How to do the robocop dance
RoboCop | New Beverly Cinema
>Before realizing the magic of Verhoeven and ages ahead of crushing on Peter Weller or ED-209, I was a fan of the Sleeze Boyz’ brilliant dance single “RoboCop, Dance ‘til You Drop.” A die-hard fan of break-dancing after having seen Breakin’ (Joel Silberg, 1984) in the theater, I have vivid memories of this song being smoothly embroidered into the aural landscape of Venice Beach in the summertime. That was a great place to be a kid: it was no big deal to see large groups of teenage boys skateboarding like maniacs or spinning, twisting and contorting their bodies into quick dance moves on beat-up lengths of cardboard, metal boxes exploding with sound right next to them. Back then I knew nothing of the film. But boy, howdy when I DID finally discover RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)? That song (and all its attached memories) meant so much more!
The above is a fan-made music video. Clearly I’m not the only person on the face of the planet who has a dedication to this sample-stravaganza. But on the more official side? It wasn’t so popular. The first bit of trivia I offer in this piece about the legacy of Verhoeven’s dystopic film about the evils of media, corporate corruption and violence centers on the Sleeze Boyz’ song. See, Orion Pictures (the folks who released RoboCop and held all the copyrights) were none too pleased that the song had sampled the film so many times. Kraftwerk and Afrika Bambataa were clearly looser about their samples since they never threatened the musicians or their label, Sheik Records, with legal action. But Orion…not so much. Although the song was hitting the charts pretty hard, competing with Pet Shop Boys “Domino Dancing” and Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” (no small feat!), any song that might somehow take the focus off of Orion as the main rep (and money recipient) for RoboCop was a no-no. Thus, the Sleeze Boyz were forced to remove the samples and release a much more… well, they were forced to release the boring version.
But what Orion could not do was control the pressings that were already out there of which there were plenty! Copies of the original vinyl continued to be distributed so if you wanted to hear the OG song… it wasn’t altogether hard to find. It still isn’t. Just ask a good DJ. If you’re curious about the version the Sleeze Boyz put together post-Orion-hissyfit, it’s called “Dance ‘til You Drop” and you can check it here. It maintains a sense of humor but… it’s missing the RoboCop:
Paul Verhoeven had a difficult time releasing this movie. The MPAA was adamant on the X-rating due to the graphic content, extreme violence and dark themes. He submitted several cuts, all to no avail. It still got an X. Finally after 11 or 12 (the number depends on who you ask) submissions; the film received its much-desired R-rating and was released. But that didn’t mean that all was well.
For a film that pointedly satirized consumer culture and openly critiqued the evils of commercialism, corporate greed and corruption of the highest level, it was REALLY WEIRD that it was chock full of commercial advertisements. They are, of course, the best ads you’ll ever watch, but they are ads nonetheless. Many critics and audience members didn’t seem to “get it.” This was a film, not TV. Why would you break the narrative like that? Too damn experimental. While these commercials are certainly entertaining and funny and they may seem to lighten the mood after seeing people’s guts getting spilled all over the screen, they are, perhaps one of the most horrifying portions of RoboCop. The MPAA cared about people getting killed, shot to bits, etc. But they didn’t give a hoot about the genius of the slew of advertisements that hit the screen. But….UM, HOLY SHIT. These commercials hit dead center. They go straight to the guts of America: Parker Bros and family games, car “safety” and physical well-being.
These threaten everything Americans hold dear. 15-30 seconds and these ads rip us apart. In talking about these ads and the public’s response, Verhoeven said, “The critic of the Los Angeles Times, I think, was watching [the movie] and some commercial comes on, and that critic walked out to the projectionist and told him, ‘You’ve put on the wrong reels.’…I mean, that really happened. The whole style of these intermezzos of news in the middle of an action movie I think was almost unheard of at the time. Although actually he should have known, because Citizen Kane does some of the same stuff.”
One might think that since this was a hard R, almost X-rated film, it would have been off-limits for children’s marketing and merchandising. One would have been wrong. So very wrong. This was the ’80s, remember? So this treasured film that platforms a satiric commercial for the Butler Brothers nuclear war board game NUKEM? It became SEVERAL DIFFERENT KINDS OF GAMES.
