One of the bonus bits of information we did not expect to get from the press junket for Total Recall just a little over a week ago was Kate Beckinsale’s mobile phone of choice. It’s a fun thing to know, what celebrities such as she use on a daily basis in the communication universe, and since she does use a next-level futuristic in-hand phone in the movie, it seemed only natural for SlashGear to ask her what her real-life tech life was like. The answers she gave may surprise you.
[Q] Was there a piece of future tech or aspect of the film you were particularly drawn to?
[Kate Beckinsale] I do quite fancy having a hover-car but I don’t fancy everyone having one. Because I feel like I’ve spent a bit of time on the 405, stuck. And if everybody had them, I’d be scared of crashing. But if it was just me, then, I think I’d drive quite fast. And I quite fancy the phone, but I don’t think I’d fancy having it stuck in my body.
NOTE: Total Recall features a phone-like device which essentially takes the place of the nose-based-tracker you’ll remember from the 1990 version of the movie. Expect some off-screen cringe-worthy memories of that particular bit of film.
[Q] When you work on a film like this where technology is very much a central part of the story and where you’ve got giant cameras on you all day, do you find yourself at the end of the day just pushing all of the gadgets away for a good night’s rest?
[KB] Now when you say ‘all of my technology’ I don’t know if you’ve seen my phone.
*Beckinsale holds up a small red LG flip-phone from Verizon*
[KB] That’s about the extent of it. I don’t like my iPod. I like a nice record player and a book. I’m very much about that. So all that happens to me – I used this a lot [the phone] so that’s the only reason I’d say I’ve had an influx. I’m not much interested in an iPhone.
Did you ever pick up an iPhone, it flips over! You can’t see what’s happening – It’s aways moving!
Have a peek at the rest of our coverage of Total Recall through our [Rekall portal] and hit up the timeline below to get all you need in the universe of talks with the stars and the director of the film! Also don’t miss our full review of the movie, and head out to theaters right this second to see the whole feature!
Looking to unload your unwanted gaming gear? You’re probably on your way to GameStop. As the largest dedicated video game retailer in the world, it’s hard to imagine a games enthusiast who hasn’t browsed its wares a time or two. Over the last few years, however, the firm has been expanding outside of retail sales — dipping its fingers into digital distribution, streaming and even phones and tablets. The brick-and-mortar store even seemed to be flirting with building a mobile network. With all these changes underfoot and a new console cycle just around the corner, it seemed like a good time to catch up with GameStop CEO Paul Raines to get some perspective.
So MSL Curiosity has landed. It survived the seven minutes of terror and safely touched down on the surface of Mars. A miracle in its own right. Now that it’s there, it needs a way to move around. Anyone who played Lunar Lander and Moon Patrol already knows how they’re going to do this: Video games. More »
In just a few hours the Mars Curiosity Rover will be on the surface of Mars. During the seven minutes of terror that will precede touch down, many things must work perfectly. The first critical piece is the parachute. More »
With the next giant science fiction blockbuster Total Recall (2012) headed to theaters this summer (out now, in fact), SlashGear took the opportunity to speak with Kate Beckinsale on her role as the main villain. As it turns out, Beckinsale doesn’t just find herself in a series of action movies because she’s custom-built for the role, it’s got a lot to do with her love for science fiction, fantasy, and the whole action genre as well. Have a peek at why Beckinsale’s four brother’s had a lot to do with why you’ll be seeing her play Lori Quaid on the big screen this week.
Down in Los Angeles last month SlashGear got to speak with each of the stars of the 2012 version of Total Recall as well as the director Len Wiseman. With Wiseman’s interview revealing that he loved and still loves science fiction in a big way, it seemed only natural to ask Beckinsale the same question – Are you a science fiction fan, and was sci-fi a bit part of your life growing up?
Sidenote: Wiseman is married to Beckinsale, so we had to expect SOME form of connection. No getting away from sci-fi when your husband is an die-hard fan (and a Die Hard director, puns galore), and you’re part of a movie series where you hunt down fantastic beasts on the regular (see: Underworld).
