Briefly: Not a lot to report here, but a week ago we heard that MGM had offered the lead role in the new version of RoboCop to Joel Kinnaman, and now Deadline confirms that the actor will play the role, following in the steps of Peter Weller. (And following lesser-known RoboCops such as Robert Burke, too.) You might know Joel Kinnaman from the TV series The Killing, and he played the lead role in Snabba Cash, from Safe House director Daniel Espinosa. Read More »
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This one is just breaking now, but Variety’s Jeff Sneider has trumpeted on Twitter that Joel Kinnaman, of The Killing and Snabba Cash (from the director of Safe House) has been offered the lead in RoboCop.Please note: this doesn’t mean the actor is cast. Offers go out all the time, with some being reported and a great many not. We’ll have to wait to see where this leads, though THR says that a deal might come together quickly. Kinnaman was set to play one of the two leads in David Dobkin’s now-canceled Arthur & Lancelot at WB, so he’s newly free of a big commitment. Read More »
This is starting to get ridiculous. Yesterday we heard that Akiva Goldsman is still trying to call in favors with Russell Crowe, among other actors, to play a role in his directorial debut Winter’s Tale. Then it came out that Darren Aronofsky wants the actor for Noah. Now MGM is supposedly looking at Crowe for RoboCop. Really? Read More »
Briefly: The remake of RoboCop is a bit like the character RoboCop is at the end of his first movie: it just…keeps…going. The bankruptcy of MGM stopped Darren Aronofsky’s version, but it didn’t stop the remake overall. Now Elite Squad director Jose Padilha is set to direct, and furthermore, RoboCop has a new writer to follow up on the work done by Josh Zetumer.
Nick Schenk, who wrote Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino and has also been working on Padilha’s developing Tri-Border project, has been tapped to work on the RoboCop script with Padilha.
This draft will likely have to be finished before the film moves forward. MGM wants to shoot RoboCop this summer, but there is no one cast yet in the lead role, and very likely that decision will have to be made before anyone else is cast around that lead actor. [THR]
Posted on Friday, December 2nd, 2011 by Angie Han
Reports of the death of creativity in Hollywood are probably somewhat exaggerated, but it can’t be denied that there are a lot of reboots, remakes, adaptations, sequels, prequels, etc. in the pipeline. After the jump, updates on three we’ve got our eye on:
- Jose Padilha describes his Robocop as being about “a man being turned into a product by a corporation”
- Tomb Raider producer Graham King confirms that he has a completed script, and explains how he took inspiration from Rise of the Planet of the Apes
- Dark Shadows star Helena Bonham Carter discusses what makes Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows such a tough sell
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Here’s the problem with the classic “so and so wants actor X for new film” story: it can so easily turn out to be something that is blown out of proportion. The latest case in point is Jose Padilha‘s remake of RoboCop. On Friday it was widely reported that the director wants Michael Fassbender for the role originated by Peter Weller. Which, for one, was fairly obvious. Fassbender is a rapidly rising talent, and he’d be great in the role and able to convince an audience that the movie is worthwhile. Landing Michael Fassbender would be a slam-dunk for Padilha.
But then there’s this: he only sort of said that he wants the actor in the first place, so the story is thin to begin with. Over the weekend the director clarified that the film remains in early stages, with nothing close to a final script, so casting is a ways off. Read More »
The idea of Darren Aronofsky directing a new version of RoboCop was pretty great, but I have to admit that hiring Elite Squad director Jose Padilha to make the film in Aronofsky’s stead could be the best idea MGM has had in recent months. It is almost certainly the most creative idea the company has floated.
Films by the Brazilian director have had an immediacy and a raw power that could make his RoboCop something special. Trouble is, we haven’t known anything about the specific story ideas for the remake, and without that data we can only vaguely theorize about what Padilha might turn out. We’re still pretty much in ‘vague theorizing territory,’ but recent comments by the director do give us some pointers as to what we might expect to see.
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Neither actor has been cast but Twitchfilm is reporting that the top choices for two major upcoming remakes are as follows: Josh Brolin as the lead in Spike Lee‘s Oldboy remake and Chris Pine for the lead in Jose Padilha‘s Robocop remake. Let’s discuss both of them after the break. Read More »
