When you know a name of a person but you just can pin them to something and the frustration bugs you for a longtime, thats what I was like when Len Wiseman’s name came up. What did he do? Well he directed the Underworld franchise which starred his wife Kate Beckinsdale and he is now in final negotiations to direct the remake of the 1990 Sci-fi flick Total Recall.
The movie starred none other than the governor of California Arnold Scwharzernegger directed by Paul Verhoeven which was a fantastic movie apart from the cheesy ending and the desire for Arnie’s head to really explode as its been so far up his backside for many years. The movie was also based on a short story by Phillip K Dick called ” We Can Remember It For You Wholesale”
“Len has an incredible love of the genre and a great gift for action. He’ll bring a contemporary feel to the film while taking care with everything we love about Philip K. Dick’s original story.” – Producer Matt Tolmach in a press release.
Is Len Wiseman the right director for the job, I think not. He did ok in the Underworld movies which were virtually unmemorable a but full of potential, well only one good memory was seeing his wife Kate in a all leather/pvc catsuit! (easy tiger!), Die Hard 4.0 was ok but nothing more. Seeing another remake is second nature now to myself I may loathe 99% of them but its sadly part of the industry at the moment as for Wiseman as the director passable but if he’s to pull this one off he’ll need to delve deeply into his mind and fish out the creativity lacking from his other projects. Here’s the full statement:
LEN WISEMAN TO DIRECT “TOTAL RECALL”
CULVER CITY, Calif., July 29, 2010 – Len Wiseman is in final negotiations to direct Columbia Pictures’ Total Recall, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures. The film will be a new, contemporized adaptation of Total Recall, which was based on the story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Kurt Wimmer is writing the screenplay. Neal H. Moritz will produce through his Original Film banner.
Commenting on the announcement, Tolmach said, “Len has an incredible love of the genre and a great gift for action. He’ll bring a contemporary feel to the film while taking care with everything we love about Philip K. Dick’s original story.”
Moritz said, “I have been trying for years to work with Len and fortunately we finally found a great project that he loves as much as we do. Len is terrifically talented and we know he is the right director to re-imagine Total Recall for a new generation of fans.”
Wiseman added, “I’ve always been fascinated with Philip K. Dick’s short story, and I’m excited at that prospect of diving even deeper into the type of world it evokes and the questions it asks. I love that the most crucial mystery our character is trying to solve is the one of his own soul.”
Toby Jaffe will oversee production on behalf of Original Film. Tolmach and Sam Dickerman are overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. Columbia Pictures secured the rights to Total Recall from Miramax. Wiseman is represented by ICM and attorney Howard Abramson.
LEN WISEMAN began his career in the art department on the blockbuster
films Godzilla, Stargate, Men in Black, and Independence Day. With his natural visual flair and eye for design, he was soon behind the lens directing commercials for PlayStation, Time Warner, Oracle, Intel and Activision, which quickly lead to a career in music videos, working with such artists as Quarashi, Rufus Wainwright, Megadeath, En Vogue, Static X, Paul Oakenfold, and Brooke Allison.
Wiseman went on to write and direct Underworld, which was so well received that he went on to direct Underworld: Evolution, a film he also executive produced. He went on to produce Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. His next directing project was the blockbuster hit Live Free or Die Hard.
He most recently directed the pilot for “Hawaii Five-O” and is co-writer and producer of the upcoming Underworld 4.
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