Trivia for
The Handmaid's Tale (1990) More at IMDbPro »

• Cameo: [David Dukes] a doctor
  
  
• The lead role of Kate was offered to Jodie Foster and Sigourney Weaver.
  
  
• The name "Particicution" is a play on the name "Participaction", a government corporation founded by Pierre Trudeau in 1972 in an attempt to get Canadians into fitness. The corporation lasted until 2000 in Margaret Atwood's homeland of Canada.
  
  
• In the book, the story takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, predominantly in Harvard Square, on the Harvard campus, and in the general area. Harvard Square is a terribly busy place, however, and it would have been almost impossible to clear the Square for the scenes in question. In addition, Harvard University has a "no filming" policy that prohibits any filming from taking place on their campus. North Carolina substituted.
  
  
• In the original source novel, the main character is known only by her patronymic, "Offred" (or "of Fred," since she "belongs" to a Commander named Fred); her real name is never revealed, though many readers believe it may be June, based on various subtle hints in the text. However, the filmmakers chose Kate as her pre-Gileadean name, and choose to state it clearly.
  
  

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