Above: Kate Beckinsale poses with co-stars Jessica Biel and Colin Farrell at the Los Angeles press junket for Total Recall where SlashGear met up with the lot of them
[Kate Beckinsale] I definitely was, I had four brothers growing up, so I was definitely exposed to those kind of movies. It’s also more of the fact, for me, that I get to play these strong female characters and this is a good genre for that. People show up for that.
[Q] Do you and Len have any favorite films you’d like to share in the science fiction genre or related genres?
[KB] When we first met I was already a huge fan of the Alien movies, and I was a huge Die Hard fan until it ate my husband for two years. But I absolutely love those. And one of my favorites has always been Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Len loves that movie. All About Eve (1950) – so yeah, we could just sit here and put one of those in.
You’ll find that Beckinsale plays exactly the type of character that made her interested in the genre in the first place here in Total Recall – a strong female lead. But what’s different here, this time, is that she’s not the hero. In fact it’s the opposite, with her role taking the place of Sharon Stone’s 1990 appearance as the quickly-divorced wife of Schwarzenegger. Regarding her rather intense fist fights with the other main characters of Total Recall in the film, specifically with Jessica Biel, Beckinsale had a bit to say on the new generation.
[KB] These are not fights between two women that happens in some sexy way. They are quite vicious. I think it shows that women have really come a long way in this genre of movie. I know when I put my timid little nose into Underworld to see if I could do it, I was looking for references.
Above: Beckinsale also stars in the Underworld film series (2003-)
[Q] Do you feel as though you’ve perfected your craft in having been in so many action movies with Underworld et al?
[KB] Well it’s funny. Yes and no – now I have that added terror of going ‘I still feel like the person who shouldn’t be doing this, and everyone is acting around me as if I’m a bad-ass.’ And I still feel like – this still feels like a stretch.
[KB] But this is something that is incredible, and I get to do this – you know – I get wonderful teachers to help me, and it’s amazing. But it still feels like, it’s a reach for me. I still feel more comfortable in a drama, I feel like I know it a bit better there. But still, it’s good to be scared!
You’ll want to have a peek at the rest of our interview series as well as our full review of Total Recall 2012 right this minute! The movie is out in theaters now across the USA – and once you’ve seen it, be sure to head back to our Rekall portal to gain additional insight into the world of the Total Recall storyline and one whole heck of a lot more!
One of the most important questions of either of the iterations of the Rekall story was asked of actress Jessica Biel during our visit to the Total Recall 2012 press junket. That question was on what preparations she did for a character that may very well have not actually been real to anyone but Douglas Quaid, (not to be confused with Dennis Quaid,) a fellow whose own struggles with the reality of his situation is the basis for the whole plot of the film. Biel let it be known that not only did she have many discussions with the director Len Wiseman on what stance she was to take in her role, but whether or not she was real in the first place.
[Jessica Biel] If I would be playing a figment of someone’s imagination – for sure, 100% – I would still have prepared for that figment of imagination in the exact same way that I would prepare for somebody who was absolutely real. From a creative standpoint that wasn’t different – but the conversations that Len, Colin, and I had, on a daily basis, about ‘what is real, who are you, what do you remember? What do you trust? Do I even trust you?’
[JB] The thing that I asked Len all the time was, ‘how do I trust this guy? Yeah, I know how he trusts me, but how do I trust him?’ He was constantly talking me through that. Because I think that’s just as hard for her to accept as it is for Colin’s character – to accept this random person showing up in his life.
It was hard, it was hard to – sort of – walk that line of ‘are we confusing everybody? We’re confused.’ We were confused constantly – *laughs* – about what the hell, we were doing. And luckily Len figured it out. Thank god he figured it out and it’s not confusing anyone else even now.
Above: Jessica Biel poses with Bryan Cranston and Colin Farrell at the Los Angeles press junket where the interview series here on SlashGear originates
NOTE: SlashGear readers – if you’ve seen the 2012 version of Total Recall and ended up being “constantly confused” throughout, let us know! We’ve been hearing quite a few mixed reports on the subject. Does this mean that the film did it’s job just as the 1990 version did?
