Still, “Ultimately, Jose Padilha’s RoboCop is [just] “fine.” In fact, it does an impressive job of negating over a year of bad press and negative speculation,” Dickson adds in his review. “On more than one occasion I even found myself impressed and engaged by what the film was doing. It’s just hard not to notice when something good chooses to walk in the footsteps of something great.”

One major goose-egg for us Bloody readers is that “Unfortunately, the things I truly love about the 1987 RoboCop are almost entirely missing here…while there’s some decent action, there is absolutely zero gore.”

Click the title for the entire review.

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I say “brave” because this RoboCop goes surprisingly off script from the original film. In fact, it might be the first exploited property in ages that actually earns the right to call itself a “reboot” rather than a “remake.” While all of the major chess pieces from Verhoeven’s film are present – Alex Murphy, OCP (called OmniCorp here), Lewis, Murphy’s family – they’re used in such totally different ways that the narrative itself is completely overhauled. There are actually new ideas present in this film, which intertwines the corporate malfeasance of the original into a somewhat pointed attack on our country’s use of drone warfare. Not only is the conversation somewhat topical, but the manner in which RoboCop’s cyborg “biology” is approached also dares to veer into uncharted territory for the franchise.

Padilha’s direction is more than solid and the performances aren’t bad either. Joel Kinnaman is fine as Alex Murphy, recasting the character as something more of a cynic than Peter Weller’s idealistic interpretation. Gary Oldman adds another warmly paternal turn to his resume as Dr. Norton, a far more sympathetic scientist than you’d find in Verhoeven’s world. Michael Keaton is fantastic as OmniCorp’s corrupt CEO. Aside from Abbie Cornish’s character being given short shrift by the script, all of the supporting turns are capable as well.

If it seems like I’m simply checking off a list of things this new RoboCop does right, it’s because I am. I was fully prepared to hate this movie and I was surprised that it offered something new, even if it doesn’t quite take its ideas far enough. After being battered by countless incompetent remakes over the past two or three years, I was relieved to be watching a fully coherent motion picture.

Unfortunately, the things I truly love about the 1987 RoboCop are almost entirely missing here. While there’s some workable satire in the new film, it misses the arch lunacy that makes its predecessor truly special. And while there’s some decent action, there is absolutely zero gore. I’m not upset by these changes and omissions, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t discuss how this new version lacks the lovably vile vitality we’ve come to know and love from the brand its exploiting.

Ultimately, Jose Padilha’s RoboCop is fine. In fact, it does an impressive job of negating over a year of bad press and negative speculation. On more than one occasion I even found myself impressed and engaged by what the film was doing. It’s just hard not to notice when something good chooses to walk in the footsteps of something great.

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While we know the film won’t have the gore and perhaps the satire of the original, I’m holding out hope that it will be good on its own terms. I’ll find out when I see it!

Sony’s forthcoming reboot stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael Kenneth Williams, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michael Keaton, and Aimee Garcia.

In theaters February 12, 2014, “the year is 2029 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the centre of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilises their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex’s life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before.“

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When I asked about the film’s rating, Padilha said they were pretty much aiming for a PG-13. “We were shooting the movie to be seen by the broadest possible audience, which means PG-13. This whole idea about ‘RoboCop’ has to be “R” because the first one was amazingly violent… I never really bought into that. You know, ‘The Dark Knight’ was PG-13, so you can get away with a lot.”

Sam Jackson added, “It would be “R” for its time, not “R” now. Padilla agreed, “Yeah, maybe now it isn’t.”

While I love Mr. Jackson, I strongly disagree that the original would be PG-13 today, just think about the amount of gore in that thing. As for Mr. Padiha’s initial statement, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until I see the film.

What about you? Are you excited for a PG-13 RoboCop?

