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I know we've talked about the Robocop reboot on the forum before, but I can't find a thread, so fuck it.

The facts are these: Jose Padilha was tapped to helm a reboot of the RoboCop franchise, based largely on the success of his The Elite Squad films in his native Brazil. The screenplay was written by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man), Nick Schenk (Gran Torino), and Joshua Zetumer (a newcomer). Darren Aronofsky did a great deal of pre-production on this reboot, but the project was stalled during the MGM bankruptcy boondoggle. At present, it appears that Padilha and crew have started completely from scratch.

The cast includes Gary Oldman as the creator of Robocop, Samuel L. Jackson as a media mogul, Hugh Laurie as the CEO of Omnicorp, and Abbie Cornish to play Alex Murphy's wife. Alex Murphy himself will be played by Joel Kinnaman, an actor virtually unknown in the States.

In interviews, Padilha has stated his interest in creating an allegory for corporate control. He talks about Robocop in terms of a human who gets turned into a soulless corporate pawn. The film is set for release in August of next year.

In spite of many hoping that the project would fall apart, this viral site recently surfaced. The film hasn't even started production yet, and we've already gotten our first look at ED-209, a new aerial drone, and whatever viral shenanigans the studio has prepared in the coming months.

For my part, I think that the new ED-209 looks way too cluttered. Much like the "Bayformers," there are too many exposed parts that look distracting and would be functionally absurd. It's a far cry from the relatively clean and simplistic look of the original ED-209.

I'd also add that the viral site includes a picture of what appears to be the new Robocop's shoulder. I confess that for whatever reason, this was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the picture. The difference, of course, is that Robocop's eyes will reportedly be visible in this redesign. That's sure to piss off a bunch of fans, no doubt.

Did I miss anything?

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This is truly a madhouse. And I'm the lunatic running it. I've spent three years wondering if I should be proud or ashamed.

kinnaman is a great actor i love him on AMC's The Killing

I think the ED209 design is ok, not quite bayformers, more like a stealth jet, like it could have been repurposed from the military.

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We're all actors, Laurie. I'm just an actor who read the script.

I like Padilla on account of Tropa de elite, and I´m digging how Omnicorp is being dealt. Only problemis robocop himself, but I guess that´s a dram light role,so "anyone" will do.

Just wished Fassbender had gotten the gig...

i like joel he kind of has a similair look as weller tall,lanky,blonde,square jaw

The most important thing this movie needs to be a true Robocop movie:

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t166 ... G_1887.jpg

That is all.

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Talk about low expectations...

Is it horrible that I kind of agree?

Its too iconic to fuck with. I'm already super apprehensive about this movie.

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My Blog of Movie Reviews and Such

I'll be right back. I gotta go see a man about a mule.

I mean,it´s not as if the originals are these big masterpices, but to just ask for the helmet is lowballing.

Here´s hoping that they don´t use CGI to create Robocop. Pratical effects ftw.

Don´t make him one super agile mofo. On paper he´s a tank.Make him as agile as one...


But while there´s stuff that I want them to stick to, there are liberties that they can take.Some heavy duty equipment like shoulder mounted missiles would be too far away from the idea behind Robocop.

Well somebody's a got chip on their shoulder, as usual.

If it hasn't been said before, I can vouch for Padilha, he's an interesting choice for Robocop, the Elite Squad films from which he gained fame are stories about the "special forces" division of Brazil that is deployed to battle the drug dealers in the poorest areas of Rio De Janeiro, this division is called BOPE, they are not really police by any stretch of the imagination, they are a military operation better equiped than most peace-keeping forces in Latin America, and also a pretty vicious one, human rights violations and all.

So in that regard, it seems quite interesting that he would be picked for this project, one for obvious reasons, Elite Squad has action set pieces and large-scale battles between the BOPE and the drug dealers, and they are pretty good for what is mostly independent films. But there's also the aspect of a pretty unnatural "dynamic" between Police and Criminals, the BOPE is not a typical police force, but there they are, same with Robocop, who is really more of an investment oportunity from a big corporation by introducing what is basically a walking-talking tank of destruction and passing it off as a human being "getting a second chance".

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You are confusing me with someone else....

Did I missunderstood your idea that only the helmet is necessary?


Oh,and BOPE is police,state police,namely Rio de Janeiro.Thing is, they are like SWAT in a way.The cops that cops call when they can´t handle a situation.


As to the BOPE and Robocop comparisons,they are the response to a fire that is burning widly(criminality).Thing is one is more realistic, the other not so much. But the same principle applies.

Naturally it's not THE only thing that makes a Robocop movie, but in my opinion, it's pretty emblematic and I consider it pretty important, imagine Superman without a cape, or Batman without a cowl !



You can dress a monkey in silk and call it Sally, it is still a monkey

BOPE is a military operation publicly referred to as police, they answer directly to state officials, carry military-issue armament, and their main goal is to kill whatever the fuck has a gun in a favela.



Well, BOPE isn't a proper response to anything in life, but I get what you're saying, and it is precisely why Padilha seems like a very good choice for this movie ! His angle for the story is great already, so I do see some hope for this movie.

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So I guess that we agree that there´s more to it.If the dude has a helmet but then jumps and hops like a high school gimnast, it wouldn´t feel right, would it?


As to BOPE, that´s a can of worms that I would prefer leaving untouched...

Usually I'm open for ideas, but if they really are going "full-reboot", then my expectations may only be sated at Nolan-level shit

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They are bringing Omnicorp and ED209,so it´s not a complete do-over...

To me, Robocop seems like a franchise that died a tired and ugly death, having flogged it's horse to mincemeat.
Interested? Not even slightly.

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...evidently chicken-town.

That's.........kinda the point of a reboot

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Dunno. There's a difference between re-invigorating a story and seriously re-inventing it and making it relevant again, and simply remaking something that outstayed it's welcome in order to sell toys.
For example, after the Raimi Spiderman series, I have had enough and am not slightly interested in that same tale again, not for quite a while thanks. In Robocop's case, unless they really change it up, I can't imagine wanting to waste an hour and a half on that particular re-animated corpse until maybe... 2058?

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...evidently chicken-town.

......................................

You sure are "special" regarding this issue.

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I have special needs.

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...evidently chicken-town.