Also have a peek at the rest of our ever-growing collection of interview bits and pieces we collected last month before the premiere of Total Recall 2012 – out in theaters now! You can check out the Rekall portal or head to the timeline below to get our full review of the film, interview moments with each of the stars and the director Len Wiseman as well – and stick around after you’ve seen the movie too – we’ve got insights and secrets galore!
This past week Colin Farrell stepped up to the press bench with a deep explanation for what the 2012 version of Total Recall could mean for the audience. Total Recall is set to explode upon the entirety of the United States this weekend, and Farrell was certainly not shy about taking us deep into the inner-workings of the mind when it comes to this science fiction action extravaganza. Is it real, is it Rekall, or is it just the audience reading far too deep into the plot surrounding the action?
[Q] There’s been some talk of how this film, with its plotline that partially centers around themes of big corporations and class warfare. Some early critics are suggesting that the film was made to reflect things like the Occupy Movement. Is there anything to that, or is it that they are all just reading far too much into the story?
[Colin Farrell] I think you have to experience relevance and significance where you experience it and where you find it. The audience will see what they want to see. Some people will come out and hopefully enjoy two hours of action. Some people will find themselves gravitating toward the emotional dynamic the characters find themselves in, or some people will see some layer of subversion to the storytelling or some aspect of poking a finger in judgement at some elements of government or – foreign invasion on false pretenses – I mean you can go wherever you want with it really.
It’s not really the purpose of the film.
Above: Colin Farrell stands amid co-stars Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale at the LA press junket for Total Recall (from whens this interview segment came)
“Len’s concern with the whole film was to have it as a narrative between the world of emotion verses the world of intellect.”
[CF] But no matter what film you’re telling, you’re representing some element of reality. You’re representing the idea of being a human being. You’re always with humans, their fears, their shortcomings, their braveries, their doubts, their loves, their abilities, their brilliance. And those things inevitably lead to physical systems, into political systems, into foreign policy, and all that kind of stuff. Crime, religion, and – so you see what you want to see, man – the purpose of the film is not to take a stand against big government. It’s an action film.
Len’s particular concern with the whole film, I think, was to have it as a narrative between the world of emotion verses the world of intellect. The idea that you can suppress or subjugate a person’s mind, and a person’s memories, and a person’s experiences – mentally, psychologically, intellectually – but that you can’t quiet them completely to the point of dormancy.
The emotional light of a person, the heart. And what the heart remembers and what the heart experiences. And even that, it’s not important if that comes across. It’s another composite, if that’s somewhere in how Quaid [the main character of the film, played by Farrell] can’t figure out anything but begins to feel his love for Melina [Jessica Biel] be awokened to the person that he was and the person that he’s becoming, then, that’s cool.
But if it’s not – its really what anyone wants to get out of it.
Stay tuned here at SlashGear in our Total Recall portal to see all the hot Rekall action as the film blows up starting this weekend. Make sure you also check the timeline below to follow our path through chats and interviews with the stars and the director of this 2012 action thriller, and see how deep this futuristic science fiction environment goes on the big screen!
This past week we had the opportunity to have a chat with Bryan Cranston on his role in the 2012 science fiction action thriller Total Recall and how his role in the hit TV series Breaking Bad has all but skyrocketed him into the public eye. So well liked is the TV series that it ended up being spoken about at the press junket for Total Recall with the actor as much as the film was – but Cranston, ever the gentlemen, made no qualms about speaking on whatever the press had on their minds. How did the “goofy, silly, fun-loving dad” from Malcolm in the Middle transform himself into a science fiction villain with a methamphetamine dealer/science teacher in-between? Have a peek!
[Q] Len Wiseman [director of Total Recall 2012] brought up that he’d seen Breaking Bad [see the rest of that interview here] and said, ‘I want to work with this guy.’ Is that the common thing for you now, has that show changed your image in the business from the comedy guy only?
[Bryan Cranston] Yeah, I have ridden the hard work and sweat of Vince Gilligan all the way to another level. The best thing a director can do is to identify good actors and fit them in the right parts, and if you can do that in your pre-production, once you get to production you can let them fly, and let them feel safe to be able to experiment and try things. You’ll find happy accidents.
