More RoboCop

Here on aintitcool.

I agree with Beaks one million percent.

I'm not rabid over the whole thing -- like I've said before, a remake doesn't make the original wink out of existence -- but I'm well aware the chances for disappointment are exceedingly high. I regard this project with the same nauseous trepidation I get from the new Conan movie.

But it's out of my hands. I can't affect it. All I can do is pray to the Gods of Hollywood: "Pleeeeeaaaase don't suck... pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase don't suck..."

You may scoff, but sometimes it works. I made the same prayer over the film adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption, and that came out fine.

And... What the hell? For all we know, a new RoboCop might be brilliant. The first was made in ancient pre-internet days. A new movie could take into account the next generation of technology. The original was also made in the '80s. At the time, we were worried about Russians and crime. It might be cool to use the RoboCop world to explore where we are now, and where we're going.

Or it could just be a dumb action movie with a lot of CGI.

It's hard to say... RoboCop is, at its core, a superhero movie. And the superhero movies we've been seeing lately are pretty fucking awesome. So... I hate the idea of a remake, but I also think there's a better-than-average chance it'll at least be watchable, even if it's not the lightning in a bottle Verhoeven, Miner, Neumeier and Davison caught.

I only hope they're wise enough to keep Basil Poledouris's score.

I'm not sure who could play Clarence Boddicker. Kurtwood Smith's take on the character is an example of perfection.

Just to think outside the box... David Cross?

I like it when comedians play villains. Steve Martin in The Spanish Prisoner. Jim Carrey in Batman Forever.

You could argue that auds wouldn't take him seriously. They wouldn't be afraid of David Cross. There's an easy fix to that: nonstop murder and mayhem.

I dunno. Who else? Ben Foster? I think he's great, and he'd certainly bring some game. But he'd lack the counter-programming aspect a guy like Kurtwood Smith -- who's best known for playing the dad on That '70s Show -- offers. Ben Foster's kind of a go-to psycho, in the same way Dennis Hopper, Crispen Glover and Christopher Walker were our go-to psychos for a long time.

Clarence is scary because he's not a supervillain. He's not a huge muscle guy, he's not a brilliant criminal mastermind. He's just a normal man who has a spring broken in his head, more like a Nazi or a serial killer.

Thus, much as I like Ben Foster, I'd lean more towards the David Cross-types of the world.

How about Dick Jones?

He's like casting Clarence: I think the easy way would be to grab someone like Patrick Stewart, etc. But I believe counter-programming (and by that I don't mean stunt-casting) is the better way. Take a look at Ronnie Cox. The role I'm most aware of him outside of RoboCop is the wimpy/nerdy soft drink salesman in Deliverance. And he is the guy who plays The Man in RoboCop. It's the same paradigm: normal-guy-turned-evil.

Though I think William Petersen would be fantastic.