Let’s check them out!
In Parker Bros’ RoboCop and the Ultra Police, it’s “heroes vs. vandals in a rooftop chase”! This physical board game came in both European and US versions and was recommended for kids between the ages of 5 to 10. Inside the box, you will find the game pieces and the object of the game written out (read dramatically for full effect): “It’s a rooftop chase as the Good Guys, ROBOCOP and his Ultra Police Force, try to capture the evil VANDAL HEADHUNTER and bring him to justice. Players move from rooftop to rooftop, earning Ultra Hero Medals for their bravery as they nab the nasty VANDALS – unless the bad guys escape. The player with the most Ultra Hero Medals and vehicles at the end of the game wins.”
Then there’s the super amazing RoboCop VCR game. Remember VCR games? Yeah, well, some worked and some didn’t. This was part board game, part VHS play-along and used real clips from the film. It didn’t get very good reviews but I still think it looks pretty fun.
And the slogan, “The Future of Law Enforcement Is You…” makes me giggle since these folks clearly have no idea what they are dealing with. Have they seen the film? Do they know what or why they are making this game? 10/10, would still play.
Obviously there were tons of videogames – Nintendo, SuperNintendo, Genesis, even Atari and Amiga. The arcade game that was licensed from Orion and created by Data East is pretty fabulous though, and well worth watching the first level:
As for myself, I’m a pinball girl, so I will be on the lookout for this machine. Who knows? It may be like the Sleeze Boyz song. I may have played it already sometime in my younger years and not known it. But now that I am awake, aware and RoboCop-ing sensibly, it is certainly a goal.
Also by Data East, this machine advertises “pinball excitement!” and “the world’s first solid-state flipper!” Totally in.
I have a thing for solid-state flippers…don’t tell!
Moving past the games portion of the RoboCop endowment, we have one of the stranger episodes in 1980s marketing: creating toys from ultra-violent films and marketing them to children. No, this is not me being judgmental. This is simply a part of our commercial history that can be filed under the “Things That Make You Go Hmmm” section. Of course, this is extra fascinating in this case because the content of RoboCop is MOST critical of these kinds of consumer choices. Having noted Verhoeven’s love of satire and its pointed use in RoboCop’s fake ads, looking at these very real commercials is slightly chilling. RoboCop was not only scarily accurate for its time but the way in which it got consumed and marketed to children illustrated how blind the people who distributed it were to its message. Verhoeven laughed all the way to the bank (the film was extremely popular at the box office) and Orion made a healthy profit off all these assorted merchandising efforts but did anyone at Orion look in the mirror and think about Omni Consumer Products or who that was really supposed to be? Not likely.
So, this set of toys – RoboCop and the Ultrapolice – with REAL CAP ACTION – were for ages 4 and above. So make sure that Johnny has some familiarity with ED-209 before he hits Kindergarten, ok?
This toy, the RoboCopter, has fuckall to do with the film, and yet… clips from the film make their way into the ad. RoboCop is not a movie for kids. It’s probably ok for young adults, but definitely not children. The way this ad is constructed makes it seem like not only are the toys fine for kids to access, but RoboCop is fine as a media playmate as well. Okay, so the truth is that most of us born in the ’70s or before saw lots of violent films early on. And really? Most of us are just fine. This isn’t about gauging or deciding when a kid should engage with a media text as much as it is about how dreadfully tone-deaf this ad (and all the other children’s toy ads) are when it comes to what the film is about.
Turning RoboCop into a kids’ toy ignores the complexity of the violence in RoboCop, and rejects the valuable commentary evoked from even the most graphic of scenes.
So I’m not going to end with a downer. In reality, while there is a certain problematic aspect to the fact that R-rated toys were marketed to babies and a film that deeply critiques consumer culture was turned into one of the most highly merchandised action films of the 80s, there is absolutely something wonderful about being able to enjoy this paraphernalia. There is a reason that many people, as adults, continue to buy toys (even RoboCop toys!). It is fair to look at these things and grimace at the companies that produced them and go: did they even see the film? And if so…. um, ew! It is just as valid to have a wonderful and joyful reaction to the action figures and start making Google alerts to try to find them for your own collection.