Above: Cranson (right) taking on a very different role in the television series Breaking Bad in which he plays a chemistry teacher with terminal cancer and a meth-cooking business
[BC] For an actor what I try to teach young actors – the best thing they can learn is to identify well-written material. The writing in our industry, in a story, is the most important element, bar none. It is always about the writing first.
So what I’ve been able to do – the thing I’m good at, really, is to identify well written material. Now that doesn’t mean the product is going to end up that way. It’s a recipe – and sometimes it doesn’t work – and you’re thinking, ‘oh well, wait a minute, I had all the ingredients, how did this happen?’ That’s going to happen.
But if you start with something that has good writing, you at least have a shot. If you start with something that is not well written, you have no shot of making something good. The best actor in the world can make “C” level material “C+” level material. Maybe “B-”, that’s it.
Above: Cranston poses with co-stars Jessica Biel and Colin Farrell at the Los Angeles press junket for Total Recall
[Q] You had this in you all the time, even before Breaking Bad, but people’s perceptions of you have changed. Have you thought about that since – Drive, and this, you’re given harder-edged characters and just a straight jacket perception of what your previous roles would be?
[BC] Well, the only thing that an actor really yearns for in a career is opportunity. We don’t ask to be given roles – [if you don’t] just give me a chance to get in the room, we have no shot. How I got Malcolm in the Middle – everything – what I try to teach young actors is that, ‘please know, that without a healthy dose of luck, you will not have a career.’ How do you do that? I don’t know. Just keep working, keep working hard, have faith, and this is your life!
“Without a healthy dose of luck, you will not have a career.”
Don’t give yourself some arbitrary number – ‘I’m going to give it a year – I’ll give it a good year’ – it’s like ‘stop now, go back to Idaho.’ You know? ‘Make some really nice potatoes. People will appreciate that.’ But it’s a joke – people, you’re either in this or you’re not in this. So that’s the first thing I say. But I was lucky to get Malcolm in the Middle. I was lucky to get Breaking Bad. And I have stories for those – but I don’t want to go in and monopolize that. But I know – the stars were aligning.
After you are able to get some level of success, like Malcolm in the Middle – seven years of doing a comedy – I got offers to do a goofy, silly, fun-loving dad. And had I taken those, I would have helped pigeon-hole myself as that guy.
You better – you better – if you’re on a hit show? You better save your money. You better, because you need to say no to those tempting offers of dollar bills to do the same thing you just did. To me it was no temptation. I just said no, I just did that. But you don’t know what’s going to happen next. I was very fortunate.
This is but one of several segments of the ongoing set of talks we had with the stars and director of Total Recall – stick around in our [Rekall portal] to see the future and past of the film as it rolls out in theaters this weekend! And of course don’t forget to check out our full movie review of Total Recall (2012) as well!
This afternoon we got the chance to exchange words with mc10 co-founder Ben Schlatka on how the company’s “electronics anywhere” tagline is being made a reality right here and now. Not only are they developing wearable technology for Medical and Industrial projects, they’ve also got consumer technology in the pipeline – and with their new R&D contract that includes Wearable Electronics for the Battlefield with NSRDEC, you’ll see how the modern soldier will soon be benefitting in full from renewable power sources that are as natural to wear as a helmet.
Again we’re speaking with mc10 co-founder Ben Schlatka, and for those of you looking for more information on getting in contact with the crew, you can head to their page over at mc10inc.com – and tell em SlashGear sent ya! Have a peek here at our very brief but very informative conversation below.
[Q] How do you see wearable technology fitting in with the rather mobile consumer landscape of today ?
[Ben Schlatka] There is increasingly strong market demand to measure everything about the body. And there are a number of wearable devices available that are trying to address this need. Unfortunately, most of these devices are bulky and uncomfortable to wear, and the quality of the data they provide varies widely.
MC10 is reshaping conventional rigid high-performance electronics into ultra-thin form factors that conform to the body. Imagine a kids’ fake tattoo that can sense how our bodies work: data from the heart, the brain, muscles, body temperature – even hydration levels. When a sensing technology conforms to the consumer and not the other way around, it can capture more insights for longer periods of time without discomfort or distraction.
[Q] I understand you’ve just secured an R&D contract for Wearable Electronics for the Battlefield with NSRDEC [US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center] – could you talk a little bit about that?