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Now in theaters February 7, 2014, CBM has anded a slew of new behind-the-scenes paparazzi shots from RoboCop that feature Joel Kinnaman as the title character on his motorcycle, as well as a futuristic police cruiser. Director Jose Padilha reimagines the tale of part man, part machine, all cop starring Joel Kinnaman as the title character, Gary Oldman as the scientist who creates RoboCop, and Samuel L. Jackson as media mogul Pat Novak.

Airing October 26 on NBC is the failed pilot presentation of “Mockingbird Lane“, the reboot of “The Munsters” that will now air as a TV special. We’ve received the synopsis and TVLine presents the first ever cast photo. “Sweet little Eddie Munster (Mason Cook) is a normal kid about to enter the horrors of puberty. Truth is, he’s about to discover that for him becoming a teenager means growing hair in truly unexpected places — as in all over his body — every time the moon is full! Eddie’s got it pretty good though. His loving, supportive, run-of-the-mill family includes his mom Lily (Portia de Rossi), the daughter of Dracula; his dad Herman (Jerry O’Connell), who brings new meaning to “Frankenstein”; and Grandpa (Eddie Izzard), who would give Dracula a run for his money if he weren’t actually Dracula! Of course then there’s creepy cousin Marilyn (Charity Wakefield), who’s really the odd one because she’s so completely normal.” This new, reimagined version of the classic 1960’s comedy “The Munsters” is based on executive producer Bryan Fuller’s (“Pushing Daisies,” “Heroes”) script and was directed by executive producer Bryan Singer (“X-Men” film series, “House”).

Lastly, we’ve landed full synopses and banners for NBC’s “Hannibal” and “Do No Harm.”

“Hannibal” Synopsis: “One of the most fascinating literary characters comes to life on television for the first time: psychiatrist-turned-serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In this new drama from Bryan Fuller (“Pushing Daisies,” “Heroes”) based on the characters from Thomas Harris’ classic novels, we see where this incredible story began.

Starring brilliant young actor Hugh Dancy as Will Graham and Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter, “Hannibal” will breathe new life into a deadly classic. Laurence Fishburne and Caroline Dhavernas co-star.”

“Do No Harm” Synopsis: “Dr. Jason Cole is a highly respected neurosurgeon who has it all – a lucrative career, confident charm, and the gift of compassion. But he also has a deep, dark secret. One morning, when he wakes up disoriented in a wrecked hotel room amidst several near-naked women he’s never seen before, he knows one thing: It’s happening again.

“Do No Harm” stars Steven Pasquale as Dr. Jason Cole/Ian Price, Alana De La Garza as Dr. Lena Solis, Ruta Gedmintas as Olivia Flynn, Phylicia Rashad as Dr. Vanessa Young, Mousa Kraish as Dr. Eli Malak, and Michael Esper as Dr. Kenneth Jordan.”“

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Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael Kenneth Williams, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michael Keaton, Aimee Garcia all star in the Jose Padilha-directed reboot in theaters August 9, 2013.

“In ‘RoboCop,’ the year is 2029 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the centre of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilises their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex’s life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before.“

The post ‘RoboCop’ Matches His Motorcycle. Fans Will Freak Out. appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“In RoboCop, the year is 2029 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the centre of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilises their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex’s life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before.”

MGM and Sony will release in theaters August 9, 2013.

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“I have a script I’m happy with and I got the cast I have picked,” said Padilha in a rough translation. “The director of photography is Lula Carvalho, my editor is Daniel Rezende (City of God, Elite Squad, The Tree of Life). I was even consulted for the selection of the producers.”

When asked about the rumors of him having a bad time while in pre-production for RoboCop:

“We deal with those difficulties with coolness and familiarity.”

Padilha obviously wouldn’t publicly slam the studio or producers – not to mention it’s not all that shocking to hear about trouble behind-the-scenes. Directors are (and should be) artists, and making a movie is a collaborative process. butting heads is part of the process, especially when you’re new.

RoboCop is being rebuilt for August 9, 2013.

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Elite Squad helmer Jose Padilha is directing an origin story from Josh Zetumer’s script. Kinnaman stars as the crimefighter, a Detroit police office who’s transformed into RoboCop after he’s murdered while on duty.

