Posts tagged 2011
Len Wiseman Speaks On ‘Total Recall’ – Reveals He’s Handing In His Directors Cut Over The Weekend
Jan 21st
On the promotional campaign for ‘Underworld: Awakening,’ Len Wiseman opened up to Comingsoon about his upcoming action thriller ‘Total Recall.’ The filmmaker revealed that he’s turning in his director’s cut this Sunday;“I’m very close to handing over my cut. It’s going really well. The combination of mystery and emotion and action, it’s coming together. Colin [Farrell] is a large part of that and I’m really happy with him.”
Wiseman also shed some light on what he found the most surprising and challenging aspects of the material: “I think the complexity of the dual stories was the most surprising and challenging thing. When you see Total Recall, the [Paul] Verhoeven film you experience it, it’s finished. When you’re involved in diving into the material again and going back into the Philip K. Dick story, you realize there is so much to be discussed about the dual stories. There’s the reality story and there’s the fantasy element. They’re running parallel together, so you always have to keep those two alive. That’s the inherent nature of the concept and what makes the concept so cool. I will say, at the same time, this made all of the conversation I had with my cast fun. “Every little detail has to apply to both scenarios. My actors would ask, ‘So, in this scene, am I – because I know that I’m lying, because I’m the double agent – how well do I act? It sounds like a silly question, but do you want the other character to see through that or am I so good as a double agent that you would never suspect I’m the best buddy or the wife.’ It’s all of those little things. So, that’s my long way of saying the dual nature of the story was the best thing about this.”
Official Synopsis For ‘Total Recall’ – Starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale & Bryan Cranston
Jan 16th
Sony Pictures has made available this first official synopsis for Len Wiseman’s upcoming action thriller ‘Total Recall.’ Starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Bill Nighy, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, and Ethan Hawke, the film is based on the Philip K. Dick story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” The original ‘Total Recall’ followed a man (Arnold Schwarzenegger) haunted by a recurring dream of journeying to Mars who buys a literal dream vacation from a company called Rekall Inc., which sells implanted memories. The man comes to believe he is a secret agent and ends up on a Martian colony, where he fights to overthrow a despotic ruler controlling the production of air. The new story ditches the Martian storyline and instead involves nation states Euromerica and New Shanghai, with Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) a factory worker in the latter who begins to believe he is a spy, although he doesn’t know for which side. Vilos Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston) is the leader of Euromerica who, under the cover of protecting his people, is secretly readying an invasion of New Shanghai. Jessica Biel plays Melina, while Kate Beckinsale plays Lori. ‘Total Recall’ is scheduled for release August 3rd. Check out the new synopsis below:
“Total Recall is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.”
Kenny Wormald Interview For Craig Brewer’s ‘Footloose’
Oct 8th
Writer/Director Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow,” “Black Snake Moan”) delivers a new take of the beloved 1984 classic film, ‘Footloose.’ Ren MacCormack (played by newcomer Kenny Wormald) is transplanted from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by a tragic accident that killed five teenagers after a night out and Bomont’s local councilmen and the beloved Reverend Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) responded by implementing ordinances that prohibit loud music and dancing. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister’s troubled daughter Ariel (Julianne Hough) in the process. ‘Footloose’ is released in cinemas October 14th.
What was your approach to Ren, this iconic character who’s been played by Kevin Bacon before? And also how did you actually get involved with this film?
Kenny Wormald: Once I got the call for the audition I watched the original film right away, to get a grasp of Ren and the whole feel of the ‘Footloose.’ Then once it was booked, I watched it again – but I didn’t want to watch it too much, I didn’t want to sort of overstudy Kevin Bacon, and try to be exactly like him because I knew that this was going to be different. Craig Brewer’s bringing his own twist, so I also wanted to do that with Ren. As amazing as Kevin Bacon was I definitely wanted to put my own twist on it.
When Craig Brewer took over the film he wanted an unknown guy, because when he first saw the original ‘Footloose’ Kevin Bacon was more unknown to some of the actors that were attached to it prior. He wanted that same kind of emotion, this kid Ren that you’re meeting for the first time, I think that was special to him. I was glad to hear that because I’m an unknown dude (laughs).