From the W-T-F department, The Hollywood Reporter mentioned in passing that director Darren Aronofsky is in "discussions" to do a re-do of the 80s sci-fi classic
Robocop. If he did take the job its not certain how it would fit into the director's frantic schedule as he is just finishing his shoot on
The Wrestler (starring Mickey Rourke) and set to begin on
The Fighter (with Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon) this fall. I myself was hoping Aronofsky would then complete this sports trilogy with "The Gymnast" featuring Scarlett Johansson bending and twisting into various impossibly delicious positions.
On a personal note, I'm really torn between this one, kids, since it involves two of my all-time favorite directors. With
Requiem For A Dream,
Pi and the criminally underrated
The Fountain, Aronofsky has proven himself to be one of the most talented directors out there right now. (
Requiem easily has to be considered the most unsettling [and subsequently successful] ant-drug film to ever come along.) He's also clearly willing to take on ambitious and tricky subject matters and has a visual eye second to none. Also involved in this is another of my fave directors, Paul Verhoeven (director of the original
Robocop), who may not be Aronofsky but makes films considered all his own. Say what you want about his filmography but the guy has balls. He acknowledges how much moviegoers secretly relish grotesque violence and graphic sex then unapologetically serves it up in spades.
While I'm just as sick as anyone else old enough to remember the originals of Hollywood's current onslaught of brand-name remakes, I'm willing to give Aronofsky the benefit of the doubt to see what he could bring to the party. However, muddying up the water on this project even further is the fact that MGM has already stated that they're looking for a more "kid-friendly", PG-13 (read: white washed and watered down) version of
Robocop. And to me that just smells like trouble . . . Or something I need to scrape off the bottom of my shoe.
Besides the last couple of times I was curiously hopeful about a directors take on a remake I ended up with the likes (or is it dislikes) of Rob Zombie's
Halloween and Neil Labute's
The Wicker Man. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Source:
Joblo.com
July 25, 2008, 01:40:39 PM