The real lesson here: just watch the damn film. At the New Beverly if you can. With bunches and bunches of other people. Enjoy it. Love it. It’s a great film. It’s desperately relevant at the moment, and will probably remain so for…who knows how long. In any case, grab a friend tell them you’re taking them to the New Beverly and if they’re undecided just do what I would do- lean down and whisper, “Come quietly, or there will be…trouble.”
Added bonus for my wrestling homies:
RoboCop was part of the squared circle!! CHECK IT OUT!!
Robocop Dance (Original Mix) by DJ Wedding on Beatport
Track
Link:
Embed:
Artists DJ Wedding
- Release
- Length 4:40
- Released 2020-10-16
- BPM 125
- Key B min
- Genre House
- Label SOVIETT DJ Box
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Jammin Extended Mix
Todd Terry
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Wanna Show You feat. Reigns Extended Mix
Reigns, Low Steppa
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Facts Jovonn Extended Remix
Dave + Sam
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Let's Do It Together Original Mix
Melleefresh
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Body Locked Intro Mix
SUNANA
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Believe In Me Original Mix
Din Jay
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Fire Devotion Bonus track
Matt Sassari
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Your Love feat. Jamie Principle Alan Dixon 'Love Attack' Remix
Frankie Knuckles, Eric Kupper, Director's Cut
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Colors Of The Universe DJ Spen Remix
Namy
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Seashore Rhythm Original Mix
Paduraru
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Down With Me Original Mix
JollyJ, Kane Lane
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Quite Alright Paul Adam Remix Radio Edit
Wheeler del Torro, Sidney Washington
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This Time Rayka Remix
Smoove & Turrell
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Desire Extended Mix
Butch, C.Vogt
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You Are Extended Mix
Ferreck Dawn, The Deepshakerz
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U Got Me Extended Mix
ATFC
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PYRO Extended Mix
Chester Young, Castion
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Sun Will Shine Original Mix
Mario Bianco, Master Polo
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This Could Be The Dub Original Mix
DJ OMC
C4 Pedro - Robocop Como o Robocop danca
How Robocop dance
De te olhar ninguem se cansa
You watch nobody not tired
Nem que fosses com binoculos
Neither then, what would in binoculars
"eu" sentiria essay teu cheiro louco
"I" would this your smell With crazy
Sai inveja sai mau olhado
coming out envy coming out evil eye
Ja "nem" saiu contigo porque tao olhar (oh no)
Already "not" came out With you because, what So look (about, in)
Ate me chamam boelo
Even called me boelo
É dor de cotovelo porque ela me faz Robocop (ai)
it pain, elbow, because what she is makes me Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Robocop (ai)
Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Robocop (ai)
Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Baby yes so Mais um pouco
Baby gives only more a little
Ela Que faz v.
I. P sair da area
She is, What does, v. I. P, exit from zones
Ela Tchila Tipo ta de ferias
She is Tchila type here holiday
Ela
She is
Ela topic gosto de beber
She is It has how drink
Mas nao aceita copo de ninguem
But not accepts cup nobody not
So se for o meu
Only if my
Me faz sentir o homem (Brad Pitt)
Makes me feel myself human (Brad Pitt)
Mais fofo do mundo
Most fluffy in world
Ela
She is
Provoca dor de cotovelo
calls pain elbow
Porque aquilo que ela me faz
That's why what then, what she is makes me
Eu chamo de
I call
Robocop (ai)
Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Robocop (ai)
Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Robocop (ai)
Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Baby yes so Mais um pouco
Baby gives only more a little
Olhem so como se danca (Vamo se parti) Alright!
look only, how dance (Let's, if not break) Good!