[S] This is an exciting project, we’re working with the NSRDEC to develop a renewable power source that extends the capabilities of soldiers in the field. The modern soldier carries lots of high-tech gear but they can’t be effective if the devices run out of power. We’re developing solar cells that are integrated directly into the fabric of helmets and rucksacks so devices can be charged and ready to use at all times. And it sure beats lugging a battery around in addition to the gear our troops already carry.
Now imagine the design freedom this technology provides. Something like your jacket can serve the same purpose. As you go about your day, your jacket is collecting energy that you can use to charge your phone or other portable electronic devices. You no longer have to search the coffee shop or airport lounge for a free outlet.
This is where the technology is heading, and it’s not too far off in the future.
[Q] How do you predict wearable technology will reach the mainstream?
[S] Wearable technologies will only go mainstream if they can be virtually invisible to the user. If your sleep monitor is bulky and keeps you from falling asleep, what good is it? If your doctor wants you to monitor your hear rate and it requires wearing an uncomfortable device, what are the odds you’ll actually comply?
Today we conform to our electronics without even thinking much about it, we’ve adapted because the pros outweigh the cons. But as electronics increasingly conforms to us, the barriers to adoption decrease.
[Q] Are there examples of mc10 that are live and out in the wild right now that you’d like to share?
[S] Nothing ‘in the wild’ until later this year, we’re developing a new device with Reebok that is expected to launch in 2012. We’ve also convened a team of accomplished athletes and experts across a variety of sports to help us shape the next generation of athletic performance monitoring.
We are also really excited about the important role our technology can play empowering people to play a more active role in staying healthy. Given the skyrocketing cost of healthcare, it’s clear we need smarter, cheaper ways to monitor health status outside of the hospital. Today, we learn about our health very occasionally and episodically; as a result, we access care in a costly setting, often when a condition has worsened to extreme levels. By providing continuous access to high-quality biofeedback at an affordable cost, MC10 is empowering people to take more ownership of their health, and to take action in real-time, accessing care only if and when it’s needed.
This past week we got the opportunity to sit down with film director Len Wiseman at the Los Angeles press junket for the newest science fiction blockbuster of the summer: Total Recall. Wiseman revealed that not only is he a long-standing superfan of science fiction in general, he’s had a bit of a history with the original Philip K Dick short story that inspired the 1990 film Total Recall – and of course loves Arnold as well. Have a peek at this 2012-based vision for the future from the meistro’s seat right here and now.
Also be sure to check out our full review of Total Recall (2012) and stay tuned for a collection of interviews just such as this one coming up over the course of the week – we’ve got Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, and your favorite and mine: Bryan Cranston – coming up soon as well!
[Wiseman] It started with a phone call. I wasn’t aware there was a Total Recall script being put together so it was a surprise to me. Neal called me and had me come down and read it – and I went into it with quite a bit of hesitation, first off, being a film of the first film but also being a part of Die Hard as a franchise. I’d just gotten done with a previous project and I wasn’t ready to go through with this at first, I was still developing some things of my own.
So it was one of those projects that I read wanting not to like it, but I felt like I should just read it, and I’d been wanting to work with Neil for a long time, so – as I went through it it became more ‘ah man, this is actually pretty good.” And then I just got hooked. So that’s what it was initially, it was just at first trepidation, then just really loving the new take on the script – that’s how it all started for me.
From left: Brian Cranston, Jessica Biel, Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Len Wiseman as they appeared in Los Angeles for the Total Recall junket.
[Q] Obviously you stayed away from wise-crackery which was one of the trademarks of the original movie but there were lines, you did keep actual lines – what was your take on that?
[W] Yeah we did kind of our own take on certain lines and there were certain things that – you know – it’s a tough mix to bring in things that are familiar – and the original script, it deviates so much [from the original film], especially towards the second half. This film doesn’t go to Mars, and the second and third act [of the 1990 film] are on Mars. So there were some things that I wanted to bring in that were familiar. But the lines and things that we have are just slightly skewed in a different tone.
[Q] What were some of your influences in developing the look of the film?
