Remake Bits: 'Robocop' Script Might Not Be So Bad After All, Plus: 'All Of Me', 'Dredd'

The Robocop reboot has had its share of skeptics since the moment it was announced, and last month's scathing review of the script from Drew McWeeny (of HitFix, and formerly of AICN) only seemed to confirm doubters' worst fears about the project. Now another film writer has weighed in, however, and while his response falls short of glowing, it is significantly more optimistic.

Latino Review's Da7e has posted a video recounting the plot details for José Padilha's remake as spelled out in the draft he read, as well as a writeup on his reactions. Hit the jump to watch the video and read his comments.

Also after the jump: Robocop adds Gary Oldman's manager in an on-camera role, DreamWorks sets out to remake the '80s comedy All of Me, and Dredd uploads some behind-the-scenes footage.

In addition, Latino Review offers the caveat that a Sony representative has contacted them to say the draft Da7e read is "outdated," and that the plot is currently under review. OK, with those notes out of the way, let's get to it:

The big takeaway here seems to be that this isn't so much a straight do-over as it is "a talky science-fiction movie with quick burst of bloodless action" that occasionally references and pokes fun at the previous Robocop. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad movie:

It's a possibly-positive mixed bag. What I can say is that Drew, with the best Robocop-fan intentions, might have sounded the alarm a little too early in this movie's life. Things, especially science fiction things, can look really stupid on the page.

[...]

I'm not saying this reboot blew my hair back like you'd want a R-rated hard 'Robocop' by Aronofsky to be, but since it's not that movie anymore, I was pleasantly surprised to find a competent effort behind a PG-13 action film. I can not like the idea of it after the original was so incredibly violent, but this movie has a real ax to grind with anytime the first movie claimed to be not-silly. 'Robocop' 2013 thinks 'Robocop' 1.0 is stupid, and that's actually the most insulting thing to a Robocop fan in these pages.

Head to Latino Review to read more.

In other Robocop news: Oldman's manager Douglas Urbanski is stepping out from behind the scenes and into the spotlight for the new film. He'll play the mayor of Detroit, which looks to Omni Corp and Robocop for help. (Oldman, as previously reported, plays Omnicorp scientist Norton.)

Urbanski has appeared on screen a handful of times previously, most recently as Harvard president Lary Summers in David Fincher's The Social Network. Formerly a Tony-winning theater producer, Urbanski has said that he thinks "every agent, every manager should do this to see what the other side is like." Robocop is due out August 9, 2013, with Joel Kinnaman starring as the titular cyborg cop. [THR]

DreamWorks has quietly started working on an updated version of All of Me, the 1984 Carl Reiner-directed comedy that starred Lily Tomlin as a dying millionaire who accidentally transfers her soul into the body of an attorney (Steve Martin). Since his soul remains intact in its original body, the two spirits must learn to coexist.

A previous incarnation of the remake was set up at New Line with Queen Latifah attached to star, but that version fell apart and DreamWorks picked the project up out of turnaround last year. DreamWorks' take will shake up the plot slightly by having a male spirit enter a female body. Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (The Vow) have written the script, and John Davis (Chronicle) is on board to produce. No director or stars have been announced at this time. [THR]

Comic Book Movie has some bits of behind-the-scene footage from the new Dredd reboot, starring Karl Urban as the iconic law enforcer, Olivia Thirlby as rookie Anderson, and Lena Headey as prostitute-turned-drug-lord Ma-Ma. Here's some B-roll:

And here are Urban, writer/producer Alex Garland, and director Pete Travis offering their thoughts on Dredd's Lawgiver and Lawmaster, Anthony Dod Mantle's cinematography, Dredd's "punk" sensibility, and more:

Based on the 2000 AD comic strip character by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, Dredd takes place in the dystopian metropolis of Mega-City One. On Anderson's first day, she and Dredd are called up to respond to a disturbing incident in "Peach Trees," a dangerous 200-story slum ruled by the ruthless Ma-Ma.

Dredd opens September 21. Click here to watch our video review of the movie from its San Diego Comic-Con screening.