It’s been a week of some momentum in terms of the long threatened ROBOCOP remake from MGM. Whether you loathe the idea or not it seems that things are moving ahead with ELITE SQUAD director Jose Padilha at the helm. This week a new writer was brought in to try and crack the script. That man is Nick Schenk, the writer of 2009’s GRAN TORINO and who also collaborated on an unproduced screenplay called TRI-BORDER for Padilha.

In casting news, the latest name thrown into the ring after Keanu Reeves and Michael Fassbender is Russell Crowe!! It’s been a busy week for Crowe who has also been linked with Darren Aronofsky’s NOAH and Akiva Goldsman’s WINTERS TALE. A twitter update from Variety reporter Jeff Sneider has reported that Crowe is now the hot favourite for the Alex Murphy/Robocop role.

This story may come to something, it may come to nothing. It’s good news that they are looking at actual actors though rather than stars or blank action heroes. The part is one that has a lot of heavy lifting involved and that’s not just because of the bulky metal suit. Peter Weller brought a lot to the table with the 1987 original, acting his socks off through Rob Bottin’s wonderful design and whoever takes this over has a lot to live up to.

Not much else is known about the ROBOCOP reboot at this time, apart from Padilha hinting that the satire this time comes less from corporate America and more from the medical industry. Watch this space…

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