Original ‘RoboCop’ Screenwriter Says Darren Aronofsky’s Reboot Should Prove ‘Interesting’Published by Josh Wigler on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 2:30 pm.

The differences between the terms “remake” and “reboot” are subtle, but important nonetheless. The first implies an attempt to recreate the recipe of something that came before, while the second tends to take the essential ingredients and craft something nifty, new and occasionally unrecognizable.

It’s our hunch that Darren Aronofsky, he of “The Wrestler” and “Requiem for a Dream” fame, will be leaning towards the latter when it comes to his announced “RoboCop” project. If nothing else, original “RoboCop” screenwriter and co-producer Ed Neumeier agreed that Aronofsky, an unlikely match for the cybernetic law enforcement officer, is likely to do something equally unusual with the material.

“Darren Aronofsky, the director of record last time I checked, is a talented guy and I presume he’ll do something interesting,” Neumier told Moviehole. Neither Neumier nor Paul Verhoeven, the original writer-director duo on the first film, will be involved in the relaunch of “RoboCop.”

Known for his outside-the-box style with films like “Pi” and “The Fountain,” Aronofsky isn’t one to stick to convention. Many were confused at the director’s decision to helm “The Wrestler,” the Mickey Rourke-led drama that lacked Aronofsky’s signature high-minded concepts, but the results were widely appreciated by critics and theatergoers alike.

Aronofsky’s success there makes us wonder what his vision of “RoboCop” could look like. Are we in for a surrealist adventure akin to the director’s earliest film work, or a more standard, fan-friendly approach that would spawn out of his surprisingly realistic and heartfelt “The Wrestler”?

As long as the essential ingredients are there — that includes having the big metal guy and buckets full of gratuitous R-rated violence — we’ll definitely be eager to see what Aronofsky cooks up. Even if the remake/reboot isn’t to your liking, there’s always the old movie — and a new comic book — to look back on. That’s the beauty of the remaking/rebooting classics, folks… you’ve always got somewhere else to turn.

Whatever the case may be, Neumeier expects that Aronofsky’s approach won’t be the biggest obstacle in the way for a solid new “RoboCop” film. As these stories tend to go, it’s often the movie studio that blocks the road in the screenwriter’s opinion.

“The biggest problem the new movie may face is MGM’s shaky financial health,” said Neumeier. “Obviously, I hope they do a good job and don’t make a mess of it like they managed to with RoboCop 2 and 3.”

As for Robocop, the prognosis is not so good…

The Robocop Archive passed the following along to Moviehole (though don’t seem to have published the update on their own site, curiously):

I’ve spoken with Phoenix Pictures [and] asked them about the status of Robocop… they told me that the project is on hold. The problem is that Mary Parent, Chairperson of MGM, wants a 3D movie for the new Robocop.

And why would that be a problem? Apparently attached director Darren Aronofsky isn’t even keen on using CG effects let alone a “gimmick” like 3D. Really? I’m disappointed in that, I have to say. I want to see more filmmakers of Aronofsky’s calibre to start using stereography and expanding the audience’s awareness of how it works and why it’s good for a film.

Whether or not this hold will be broken, and whether or not that will be through compromise on the part of Parent or Aranofksy, or if it will be through the appointment of a new director waits to be seen.

Read more: MGM Updates: The Hobbit, Robocop and a Remake of FX | /Film http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/01/06/...#ixzz0br9Rz4VS