[W] That’s such a hard question to answer because there are so many influences in being such a fan of science fiction in general. So a lot of it – for me – I collect a lot of science fiction artwork, and always have, so if you go to my house it’s just geek out, it’s like a library of science fiction material.
And then a lot of the elements, the colony world specifically, where part of what influences or builds out this world is a melting pot of different societies. Because the world is at a point where there are only two zones that are inhabitable. So it was drawing in on a lot of that district in Brazil, there’s a lot of asian influence, and there’s a lot in terms of architecture to put those things together.
“Everything from Blade Runner to Aliens and Star Wars.”
And then everything I’ve been growing up with, sci-fis, everything from Blade Runner to Aliens and Star Wars. It’s probably endless in terms of what is probably engrained in our minds and what we’ve got to draw from, ideas where you don’t exactly know what you’re influenced by. I can’t say specifically, but you’re influenced by watching movies like this and reading books and comic books and everything since I was a kid.
[Q] Can you talk about working with Kate [Beckinsale, aka Wiseman’s wife] and speak on if she was always going to play the role she’s in or if she was considered for the other female lead in the film?
[W] She was never considered for the other role, I had considered her for the Lori role early on. It was just a combination of what I wanted Lori to be which was not exactly what was on the page. I just had the confidence and knew what Kate could bring to it. And then schedules changed and they pulled up her Underworld schedule.
So she took off to do Underworld which just meant that this was cancelled out and so we started a long casting process but it was just not going to happen. And then my movie got pushed. Luckily I was behind, so we got pushed back 3 weeks which created literally a 2 day window. She finished up Underworld, we put her on a plane, she came out. So there was this weird process – it was something that I was excited about, that happened, and then the schedules opened up again.
“She finished up Underworld, we put her on a plane, she came out.”
[Q] With both Underworld and Total Recall both being action movies, what did you do to push the envelope with Kate and make things different?
[W] I think it’s always different. It’s just movies in general, it’s such a wonderful business because as much as you feel like you’re crafting or fine tuning your career route, each movie is a completely different challenge, so it’s different even with those little details. Every fight sequence is different, and everything even in just the terms of the action sequences, it’s always different.
So I can really enjoy that, and she’s been in enough of these [action movies] now where it’s not starting from ground zero, where she’s just terrified to throw a punch. She’s not the same girl now. So that part gets a lot easier. So it’s always different, which is great.
[Q] The idea of class separated society is an element that’s present both in the Philip K Dick story and here in the movie, and fortuitously the Occupy Movement started after you’d envisioned this whole thing – how did that factor into this movie, with the class warfare aspect of it all?
[W] The class warfare was obviously there, it was in the script as well, and it’s a help to think about what would happen if we did have two zones that were left, and everyone had to just survive in these two areas, and what would our society do with that setup? So it’s commenting on that, and it’s the state of the world – in my mind, would that realistically unfold? So I tried to stay true to that. That was the starting point from what was actually already in the script.
[Q] Was there talk of any cameos from the original film planned or executed here in 2012?
[W] There was talk of it, I was tempted as just a fan of the original. I think of the original Total Recall as an Arnold movie. I wasn’t really aware of Philip K Dick at the time, I was 14, and I was just went to see – I want to see the Arnold film. So there was talk about it very early on, there was talk of Sharon Stone, and I don’t know if they were contacted, I’m not sure. But as we started to develop our film, I didn’t want to distract too much. So it would be a fun idea, and that fan in me really wanted to see it happen, just the storyteller [won me over]. Every time I’ve seen it happen – Lou Ferrigno shows up in the Hulk – it does take me out of it. It just seems Comic Con a little bit too much.
[Q] What elements were you insistent on keeping from the first one? Obviously like the three breasted hooker was a memorable one: were there any ideas you wanted to keep?
[W] Yeah the first thing I wanted in there, it’s absolutely one of the things I remember most about the original one, and it’s just at the core of this concept was the representative from Rekall comes back in and sets the stage. And tells Quaid that he’s actually living out a fantasy. And it’s that great core battle of fantasy vs reality. That was one of the things that I wanted to make sure that was really fleshed out, and then to push it further, was one.
