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What is the point of a "Total Recall" remake? (Original Post) baldguy Apr 2012 OP
Because Philip K Dick is teh awesome siligut Apr 2012 #1
The new strategy for the cinema industry is to remake movies they already own. Baitball Blogger Apr 2012 #2
Because Ahhnold fucked up the first one? PassingFair Apr 2012 #3
^^^All of those right there. OriginalGeek Apr 2012 #9
Make money. Next question? Taverner Apr 2012 #4
Money and Hollywood has a long tradition of remaking old movies jp11 Apr 2012 #5
I don't give much weight to complaints that studios only produce "safer/cheaper" films Orrex Apr 2012 #7
I didn't say they "only produce 'safer/cheaper' films". jp11 Apr 2012 #14
I don't know. Why the hell do they keep remaking Jane Eyre? Orrex Apr 2012 #6
I forgot how the first one panned out Generic Brad Apr 2012 #8
Because there's more than one way to adapt a given work? Bryan Apr 2012 #10
They didn't recall everything the first time. HopeHoops Apr 2012 #11
I think we ALL know the answer to that question CBGLuthier Apr 2012 #12
More of a point than a 3D Titanic. Wait Wut Apr 2012 #13
We should totally recall all the crap that is in the stores. RedCloud Apr 2012 #15
To see Kate Beckinsale's bewbs. Frank Cannon Apr 2012 #16
EXACTLY! Xyzse Apr 2012 #17
All three of them! bluedigger Apr 2012 #20
Coilin Farrell? Ugh. My 3rd least favorite actor. provis99 Apr 2012 #18
Wait a sec… They DON'T go to Mars? MrScorpio Apr 2012 #19
Just in case you didn't totally recalled the original....eom mrmpa Apr 2012 #21
A fresh Sharon Stone fix? KamaAina Apr 2012 #22
No Rachel Ticotin, no Recall pokerfan Apr 2012 #23
I think the better question is... AsahinaKimi Apr 2012 #24

siligut

(12,272 posts)
1. Because Philip K Dick is teh awesome
Wed Apr 4, 2012, 08:17 PM
Apr 2012

Not going to Mars is wrong, but the trailer makes it look like the memory confusion mindscrew might make up for it.

Baitball Blogger

(46,570 posts)
2. The new strategy for the cinema industry is to remake movies they already own.
Wed Apr 4, 2012, 08:23 PM
Apr 2012

I think the clue behind this one is the two female leads. Protagonist and Antagonist. It's going to be a cat fight that will attract the attention of the young males. I don't know the plot of the new miovie, but the use of minorities and physically deformed characters in the first one helped sell the idea that the Mar's citizens were the rejected members of society. Easily killed off without anyone caring. (Much like today's issues.)

They're just going for the quick buck. Young males that like action and babes and aren't too particular with the artistic details.

PassingFair

(22,434 posts)
3. Because Ahhnold fucked up the first one?
Wed Apr 4, 2012, 08:55 PM
Apr 2012

I think Colin will do it better.

PKD fan, I will see this movie.

jp11

(2,104 posts)
5. Money and Hollywood has a long tradition of remaking old movies
Wed Apr 4, 2012, 09:38 PM
Apr 2012

It all started nice then someone decided they need to remake a movie, better technology, new audience, more money and here we are.

There are plenty of original stories that could be brought to the screen but it is just 'safer/cheaper' to redo increasingly 'newer' old movies.


Orrex

(63,083 posts)
7. I don't give much weight to complaints that studios only produce "safer/cheaper" films
Wed Apr 4, 2012, 10:06 PM
Apr 2012

I mean, no shit. What the hell else are they going to do? Drop $175M on an unknown, untested product just for the sake of bankrupting themselves? Would anyone in the audience undertake such a risky venture?

Sure, a lot of comparatively low-budget movies are terrific... award-winning, in fact. But they don't necessarily make a lot of money, so they're less attractive as business ventures. Even a cheap film costs a lot to market and distribute. NetFlix and YouTube abound with films made on a shoestring and which no one has ever heard of. Most of them are worthy of anonymity, for that matter.

I simply don't understand why anyone still believes, despite 90+ years of evidence to the contrary, that Hollywood is or has ever been a primarily artistic production facility that operates independent of financial constraints.

Bryan

(1,837 posts)
10. Because there's more than one way to adapt a given work?
Wed Apr 4, 2012, 11:58 PM
Apr 2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recall#Production_and_distribution

The original screenplay for Total Recall was written by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the writers of Alien, who had bought the rights to Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" while Dick was still alive. They were unable to find a backer for the project and it drifted into development hell, passing from studio to studio. In the mid-1980s, producer Dino De Laurentiis took on the project with Richard Dreyfuss attached to star. Patrick Swayze, who had recently starred in Dirty Dancing, was also considered for the role. David Cronenberg was attached to direct but wanted to cast William Hurt in the lead role. Cronenberg described his work on the project and eventual falling out with Shusett: "I worked on it for a year and did about 12 drafts. Eventually we got to a point where Ron Shusett said, ‘You know what you’ve done? You’ve done the Philip K. Dick version.' I said, 'Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?’ He said, 'No, no, we want to do Raiders of the Lost Ark Go to Mars.'"

If there can be three versions of The Maltese Falcon, why can't there be two versions of Total Recall?

RedCloud

(9,230 posts)
15. We should totally recall all the crap that is in the stores.
Thu Apr 5, 2012, 10:43 PM
Apr 2012

We need more such movie titles. recall everything.

maybe we will need brains the size of Kansas to do it, but let's do it that way too.

MrScorpio

(73,626 posts)
19. Wait a sec… They DON'T go to Mars?
Sun Apr 8, 2012, 11:12 AM
Apr 2012

Well, that makes no freaking sense.

What about the aliens? What about the Turbinium? What about the dome?

AsahinaKimi

(20,776 posts)
24. I think the better question is...
Sun Apr 8, 2012, 06:21 PM
Apr 2012

What is it with Hollywood that they have to continuously do remakes.. no one has any imagination any longer.

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