“In ‘RoboCop’, the year is 2029 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the centre of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilises their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex’s life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before. ”

The actioner is set to start shooting in Toronto next month. Sony is distributing and has set an August 9, 2013 domestic release date.

The post Michael Keaton (AKA Batman, Beetlejuice And Ray Nicolette) To Fight ‘RoboCop’! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Padilha reportedly confided in fellow filmmaker Fernando Meirelles (City Of God) and Meirelles turned around and spoke with South American web site Cinemacom Rapadura. He said, “I talked to José Padilha for a week by phone. He will begin filming Robocop. He is saying that it is the worst experience. For every 10 ideas he has, 9 are cut. Whatever he wants, he has to fight. “This is hell here,” he told me. “The film will be good, but I never suffered so much and do not want to do it again.” He is bitter, but it’s a fighter.”

It’s worth mentioning that this quote had to be translated from Portugese into English (something Screen Crush acknowledges). It’s also not from Padilha himself so I think it’s a bit premature for everyone – lots of sites have picked this up and reported it with varying degrees of armchair doomsday rhetoric – to be ringing the death knell here. No one knows what the tone of this conversation was. I have no vested interest in this either way. I’m not even particularly convinced that a remake of RoboCop is a good idea at all. I just don’t think that this kind of interview means anything one way or the other. Also – of course it’s stressful! This is a big budget studio remake, they’re not known as beacons of light for the creative process. Head inside for more…

To clarify one more thing, that same report (and every other website that picked it up) mentions a “scathing review” of Josh Zetumer’s script. It’s true that Drew McWeeny (a writer I like) took to Twitter to voice his intense displeasure with the draft. But it’s not exactly the review that brought Hollywood to its knees. I’ve also heard from other sources that the script is “good” (not great). So take from that what you will.

Is RoboCop in trouble? I have no idea. Neither does anyone else I’ve read online today. I think it’s strange that this kind of chatter is going this far this early. In the meantime, I’m wondering if Meirelles think’s he’s done his buddy any favors by giving out that info.

The film is set to start shooting in Toronto next month. Maybe we’ll know more then. Sony is distributing and has set an August 9, 2013 domestic release date.

The post About All This ‘RoboCop’ Business… appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

IFC Midnight has acquired all U.S. rights to director Peter Strickland’s psychological horror film Berberian Sound Studio (pictured above), “Set in 1976, pic takes place at one of the cheapest, sleaziest post-production facilities in Italy, where a naive and introverted sound engineer from England is hired to orchestrate the sound mix for the latest film by a horror maestro.” Strickland also wrote the screenplay for the film, which stars Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco, Antonio Mancino, Fatma Mohamed, Tonia Sotiropolou, and Salvatore Li Causi. Film previously screened at the Locarno Film Festival and Edinburgh Film Festival. It will also be playing at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. Variety reports.

NBC’s “Hannibal” has cast a new member of Laurence Fishburne’s investigative team. According to THR, Hettienne Park (below) has joined the upcoming adaptation of the Thomas Harris books. Park will recur as Beverly Katz, a bright-eyed yet weary crime scene investigator who specializes in working with fibers. She’s part of a team of three who piece evidence together. When she first encounters Will (Hugh Dancy), she confronts the criminal profiler about his unusual role with the FBI and flags the special treatment he receives. While the duo initially clashes, their relationship could potentially become a romantic one. Mads Mikkelsen will play the psychiatrist-turned-serial killer in the 13-episode dramatic take from “Pushing Daisies” creator Bryan Fuller.

20th Century Fox has set Wes Ball (watch a trailer for his short “The Ruin” inside) to direct The Maze Runner, an adaptation of the James Dashner dystopian novel. “‘The Maze Runner’ is a post-apocalyptic setting. The protagonist, Thomas, who after having his memory wiped is deposited in a community of boys trapped in an enormous maze. He soon learns they are part of a mysterious test, and finds it is his destiny to join the ‘maze runners’ and lead them to freedom.” Peter Kang and Daria Cercek are overseeing at the studio. Noah Oppenheim wrote the first draft of the script, says Deadline.