Aqui ninguem se cansa
Here nobody not tired
Porque isso e Muito doce
That's why what this is very sweet
Olha so como se danca (Vamo se parti) Aqui ninguem se cansa
look only, how dance (Let's, if not break), Here nobody not tired
Porque isso e Muito doce
That's why what this is very sweet
Robocop (ai)
Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Robocop (ai)
Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Robocop (ai)
Robocop (ai)
Robocop
Robocop
Baby yes so Mais um pouco
Baby gives only more a little
Authors: c4pedro
Album
King Ckwa
release date
25-09-2015
one Azar da Belita
2 Penser a Toi
3 Robocop
four African Beauty
5 Perder a Fome
6 Muita Areia
7 Porque Eu Te Amo
eight Histoire D'Amour
9 Com Mulher Não Se Brinca
ten Nao Me Pede
eleven Vamos Ficar por Aqui
12 Ate Que a Morte nos Separe
13 O que Passou, Passou
fourteen if you want me
fifteen Ja Sei que Sou Teu
16 Say Yeah!
17 Tu Es a Mulher
eighteen Spetxa One
19 Amor de Pai
twenty Come Right Now
The Gentleman
2019
all albums
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The Rise and Fall of RoboCop: What Could RoboCop 2 Become? The golden decade of blockbuster sci-fi. During this period, the classic films appeared on the screens, which gave rise to series, many of which are alive and well to this day. But not everyone had a bright future. Robocop, alas, was not lucky. And this article will tell you why.
After Paul Verhoeven's brilliant film, it seemed to many that the adventures of cyber-Jesus Alex Murphy would compete with The Terminator. But the sequel to RoboCop did not gain much popularity with the audience, remembered mainly for the scene of the duel between two robots and the prediction that Detroit would go bankrupt. It only got worse from there. In early childhood, the third part seemed not so bad to many, but, revisiting it now, one is amazed how the series could fall to the very bottom so quickly. A forgotten series and a remake that no one needs is also difficult to add to the franchise's asset. To understand how and why the series took a wrong turn, we must remember the history of its creation.
Birth of RoboCop
screenwriter Edward Neumeier came up with the idea for RoboCop when he saw a poster of " Blade Runner " on the street and asked a friend what the movie was about. Hearing that a movie about a man who hunts robots is planned, Neumeier thought: what if the hunter and prey are reversed? This is how the concept of a police robot appeared, which brings terror to the underworld of the future.
Edward Neumeier
As is often the case, none of the studios realized the potential of this idea. Luckily for us, Neumeier turned out to be very stubborn. Not at all embarrassed by the numerous rejections, he continued to bombard the producers with his idea. At 19In 1984, Neumeier met 's music video maker Michael Miner , who was working on a similar story. Combining ideas, they wrote the script of the familiar RoboCop.
Evard Neumeier and Michael Miner
At the end of the same 1984, " Terminator " was released.
The film grossed $38 million at the US box office on a budget of $6.4 million. Good result. But it could have been much better if not for the greed of the distributor - Orion Pictures. At the studio, until the last, they believed that they had a second-rate action movie on their hands, about which everyone would forget in two weeks. Despite persistent requests James Cameron , Orion actually sabotaged the marketing campaign by cutting the advertising budget to a minimum. When the bosses realized what a mistake they had made, it was too late to change something. The past, as you know, cannot be returned, but you can try to repeat it. Orion Pictures decided that they could make some more money on the cyborg theme. It was then that one of the producers remembered the script by Neumeier and Miner. The matter remained small: to find an intelligent director.
As we know, it was the Dutch nugget Paul Verhoeven , who in those years decided to try his hand at American soil.
The first pancake, however, came out lumpy: the picture "Blood and Flesh" was not even released into wide release. In addition, Verhoeven fell out with his longtime collaborator Rutger Hauer and they never worked together again. If Hauer took the side of his friend at a difficult moment, with a probability of 90% he would play Alex Murphy. Verhoeven drew his own conclusions from failure. He moved to the States for permanent residence in order to feel the local culture and understand what films are popular with the American public. But, apparently, the process of acclimatization was not going in the best way. When Verhoeven read the first pages of the RoboCop script, he threw it in the trash in disgust. The Dutchman did not realize from the first time that he was not facing a stupid fantastic action movie, but a subtle satire. The situation was saved by Verhoeven's wife: she literally took the script out of the wastebasket, read it and convinced her husband to give it a second chance.
