A Memento remake is in the works at AMBI Pictures
It’s ironic that Memento, a movie about a man whose retrograde amnesia has him continually making the same mistakes over and over again, is getting a remake, but that is exactly what is happening. The 2000 film that launched Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar, The Dark Knight Trilogy) onto the world cinematic stage will be redone under producers Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi of AMBI Pictures, which recently acquired the 400-title Exclusive Media Group library, which also included Cruel Intentions, Donnie Darko, The Mexican, Rush and Sliding Doors.
“Memento is a masterpiece that leaves audiences guessing not just throughout the film, but long after as well, which is a testament to its daring approach,” Bacardi stated. “We intend to stay true to Christopher Nolan’s vision and deliver a memorable movie that is every bit as edgy, iconic and award-worthy as the original. It’s a big responsibility to deliver something that lives up to the mastery of the original, but we are extremely excited and motivated to bring this puzzle back to life and back into the minds of moviegoers.”
“’Memento’ has been consistently ranked as one of the best films of its decade,” Iervolino added. “People who’ve seen ‘Memento’ 10 times still feel they need to see it one more time. This is a quality we feel really supports and justifies a remake. The bar is set high thanks to the brilliance or Christopher Nolan, but we wouldn’t want it any other way. Our acquisition of the EMG library reinforced our commitment to build a strong global studio with a strong pipeline of commercial films that can play to a worldwide audience. Bringing a new ‘Memento’ to audiences is an initial example of how we intend to execute this strategy.”
Written and directed by Nolan from a short story by his brother/frequent collaborator Jonathan Nolan (The Prestige, The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar), Memento followed an amnesiac named Leonard (Guy Pierce) who uses clues he has tattooed onto his body in order to seek out the man who killed his wife. Due to his mental condition, he has to frequently put the pieces of his memory back together from these fragments. Co-starring Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano, the film was lauded for its nonlinear narrative structure and motifs of memory, perception, grief, and self-deception.
The $9 million dollar film grossed an impressive $40 million worldwide and was nominated for Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay Oscars, ultimately paving the way for Nolan’s runaway success in Hollywood and cementing Pierce as a formidable screen presence. This will not be the first Memento remake, as not one but two Indian-language re-dos were produced in 2005 and 2008, both under the title Ghajini.
