nightmares (Farrell) also begins to suspect that he's a spy whose memory and personality were erased and replaced, though he is unaware which side of the fight he's on and how important his lost memories will be in its outcome.Cast
- Colin FarrellColin FarrellColin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
as Doug Quaid, a simple worker suffering from strange violent dreams - Kate BeckinsaleKate BeckinsaleKathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing while still a student at Oxford University...
as Lori, Quaid's wife - Jessica BielJessica BielJessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...
as Melina, a prostitute who may have links to Quaid's past - Bill NighyBill NighyWilliam Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
as Kuato, a Euromerican rebel leader - Bryan CranstonBryan CranstonBryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal the father in the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle, and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he won three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
as Vilos Cohaagen, a powerful corporate leader and main antagonist - John ChoJohn ChoJohn Yohan Cho is an American actor and musician, best known for his roles in the American Pie films and the Harold & Kumar films . He also starred in the critically acclaimed hit film Better Luck Tomorrow...
as McClane, a suave rep for the futuristic company that offers Quaid the chance to experience an imagined adventure - Bokeem WoodbineBokeem WoodbineBokeem Woodbine is an American film and television actor.-Personal life:Woodbine was born in Harlem, New York to an actress mother. He attended the prestigious Dalton School in New York before transferring to the also prestigious LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in the city...
as Harry, Quaid's best friend - Ethan HawkeEthan HawkeEthan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
as an Euromerican scientist - Steve ByersSteve ByersSteve Byers is a Canadian actor.Byers was born in Scarborough, Ontario. At a young age he had a passion for acting. Graduating with the top award for Excellence in Drama from the Arts program at Unionville High School, Byers continued his study of the acting craft at the University of Western...
as Henry Reed
Production
On June 2, 2009, VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported that Kurt Wimmer
Kurt Wimmer
Kurt Wimmer is an American screenwriter and film director.Wimmer is of German descent, he attended the University of South Florida and graduated with a BFA degree in Art History. He then moved to Los Angeles where he worked for 12 years as a screenwriter before making his 2002 film, Equilibrium...
would write the script for the remake. Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback is an American screenwriter originally from New Rochelle, NY. Bomback is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he studied English Literature and Film Studies.- Screenwriter :*The Night Caller...
also co-wrote and James Vanderbilt
James Vanderbilt
James Platten Vanderbilt is an American screenwriter.A member of the Vanderbilt family of New York, he is the son of Alison Campbell and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III...
did a "polish" on the script. Over a year later Len Wiseman
Len Wiseman
Len Ryan Wiseman is an American film director best known for his work on the Underworld series and Live Free or Die Hard. His latest project, Total Recall, is set for release in summer 2012...
was hired to direct. Paul Cameron is the film's cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
and Christian Wagner
Christian Wagner
Christian Wagner is an American film editor who has edited films such as Face/Off and Mission: Impossible II. He has been working with film director Tony Scott for 20 years.-Filmography:*Hero and the Terror *True Romance...
is the film's editor.
In October 2010, it was reported by The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
that Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....
was on the top of the short list
Short list
A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates . The length of short lists varies according to the context.-U.S...
, which included Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy
Edward Thomas "Tom" Hardy is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the 2008 British film Bronson, the character of Eames in Inception, and the villain Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis...
and Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender is an Irish-German actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Archie Hicox in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Magneto in the superhero blockbuster X-Men: First Class...
, to play Doug Quaid, the role Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
played in the 1990 version. On January 11, 2011, it was announced that Farrell had secured the role. Farrell stated in April that the remake would not be the same as Dick's short story. Kate Beckinsale
Kate Beckinsale
Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing while still a student at Oxford University...
(who is Wiseman's wife) and Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Biel is an American actress, model, and occasional singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven...
were both confirmed for roles on May 25. Actresses Eva Green
Eva Green
Eva Gaëlle Green is a French actress and model.Green performed in theatre before making her film debut in The Dreamers , which generated controversy over her numerous nude scenes. She achieved greater fame for her parts in Kingdom of Heaven , and in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, for...
, Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger is a German actress and former fashion model. She is known for roles such as Helen in Troy, Dr. Abigail Chase in National Treasure and its sequel, Bridget von Hammersmark in Inglourious Basterds, Anna in Mr...
and Kate Bosworth
Kate Bosworth
Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...
were considered for Biel's role. Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
actor Bryan Cranston
Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal the father in the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle, and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he won three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
is in negotiations to play the film's villain. Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
has been cast in a cameo role in which he describes has a monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
about 5 pages long. Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
is in negotiations to play Kuato. John Cho
John Cho
John Yohan Cho is an American actor and musician, best known for his roles in the American Pie films and the Harold & Kumar films . He also starred in the critically acclaimed hit film Better Luck Tomorrow...
has also joined the cast.
On a reported budget of $200 million, principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began in Toronto on May 16, 2011, and ended on September 20, 2011. Scenes were filmed at the Pinewood Toronto Studios, as well as the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre , located in Downtown Toronto, Ontario at 255 Front Street West, has of space. The convention centre was completed in October 1984 and is home to the 1330-seat John Bassett Theatre...
, and Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
. After securing the film rights from Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
, Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
will distribute the film.