ROTTEN TOMATOES: Total Recall Remake Coming?

Total Recall Remake Coming?

We refuse to believe this.

by Jeff Giles | September 12, 2007

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Honestly, there really are original ideas coming out of Hollywood. It's just that the studios seem to be doing their best to try and convince us otherwise.

Take, for instance, the rumor -- please, God, let it just be a rumor -- that there's a Total Recall remake on the table that will, according to Moviehole, be starting production "in the very near future."

The report is blessedly free of details, but the Weinstein brothers' longstanding desire for a Recall sequel is no secret; as some of you might recall, the script for what was supposed to be Total Recall 2 eventually wound up being used as the basis for 2002's Minority Report. (Of course, Minority Report -- like Total Recall -- took its ultimate inspiration from Philip K. Dick.)

Whether or not Total Recall deserves to be called a "classic" is certainly up for debate, but it certainly isn't begging for the remake treatment. Then again, neither were most of the movies being remade right now.

Source: Moviehole

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(1-20 of 49 posts) | Reply

barnaby Jones writes:
on Sep 12 2007 07:17 AM

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !

(Reply to this)

moviefrk13 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 07:39 AM

They really should wait a few more decades before they remake some of these movies.

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Prosper761 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 07:52 AM

Until audioences become more demanding, the accountants now running Hollywood will continue to churn out remakes and sequels geared toward 16 year-olds who don't know any better. How sad.

(Reply to this)

primetime21335 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 07:52 AM

Quite simply, Total Recall isn't Total Recall without Ahnold.

(Reply to this)

jeremyd4 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 07:56 AM

I wouldn't mind seeing a movie set in the same universe as the Total Recall - but just not a remake. It was cool setting and the characters were fascinating (i.e. the girl with 3 boobs)...

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arpeggio191 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 08:00 AM

i don't know. i'm all for the remakes! In fact, there's this little known movie called Lord of the Rings, maybe a few of you have seen it. Anywoo, they should totally remake that. It's been a few years and really, we need to tell that story again. We could have Vigo play Gandolf or something.

seriously though... this is an f-ing terrible idea. (and remakes are generally stupid)

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harrismonkey writes:
on Sep 12 2007 08:07 AM

I know it will NEVER happen this way, but think about this.

Total Recall was actually written by David Cronenburg (that History of Violence/ Eastern Promises guy everybody is raving about at the moment). He was slated to direct, but had his name removed from the script (for reasons I'll get into) and left the project when Atnold was cast.

He wrote seven versions of the screenplay for this film. The one they went with was by far his least favorite. So his interest was already fading, and Arnold was the deal breaker for him.

I would be very interested in a remake that used one of the other scripts. I'd be even more interested in a remake helmed by Cronenburg himself.

It will never happen, but this film has always frustrated me because I have no doubt it would have been much better in his hands.

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Gimy writes:
on Sep 12 2007 08:33 AM

sequel...eh, ok. a REMAKE? why? just frikkin admit youre mooching off the idea...and make it different. don't try to rehash the SAME story. for some reason though, i see the rock as the lead and alba as the stone character. i'm NOT saying thats who should get it but...i could see them going that route. if it were my idea, i'd have Wee Man be the lead...Oprah play Sharon Stone's character...and Newman from Seinfeld be the big bad honcho, and topped off...by kevin federline as the guy who chases Wee Man. tell me that wouldn't be SO bad/funny...you'd want to at least rent it...

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witherwings writes:
on Sep 12 2007 08:54 AM

Has anyone read the book by Philip K. Dick?! IT IS AMAZING. I am all for a remake that is more faithful to that story. When I saw the movie, I was very disappointed.

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cristy2073 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 09:35 AM

In reply to this comment (#1118217)
I have seen remakes of alot of movies,and by all means they all suck.... I have not seen one movie remake that deserves an applause by me. So please, pretty PLEASE leave this one alone...

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jeremyd4 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 10:06 AM

Did Philip K. Dick's book have the 3 boobed lady?

(Reply to this)

mbrocchi writes:
on Sep 12 2007 10:14 AM

Bring back the dude with the '12 kids to feed!'..

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BigPapaSmurf writes:
on Sep 12 2007 10:26 AM

I posted this earlier in the movie forum, it is an insult to mention PKD in the same sentence as Total Recall

Yeah I seriously doubt this is based on the short story, hell the first movie is hardly based on the short story...they dont even go to Mars in the book. P.S. I CANNOT RECCOMEND PKD's SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS ENOUGH, they will blow you away.

Short Story spoilers for 'We can remember it for you wholesale'

SPOILERS....SPOILERS, you were warned
In the book he returns to his apartment after the mishap at Rekal, only he finds two agents waiting for him there. At this point he remembers everything, including how easily he could disarm and kill these two agents. The agents who have a device which reads his mind, also realize at this point that he could easily kill them and they are scared ****less. Now they all realize that he is a hero to the org. and they dont want to kill him, so he suggests that they implant a new fantasy into his head which will satisfy his wish-fufillment, usurping his fantasy to return to Mars.

Down at Rekal they have a machine which can search the mind to determine his ultimate fantasy, they will give him trinkets which will coincide with the memories, so that when he wakes he will have proof that they really happened. The machine determines that his fantasy is this: When he was a boy a tiny spaceship landed in front of him and some tiny aliens got out, they came with the intention of destroying Earth, but they met Quaid who was so full of caring love for them that they decided not to destroy Earth until he died. They erased his memory and left.

The techies laugh at the extermely self-centered fantasy and proceed with the implanting, only to discover that his memory really had been erased and the aliens really were going to come back and destroy Earth when Quaid dies.
...
**** Quato and the three breasted whore.

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CitizenFlynn writes:
on Sep 12 2007 10:30 AM

Doant geeve zee peeple zair reemaik Cohaagen!

What, they can't update Red Heat instead?

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witherwings writes:
on Sep 12 2007 10:56 AM

In reply to this comment (#1118336)
I can't remember. There was a very quaint sense of humor in the movie, though, that was a little off from the book. It was like PKD's humor with a Arnold twist. Which, to me, wasn't funny. I found the movie to be a little distracting (as in I was distracted by elements in the movie I shouldn't have been distracted by).

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witherwings writes:
on Sep 12 2007 10:59 AM

In reply to this comment (#1118349)
PKD is a genius. I second that recommendation. Read his stuff, especially his short stories as he is best at original concepts. GENIUS.

(Reply to this)

InfinityCorp writes:
on Sep 12 2007 11:03 AM

Ummm... WTF is going on. This is, again, a horrible idea.

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arendr writes:
on Sep 12 2007 11:09 AM

This is the weekly horrible remake idea thread. There seems to be one every week. Wait, get rid of "seems" because there is one every week.

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Canuck666 writes:
on Sep 12 2007 11:21 AM

I don't know why everyone is saying this will be a terrible idea. The first one was so horrible there is NO WAY the remake could be worse. The first one had dialogue so bad it seemed like it was written by an autistic kid on crack. My pick for the leads: Harrison Ford as Quaid, Megan Fox as Melina, Amy Smart as Lori and Bruce Willis as Richter.

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rt_hire_me writes:
on Sep 12 2007 11:38 AM

I liked watching Arnold pick his nose. I have wondered about that ending as well, whether astronauts would really have their eyes try to leave their skulls if they broke their helmets.

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