22/09/11

As shocking as it might sound, there was a time when we were genuinely excited by the prospect of a ROBOCOP remake. But that was down to one reason and one reason alone. Darren Aronofsky.

It would have been fascinating to see just how Aronofsky would approach such a radically different genre, and it’s saddening his involvement eventually fell through (as it had done with previously with his BATMAN: YEAR ONE project, and then again with THE WOLVERINE).

It’s heartening to see MGM continue to think outside the box in terms of their choice of helmer however, as they’ve since drafted in Brazilian filmmaker Jose Padilha, whose 2007 feature film debut ELITE SQUAD and documentary work (including BUS 174) has been met with much critical acclaim. Speaking recently with Dutch movie site Film 1, the director dropped some hints as to how he’s currently approaching the remake…

“I love the sharpness and political tone of ‘RoboCop’, and I think that such a film is now urgently needed. But I will not repeat what Verhoeven has done so clearly and strongly. Instead I try to make a film that will address topics that Verhoeven didn’t touch upon. If you are a man who changes into a robot… how do you do that? What is the difference between humans and robots? What is free will? What are the developmental differences between man and robot? What does it mean to lose your free will? Those are the issues that I think about.”

Well, whether we like the idea of a remake or not, at least the project remains in the hands of a filmmaker who promises something different than a simple retread. Though he better still have that bit where the melty man gets run over by the car.

24/09/11

More from Jose Padilha, who’s been chatting about the project again with Brazillian TV channel Globo 1…

“I’ll film Robocop. I’m indeed writing the script, the writer is here with me in Rio, we’ve spent over the last 15 days working together, refining the script.

I’ll be traveling this friday back to LA, bringing this new version to discuss with the studio, and maybe begin with the casting, selecting actors… and the idea is to begin filming in February – February or March. That’s the idea, y’know, we never know in the american movie industry. We’re just delivering the project, but also we depend on the schedule of the actors… it’s tough.

I can’t talk yet, it’s too early to speak, but there are some actors I like. I really like the Fassbender, I’d like to talk to him – I’ll talk to him. There’s a possibility… and there’s a lot of other great actors that would play RoboCop. But that’s the idea, to film around January, February, March.”

So, Fassbender as Alex Murphy. Great actor, hard to argue with that. If Padilha is to be believed, it’s also looking like we’ll be seeing this movie a lot sooner than we thought.

Big props to Bleeding Cool for the translation!

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