Jessica Biel & Eva Green Also In Contention
Despite it being still near-omnipresent on TV, 20 years since its release, the powers-that-be have deemed that it’s time to remake “Total Recall,” the sci-fi thriller that proved a hit for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Paul Verhoeven all that time ago. “The Adjustment Bureau” has proven that pictures based on Philip K. Dick‘s work can still be viable at the box office (both the original and the remake are based on the sci-fi writer’s story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale“). And Sony, in their infinite wisdom, have put the new version in the hands of D-movie king Neal Moritz (“The Green Hornet,” “The Fast and the Furious,”), “Salt” scribe Kurt Wimmer, and “Underworld” and “Live Free and Die Hard” director Len Wiseman.
Colin Farrell landed the lead role a few months back over the likes of Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender, but there hasn’t been a ton of movement on the film since then, although the film’s been edging towards its May start date and landed a key 2012 summer release, where it’s currently set to go head-to-head with “The Bourne Legacy.” Word’s come in from Deadline today that a slate of actresses are about to test for the two female leads, however, and for the most part, it’s not a terribly surprising list.
As in the Verhoeven version, there are two principle female roles: Lori, the wife of Farrell’s character, Doug Quaid, who turns out to be more than she seems (a part played by Sharon Stone, in her breakout role, in the original), and Melina, who Quaid becomes romantically involved with (Rachel Ticotin in the original, although the role has been re-envisioned substantially). Kate Bosworth, Diane Kruger and Eva Mendes are said by Deadline to be in the running for the former, while Paula Patton, Jessica Biel, Eva Green and Mendes (who’s up for both parts) are reading for the latter.
Like we said, it’s more or less the kind of names you’d expect — Kruger, Green, and Biel have all been linked to high-profile roles in the likes of “Superman: Man of Steel” and “The Dark Knight Rises” recently, while Patton has the female lead in “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.” Bosworth’s probably the biggest winner here — she’s not found her name linked to many tentpoles since playing Lois Lane in “Superman Returns,” but this could certainly see her name on the rise again. Probably the biggest surprise is that Wiseman’s partner, Kate Beckinsale, isn’t being mentioned somewhere.
It’s not a hugely exciting list either. While most of the actors involved have done good work in the past (Kruger and Green, in particular), there’s something of a lack of imagination at work here. Kruger and Bosworth especially seem to be the answer to the question of which young actress looks most like Sharon Stone 20 years ago. We imagine that word’ll come in soon enough as to who’s landed the roles, but most are uncommitted to other projects, with the exception of Green, who starts filming on Tim Burton‘s “Dark Shadows” shortly, which might well put her out of the running. “Total Recall” will hit theaters on August 3rd, 2012.