Then some of the fun more superficial stuff we just wanted to put in: I had made a list, a list of about 10 things or so that I remembered from the film before I went back and watched it. And it had been about 20 years for me since I’d seen it, so I wanted to write that out before I watched it again. I thought that if those were things that had stuck with me through the years, that I would want to highlight some of those.
“I made a list of about 10 things I remembered from the film before I went back and watched it.”
And they were things like – the three breasted woman was one of the top things, like I said I was 14, so that was very memorable to me. And then I just remembered Arnold pulling that big tracker out of his nose, freaking out about that, and going through the immigration booth with the heavy set red-headed lady. There were a lot of moments that I remembered. So we just wanted to put them in in a different twist. We give an homage to them but we switch em up, twist em up a bit.
[Q] Where there any things like Johnny Cab that you wanted in there or thought about but couldn’t get in there for one reason or another?
[W] Yeah there were things that – I’m trying to think of them – actually Johnny Cab was one of them, but it didn’t end up applying to us. There was also actually an element, the oxygen element that didn’t really fit in to our storyline. Obviously, we don’t go to Mars. But at one point there was a sub-plot about an oxygen level within the colony, but within this universe and on the planet it just didn’t make much sense.
[Q] Could you talk about choosing Colin Ferrell, you spoke about going specifically to see an Arnold movie where comparatively Colin Ferrell is a more real actor – and could you talk about that shift in dynamic?
[W] I had absolutely no intention of replacing Arnold. And there were a few things that made me want to do the movie, the first that the script took a different direction to it, and a different tone, and this was a chance to do a very different kind of Quaid. I didn’t read the short story until I went to college, so I had kind of a reverse knowledge of it.
I had seen it first as an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, then it wasn’t until college that I read Philip K Dick’s story and I remember at the time thinking, ‘oh that’s that Arnold movie that I love when I was in high school’, and just reading the story had a very different effect on me than what I remember, just from the tone of the story. And Quaid, or Quail as he is in the story, is a bit more of an everyman.
“If Colin Farrell is the every-man then I’m living in the wrong city!”
So I wanted somebody that you could just relate to a bit more. The whole idea of that story was that it has such a strong wish fulfillment to it – of a man that wishes he could be more, then turns into a super spy, verses my recollection of what I felt when I watched the original Total Recall: we’re watching a guy who you already feel is a super spy because we’ve seen him in such a capacity. So I wanted a guy who was, I think of an everyman.
My sister-in-law says that, ‘if Colin Farrell is the every-man then I’m living in the wrong city.’ *laughter* So he’s the Hollywood everyman, I guess. So that was exciting to me, when it first came out there was so much talk about, ‘who’s gonna replace Arnold.’ And The Rock came up, all these wrestlers, all these people that I was totally unaware of.
[Q] Did they pitch these actors and ideas to you, or what?
[W] Ah no, it was all over, like, online. Speculation about who the next Arnold was going to be. And I was like, ‘alright, when I announce who the next Quaid is going to be, and not the next Arnold, maybe they’ll like it and maybe they won’t.’ But it was quite a reaction and very well received and I think it immediately helps to set a tone of what we’re trying to do.
[Q] Where there any other actors that were considered for the role?
[W] Just The Rock. Ha, no. No, he was my first choice which, I feel like a director rarely talks about if you don’t, you don’t have that conversation. Like, ‘he wasn’t my first choice but man, he worked out great.’ *laughter*
[W] I’m actually glad to not have to cover or navigate around, he was my first choice and it was great, it was a situation where, also with Kate, it just works out. Bryan Cranston, who I was watching on – I had really been sucked into Breaking Bad at the time, and I was thinking, one, I want to work with this man at some point. He’s fantastic. And then when the script came about I thought he’d be perfect, and, first choice, yeah that was really fun.
[Q] What were you considering when Colin Ferrell was cast, were you thinking international appeal, his accent, what do you think about when you put that together? Because obviously the movie has to hang on this guy, is he a big enough box office star, is he a good enough every-man and appealing?
[W] To be completely honest I didn’t think of any of those things, I thought just simply that he’s a fantastic actor. And I want to take an actor and more so, if anything, my job would be to turn an actor into an action star rather than an action star into an actor. That rarely works. I want to start with just a really good actor.