Everything that happened next became the history of cinema. Robocop hit theaters on July 1987 years old. The film fell in love with the audience and critics, collected a good box office, and all the prerequisites for a successful sequel seemed to be in place. Verhoeven, in principle, was also open to the idea of a sequel. But there was one significant problem. Orion Pictures was in financial trouble, so the producers wanted not just a sequel, but the fastest possible sequel. It was about starting filming within a few months. The studio hoped that a sequel to the popular film would do well at the box office and help save it from impending bankruptcy. Adding to the urgency of the situation was the fact that at 19In 1988, the Hollywood Writers Guild was to go on strike. The mission seemed impossible. It took Neumeier and Miner almost five years to develop the script for the first film. They had to come up with the second part in less than five months. Corporate wars
Neumeier and Miner took on this overwhelming task.
On January 1, 1988, they gave the producers a 110-page manuscript titled RoboCop 2: Corporate Wars. It began with a postscript in which the authors heartily apologized for all the mistakes in "this very crude script."
The "corporate wars" were supposed to start with a bank robbery scene using artillery pieces. Robocop, who arrived at the scene, quickly dealt with the criminals, but one of them, as in the joke about "with the last effort", aimed a cannon at the cyborg and pulled the trigger. The explosion almost completely destroyed Murphy.
After that, the inscription “25 years later” appeared on the screen, and we were transferred to the world of the distant future that had changed beyond recognition. After the oil crisis, cars disappeared, and movement is carried out only by air. Cities have become plexes - self-sufficient complexes where robots provide privileged citizens with everything from cooking to sex. The most famous person in this world is the orbiting rapper Moondog.
A popular comedian has become America's president, and trillionaire Ted Flicker is pushing legislation that would allow him to privatize the government and the entire United States. In general, this world is a cross between "Elysium" and "Idiocracy".
After the introduction, we would see two corporate bigwigs, Billings and Montana, find the body of RoboCop in the ruins of the OCP building and restore it, turning it into some kind of Judge Dredd. Robo had to move through the levels of Metroplex (the former Los Angeles) and on the spot pronounce sentences on all offenders.
As you might guess from the title, the plot of the sequel was based on corporate showdowns. Billings and Montana reinstated Murphy, not out of a fit of nobility, but to weaken the position of Barnes' security chief, who had gained too much influence over Flicker. Later it turned out that the real Ted Flicker died ten years ago, and his place was taken by the robot double created by Billings and Montana (in the script, for some reason, stubbornly called a clone).
But this robot is out of control of the creators, so they eventually decide to destroy it, using Robo for this purpose.
However, Flicker managed to reprogram Murphy, and he began to execute commands that contradicted his moral principles. Realizing that their plan has failed, the energetic couple transfer a neutron bomb to local terrorists and agree with them to seize control of Metroplex. But Billings and Montana do not have time to celebrate their success. When they get into the flying car, an explosion follows. Flicker outsmarted his creators.
In the meantime, with the support of the supercomputer that controls Metroplex named Neurobrain (he took the form of the late wife of a programmer, and according to the plot, he and Robo had hints of cyber love) Murphy managed to free himself from the program that enslaved him. After that, he returned to Metroplex, dealt with security robots that looked like giant insects, then with security officers in flying suits, and then he got to Barnes, killing him with a sonic gun that tore off all the skin along with meat from his face.
At the end, Robo, the terrorists with the neutron bomb and Flicker ended up in the same room. Flicker showed his true self and killed the terrorists, and then threatened RoboCop to detonate the bomb. But this, of course, did not stop the hero. He tore off the robot trillionaire's head and kicked it comically. The script ended with Moondog performing a space rap. Of course, the lyrics of the song were dedicated to Robocop.
As Neumeier and Miner later admitted, they were inspired by Cameron's " Aliens ". Their task was to create a sequel that would be not just a large-scale repetition of the first part, but something original. So the destruction of RoboCop in the first five minutes was their intentional "fuck you" to those viewers who expected to see a traditional Hollywood sequel with a bunch of special effects.
