Total Recall, Recalled For You

Unless you're maintaining Unabomber levels of media isolation, you've probably heard that yesterday marked the opening of the newly remade Total Recall. That the movie is getting panned should go without saying. Also unworthy of mention are the pools of ink being spent on Shallow Articles About Philip K Dick which I'm too busy to chronicle.

The good news is that I saw the newly re-imagined Total Recall last night with Mr Hand from the PKD and Religion blog. I totally expected to hate the movie, and so I was surprised when I found myself enjoying it. You want schlock? This movie has schlock out the wazoo!

Now if you're poor and the price of admission will be missed, do not go see Total Recall in the theaters - while the set design and production values look great on the big screen, you can enjoy this one at home. But if you're flushed with cash and like movies, Total Recall is a good time.

A couple of observations:
This movie takes Dick's "bitch-wife" motif over the shark, and it's great fun to watch. You will groan out loud at some of the dialog and soundtrack cues - unbearable. But the whole thing takes itself just lightly enough to get a little Dickian. There is schlock, and there are claustrophobic entropic future settings, and together effect is far more Dickian than anything in Adjustment Bureau. There are also technological innovations (like an elevator through the earth) that make no sense. Don't get hung up on it, folks. Read it as metaphor.

Because that's the thing, I liked this movie on a metaphorical level. I thought it worked pretty nicely to literalize the figurative, and drive home the increased deprivations of Late Capitalism headed our way. Grab some pop-corn, leave your Heidegger at home, and have a blast!

Also, be forewarned, there are A LOT of dodgy chairs in the movie.

Total Dick-Head Is Five Years Old Today! (now with links)

You read that right, compadres! TDH is five years old today. In a few more years perhaps the blog will be mature enough to get over the dick jokes, but anyhoo, it's been a fairly unqualified success.

Seriously, the coolest thing about the endeavor was being a part of the PKD scene and meeting so many cool people. Mr Hand over at Philip K Dick and Religion has become a great friend, and Patrick Clark and the Otaku folks are super-cool. Erik Davis and Lord Running Clam... I promised myself I wouldn't cry. It's also nice to see PhilipKDickFans.com up and running again. And Frolix-8 has consistently churned out awesome PKD content for ages. And now we have a festival page. Now we're on Facebook too, please 'like' us so we can look big time. It's nice to see more Dick on the Internet.

It's been a big five years for PKD too:

Published by Library of America
Briefly the subject of two dueling bio-pics
Back-handed compliments by The New Yorker
High Profile Profiles in LA Times, NY Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek...you name it
Cinematic adaptations including Next and Adjustment Bureau
A good adaptation of Radio Free Albemuth and talk of a Gondry-helmed Ubik
Publishing of 975 pages of Exegesis writings
(I was going to link all of these, but you're so good with The Google, you do it)

So it's been a fun time. For some reason I feel like the wave has crested, like the publishing of The Exegesis was Dick's high-water mark in pop-culture - actually I think it was a little before that. Maybe I'm wrong, and when Ubik comes out they'll fire up the Philip K Dick Article Generating Machine and churn out "Troubled Misfit Druggie Wondered What Was Real (And He Predicted Robots!)" articles by the dozen.

So, you probably want some links:

Miguel Conner has posted a cool interview with John Simon, director of Radio Free Albemuth (which we'll all have watched some day) over at Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio. Check it out.

There's short preview trailer that's been released in anticipation of the Full Trailer for the Total Recall remake:



It's got a dodgy chair - generally considered to be the kiss of death in PKD adaptations - those and hats.

Erik Davis, Ted Hand, and I will be presenting at this year's Esotericism Conference in sunny Davis, California on Friday, July 20. You can learn more here.

Forget Paul Giamatti as PKD, reader Mike Winder found this pic to convince all of us in the PKD group on Facebook that Jeff Bridges is PKD:

First Look At Total Recall: Haven't We Seen This Before?

blastr.com has the first picture of Colin Farrell as Doug Quad in the remake of Total Recall which has been described as 'less-tongue-in-cheek.' So there he is, ladies and gentlemen, our Dickian hero, being caught by a guy out of that Tom Clancy video game:


*Also, according to the picture, in the future there are Buddha heads right on the fronts of buildings!

We Can Monetize Your Legacy, Wholesale

Just got word from reader Chris that there are some Total Recall sequel comics due out in May. See the pics? Here's the problem: why is Quaid still yoked out like Ahnold? My hope was that in revisiting this adaptation that they (the Yance men or whatever) would try to stay faithful to the story. Quaid should be a nebbish weakling.. I'm guessing this comic is actually more closely aligned with the original Total Recall. Bummer. If I remember correctly (insert implanted memory joke here) PKD sold all merchandising rights for "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" lock, stock, and barrel, so basically, the option holder can do whatever they want with the narrative contents of the story. Read this:

"Inspired by the hit 1990 science fiction movie, Total Recall. Read the story of what happens next! Having killed Cohaagen and given Mars an atmosphere, Douglas Quaid (the man who was Hauser) simply wants to live happily ever after with the woman of his dreams, Melina. How can Quaid have his happily ever after with Mars in chaos, new enemies coming to the red planet, and a mysterious stranger walking about? Check out issue Total Recall #1 to find out!"