And when you put his whole body of work together: we just said we’re going to create Quaid. Just as a starting point, as a springboard, there were elements of Quaid, the Quaid that I had read, the one that I had pictured: a little bit of Phonebooth, a little bit of In Bruges, a little bit of – he’s done so much. So it was really that.
It was really that I wanted to work with an actor for Quaid, I really want to push that, everything like the physicality, once this character has to turn into this super spy, you have to really believe him. But that’s more of a thing that’s just getting people into the gym and working with stunt players and all of that. I want the security of a fantastic actor.
[Q] Did Colin feel bad about fighting with Kate ever? Or did he just go for it?
“I think he felt ok after she blasted him in the neck at one point.”
[W] He didn’t tell me then, but he tells me now that it was a little bit nerve-racking just because of the fact that it’s the director’s wife. I think it would be kind of weird, I guess. I think he felt ok after she blasted him in the neck at one point. So I think then it was ok for the gloves to come off.
[Q] Could you speak on the conceptual design, the whole look of the film, and all the little gadgets (like the hand phone), and how real this film’s environment is compared to other concepts that films have presented?
[W] It was definitely a large part of the focus for me to have it all. I love science fiction more than the fantasy, and the distinction of how science fiction is based off of science. And where science could possibly go. It’s such a what-if quality where fantasy is kind of the study of a different thing, so I’ve been drawn towards that, and it’s this reality of: these things could possibly happen.
So it was very much – for instance that palm cell phone – I want to think that a think like that crazy of an idea [could be real.]
I saw something, it was a while ago, where it was in Japan and they were putting in LCD tattoos, that they were putting into the skin. Whether it ever came through or not. But the LCD tattoos that you see in the film as well as the phone systems – what they’re also doing is the car.
[W] With the car design we were talking to an engineer that you guys were really developing things in a way where that makes sense to how the world would progress, in a sense. At some point were going to have to start building up. You’re going to run out of room to build houses. And once you build up you have to design and build in a way with a transportation system that will also accommodate that. So that’s what we’ve done.
So yes, I’ve very much into what could possibly happen.
[Q] When Quaid is in the bank and opens up his safe and gets his money – did you have input as to who was on those bills?
[W] Did I have input – oh, yeah. Because one of those bills is my dad. It’s right by Obama, the next one over is my dad Loren. so it was perfect to put him right as one of the presidents. And yeah I thought, yeah, we see our presidents heads up, I thought Obama would make a bill.
[Q] Do you have any independent projects coming up?
“I love to build worlds … it’s what I got into this industry to do.”
[W] Yeah, you know, people say why did you take three years off after Die Hard – I have not taken one day off since after Die Hard. I have been actively developing projects that didn’t go through for various reasons – mainly of budget. It’s really difficult to get an original idea that’s not attached to a comic book or a book itself or some awareness that’s over a hundred million dollars.
And I love to build worlds, since I was a kid, it’s what I got into this industry to do. Three of those projects were ones that I had written, seven months here, with Tom Cruise, and folks saying ‘this is gonna happen’, and the budget doesn’t add up.
[Q] What one was that?
[W] It was a movie called Motorcade, it had Dreamworks, and he took off to do [something else] – and the funding wasn’t coming through, it was expensive, and it was an original title, and he went to do The Time of Day.
[Q] Do you have a Rekall fantasy yourself?
[W] Rekall fantasy myself, ah, god. Probably too many. I would love to travel to the future, just to file some things so there’s no guesswork.
[Q] What effect does working with your Wife onset have on your marriage – do you ever feel like you’re working together too much?
[W] No, it’s a weird thing. And there’s lots of directors that work with plenty of the same actors, over and over, many more times than I have. And actually I’ve worked with Bill Nye more times than I’ve worked with Kate, and I’m not married to Bill Nye, so that never comes up. I love to work with actors where I know what I’m going to get from them, as many others do, so it’s not something – you build as well as you would accrue, as well, you build up the people. It’s so risky, there are people you know you can trust, you know what you’re going to get from them, its why directors do it a lot of times.
But if people would say, ‘you’ve hired Bill Nye too many times’, I’d say, ‘well I don’t care.’ He’s fantastic.
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