The post [News Bites] Hugh Laurie Exits ‘RoboCop’, “Hannibal” Casting, IFC Records ‘Berberian Sound Studio’ and ‘The Maze Runner’ Taps Director appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In theaters August 9, 2013 from director Jose Padilha, the original was about a cop who was near death and was drafted to become a powerful cyborg cop, until suppressed memories of his past life come back to haunt him. Peter Weller played the character in the original and the 1990 sequel.

Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Laurie and Abbie Cornish all star.

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Jose Padilha is directing the film, which is being produced by Strike Entertainment’s Marc Abraham and Eric Newman.

Kinnaman (“The Killing”) is the title character, a cop named Alex Murphy who is brought back from the brink of death and turned into a cyborg police officer.

Oldman will play Norton, the scientist who creates RoboCop and finds himself torn between the ideals of the machine trying to rediscover its humanity and the callous needs of a corporation.

While no start date has been set, the production is eyeing a shoot in Toronto and has a tentative release date of August 9, 2013.

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Now that Joel Kinnaman is being brought back to life as the infamous RoboCop, Deadline is reporting that Sony Pictures is signing on to distribute MGM’s remake of the 1987 Paul Verhoeven-directed science fiction film that will star Kinnaman in the role originated by Peter Weller.

Jose Padilha directs the remake of the original about a cop who was near death and was drafted to become a powerful cyborg cop, until suppressed memories of his past life come back to haunt him.

Strike Entertainment partners Eric Newman and Marc Abraham are producing. Josh Zetumer wrote the script.

RoboCop has been following a fast track since MGM landed Kinnaman, who starred in Snabba Cash, the AMC series “The Killing,” and who just turned in a small but memorable turn opposite Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds in Safe House.

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THR is reporting that Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman has been offered the lead of MGM’s remake of RoboCop, the 1987 sci-fi action movie about a cyborg policeman.

Kinnaman is the male lead of AMC’s “The Killing” who came to Hollywood’s attention via his work on Scandinavian thrillers such as Snabba cash. He’s appeared in bit roles in Summit’s sci-fi movie The Darkest Hour and Universal’s Safe House.

Dealmaking is expected to begin imminently.

The Robocop remake is being described as a gritty origin story as MGM reboots the franchise. Jose Padilha (Elite Squad) is directing.

“The original was about a cop who was near death and was drafted to become a powerful cyborg cop, until suppressed memories of his past life come back to haunt him.” Peter Weller played the character in the original and the 1990 sequel.

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Sure he’s a robotic police officer, but Officer Alex J. Murphy is still part of the machine making RoboCop a Cronenberg-esque “Frankenstein” tale. It deserves to be, and will be covered here on Bloody Disgusting.

Elite Squad‘s José Padilha is directing the modern day reboot of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic, and explains to CS that the redo will play like a procedural thriller explaining the actual assembly of RoboCop.

“I can tell you this: In the first ‘RoboCop’ when Alex Murphy is shot, gunned down, then you see some hospitals and stuff and then you cut to him as RoboCop. My movie is between those two cuts. How do you make RoboCop? How do you slowly bring a guy to be a robot? How do you actually take humanity out of someone and how do you program a brain, so to speak, and how does that affect an individual?”

Pretty cool stuff if MGM ever gets it off the ground.

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Now, let’s be serious here for a moment. After blowing every director’s minds with his performance in X-Men: First Class, Fassbender has booked a slew of major roles that include Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, and has been in talks for more than I can count on one hand. Truly, Fassbender is now at a level where he picks his projects. It’s nice that Padilha wants him, sh*t, we all do, but the odds are against him.

The original was about a cop who was near death and was drafted to become a powerful cyborg cop, until suppressed memories of his past life come back to haunt him.

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