io9: peter weller

Now We Know: Aronofsky's Robocop Not Sequel

Graeme McMillan — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 07:00:30 PDT

We've asked before to no avail, but finally director Darren Aronofsky has come out and admitted that his new Robocop movie will not be a sequel to the previous three movies, but a ground-up reboot to the mechanical cop franchise. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we'll be robbed of seeing Peter Weller one more time...

Talking to Empire Magazine, Aronofsky called the new movie

...[A] real reinvention... Me and David Self are working on the screenplay. He's a great, great writer and we're trying to do something new and fresh.

You may recognize Self's name from Road To Perdition - and he's also rumored to be working on two Marvel movies, Ghost Rider 2 and Deathlok - which suggests that he'll have the right kind of comicky take on this particular Judge Dredd rip-off. But don't take Aronofsky's talk of a fresh take and reinventing the movie to be any kind of slam on Paul Verhoven's original movie:

I'm a big fan of the original. It still holds up as an amazing film, and I think it's more just looking at that same type of material in the 21st century and seeing where it leads us.

Such a fan of the original, in fact, that he's already hinting at a Peter Weller cameo. Personally, my fingers are crossed that Nancy Allen will manage to make an appearance.

Darren Aronofsky Talks RoboCop Remake[Empire]

Robocop To Bring Justice One More Time

Graeme McMillan — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:30:31 PDT

Is Peter Weller close to gainful employment again? That's what people are asking, after noticing the mention of a familiar film franchise on a recent MGM press release, suggesting that a new Robocop movie may be in the works, years after the failure of Robocop 3 (and the little-remembered TV show).

Announcing Mary Parent as MGM's new Worldwide Motion Picture Group Chairperson, a press release for the company ended with a list of franchises they're currently working on:

With the appointment of Parent, MGM will enter its new phase of evolution by focusing on its major movie franchises highlighted by JAMES BOND and PINK PANTHER sequels, THE HOBBIT, THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR 2, THE OUTER LIMITS, ROBOCOP, DEATH WISH and FAME, among others.

Ignoring the idea that someone thought that it wasn't enough to resurrect Fame and that it really needed franchise attention, it was the mention of the previously unknown Robocop project that got tongues wagging. It may have missed the window of anything-goes-to-keep-America-safe topicality, but in a market full of blockbuster remakes and nostalgia, it was only a matter of time before this came back. I can only hope that they're going to base it on the Alpha Commando era...

Mary Parent Named Chairperson, Worldwide Motion Picture Group Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Inc. [PR News Wire]

Must See: Robocop

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:10:59 PDT

Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale. Written by James Rocchi.

Title: Robocop
Date: 1987

Vitals: Detroit cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is brought back from the dead to serve as the raw material for Omni Consumer Product's new robotic law enforcement product line. But making Murphy better, stronger and faster doesn't make him any less moral. ... Paul Verhoeven's finest hour works as slam-bang action and as perverse, prickly social satire.

Famous Names: Paul Verehoeven (Director); Peter Weller, Kurtwood Smith and Ronny Cox (Cast).

Crunchy Goodness: 4

Sequels: Robocop 2, Robocop 3, a tv-spinoff in 1994 and a 2001 miniseries.

Sight You'll Never Unsee: After a brief dunking in some toxic waste, bad guy Paul McCrane staggers into the path of an oncoming car — and explodes into a cloud of wet goo.

Design Breakthrough: The ED-209 kill-droids weren't just amazing stop-motion effects; their distinctive visual design was unique, too — based on the curves, coloration and mass of killer whales.

MGM's Official Site