I kinda like that this appears to be the most boring comic ever created. My hope is that Quaid gets a manager position at the Mars Starbucks and becomes a civil war buff.

So, I expect one of you readers with an interest in comics will review this series for us. That way I won't have to buy these...

Isn't One Remembering Enough?

Word arrived today that production for the remake of Total Recall (which I've mentioned before) is kicking into high gear, in Canada! From Joblo.com:

"In an article over at The Toronto Star [they must mean this one, the one they didn't link to], it's revealed that Columbia Pictures' TOTAL RECALL remake is moving forward in earnest now, with production set to begin in March 2011. Shooting will take place at Pinewood Toronto Studios, a massive facility which was recently home to SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD and THE THING.

Len Wiseman is signed to direct, while the screenplay was penned by SALT scribe Kurt Wimmer. According to the article, the production will cost somewhere in the $200 million range. We still don't know if Colin Farrell will tackle the lead role; he's reportedly been offered the part, but we haven't heard much on that front since.

Also no word on whether or not the producers are going back to TOTAL RECALL's inspiration, Philip K. Dick's book "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale", or if will more or less take its cue from Paul Verhoeven's film. Usually in a situation like this the studio always tries to con us with a "We're referencing the original source material more so than the movie" line; that's usually horseshit."

So, for me, the faithfulness of this adaptation boils down to whom they cast in the leading role. The Governator (though I'm glad to have his signature on my Masters Degree) was a terrible choice for the original role since it's written for a nebbish, pocket calculator operator like Richard Drefus, Dustin Hoffman, or the kid who played Screech on Saved By The Bell. Hey, maybe they could get one of the Degrassi kids to play Douglas Quail!

My guts says this film's going to be no truer to PKD's short story than the original film. That's my two cents, and I'm prepared to be spectacularly wrong. Electric Shepard Productions has nothing to do with this remake, so don't bother complaining about them in the comments section. Please reserve your wrath for Hollywood's current zero-risk strategy for making vapid crap that nobody likes, but lots of people still flock to see. No Tron disses - I haven't seen it yet!

I won't waste your time with an all-too-ubiquitous 'Why are there so many remakes" rants, but one does wonder - why are there so many remakes? I can only imagine that the film's producers are glued to this blog, so - please - suggest your leading actor in the comments section...

Total Recall Remake May Become 'Reality'

ComingSoon.net (whose logo's font was clearly borrowed from Blade Runner), is reporting that Neal Moritz (whose production credits include I Am Legend) is in final talks to remake Total Recall. This isn't the first time this rumor has surfaced, but I think a quick sampling of the comments over at ComingSoon.net speaks for most of us:

Posted by: raph on February 26, 2009 at 01:43:41

Are they out of their ****ing minds?

Posted by: Mitchell on February 26, 2009 at 01:54:15

My favorite part of the article was that the people behind the remake is a company called Original Films.

Posted by: mike on February 26, 2009 at 03:21:08

oh come on guys be honest first one rubbish anyway lets hope they can do better 2nd time round

Posted by: IanK on February 26, 2009 at 03:47:03

This movie will be nothing without Arnie. Everytime I watch the DVD (which is every few months since it is one of my favorite movies ever) I get chills down my spine at the opening credits. Everything is perfect in that movie. This remake will just take the plot line but put Jason Stateham in instead. I can't see that bald prick pulling off lines like "See you at the party Richter!" or "Consider this a divorce." **** **** **** this is stupid.

Posted by: FVD on February 26, 2009 at 03:50:44

Can't stand that Neal Moritz. What's he gonna do? Cast Vin Diesel as the main protagonist with that hack Rob Cohen as director???

Enough with the goddamn remakes please!!!!

Posted by: Spanish guy doin' the Bartman on February 26, 2009 at 11:00:47

I can't wait to see the chick with three boobs.

Posted by: Not a Remake, or my Name on February 26, 2009 at 18:08:46

I copied this from another board, simply because I feel it's accurate:

It's NOT gonna be a remake of TOTAL RECALL.

It's going to be an adaption of ****'s "I Can Remember It For You Wholesale". Huge difference.

It's like how The Last Man on Earth and Omega Man are both adaptions of "I am Legend".

Most people have never read "I Can Remember It For You Wholesale", much less even heard of it. So it's easier to say it's a Total Recall remake.