20 Failed Movie Plans That'll Ruin Your Day
11. David Cronenberg's Total Recall
In the very early days of its development, Total Recall, a daring, trippy adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," was set to be directed by the great David Cronenberg.
Cronenberg, fresh off the success of Scanners and Videodrome, was unfamiliar with Dick's work, but relished the opportunity to make a serious, practical effects-driven sci-fi thriller.
Horribly, though, Cronenberg clashed with producer Dino De Laurentiis regarding the director's desired tone, forcing him into endless re-writes for the script, which he modified by adding in mutants and unsettling horror elements.
The producers ended up cutting ties with Cronenberg in the end, their hope for a Raiders of the Ark-esque blockbuster starring Richard Dreyfuss not sitting well with the acclaimed auteur. Which really is a heartbreaker, given his knack for creating twisted dystopias and nasty thrills within the sci-fi genre. Still, at leas the Total Recall we got was still awesome in its own right.