But, even if the idea was not trivial, due to emergency conditions, the authors physically did not have time to somehow work out the concept.
So they ended up with a very sketchy script with ill-conceived motivations for the villains and a complete lack of likable characters. RoboCop himself has become a puppet of external forces, following the orders of officials, Flicker or Robobrain. Throughout the entire script, Murphy never recalled the events of the previous film or even wondered what happened to him, the world around him, or the people he knew before.
And most importantly. Robocop was just very small. In fact, he wasn't even the main character. "Corporate Wars" was too raw to film. Something could be squeezed out of this idea, but it took time. In the meantime, the writers' strike continued, the studio had no right to use their services or hire other writers to finalize the story.
In August 1988, the strike finally ended. By this point, Orion Pictures had decided to drop the services of Neumeier and Miner. In the same month, Verhoeven received a call from Arnold Schwarzenegger with a proposal to film " Total Recall ", and soon a courier arrived with the script for this picture.
The Dutchman had to give an answer to Schwarzenegger before the end of the day. He had to choose between two projects. Verhoeven was not opposed to a RoboCop sequel, but he did not like the studio's desire to get the film into production as soon as possible at the expense of working on the story. After careful consideration, Verhoeven chose Arnie's proposal.
Verhoeven and Neumeier on set
Verhoeven's departure put an end to the history of the "Corporate Wars". The studio was initially reluctant to move the action into the distant future, believing that in this case the film would cost too much. Without Verhoeven, not a single person remained in the project who would support the idea of "Corporate Wars". The script went into the trash. This time there was no one who would get him and persuade him to give the work a second chance.
As for Verhoeven, years later he spoke about the history of the "Corporate Wars":
“After the first film, the studio immediately demanded a sequel.
But the writer, producer and I felt that we all needed more time to find something new instead of cashing in on the material we already had. The studio was so impatient that they got rid of the writers, and I, in turn, decided to leave the project. They continued to work and, in general, did not reach the level of the first part. Out of curiosity, I followed what was going on there. I have to say, I'm not at all upset that things turned out the way they did. I think the studio absolutely underestimated the talent of the people who worked on the first series. I still think that our ideas for the sequel were vastly superior to what we ended up with."
For all its strangeness, the very concept of "Corporate Wars" (taking the familiar RoboCop and transferring it to a radically different world, satirically playing with modernity) could well be suitable for restarting the franchise. But that's another story.
Frank Miller's RoboCop
One of the producers of RoboCop 2 John Davison was a big fan of Frank Miller's graphic novels.
Upon learning that Miller was a fan of Verhoeven's film, he met with him and offered to write the script for the RoboCop sequel. Miller, who had never before dealt with Hollywood and did not know the peculiarities of the local cuisine, happily agreed. The director of the project was a budding cinematographer Tim Hunter .
Frank Miller on the set of RoboCop 2
In the spring of 1989, Miller completed the first draft of the script, which was a mixture of the future RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3. It contained two main storylines. The first was dedicated to Dr. Love, who worked for the OSR. Dissatisfied with the fact that RoboCop did not help the corporation to evict the inhabitants of Detroit, she decided to reprogram him, erasing the remnants of humanity from his memory. Murphy was ambushed by the OCP, where he was shot with rocket-propelled grenades. After that, the doctor restored it, stuffing her head with a list of corporate directives.
When Murphy found a way to free himself from the program, Love decided to destroy him and created a huge robot, based on the brain of a mercenary killed by Murphy named Kong (that's right, it turned out to be RoboKong).
The second storyline was built around the introduction of "rehabilitation units" into Detroit, which formally had to restore order in the city. In fact, they were teams of SRF mercenaries who terrorized residents who did not want to leave their homes. The mercenaries killed Sergeant Reed, and then began the hunt for Murphy's partner, Lewis. She managed to get to the safest place in the city - a cafe where striking policemen gathered every day. Upon learning of Reed's death, the cops went to the station to equip themselves and take revenge on the rehabilitators. But it turned out that this was a trap: mercenaries in the style of the movie " Attack on the 13th precinct "began to besiege the building.
One of the concepts for Miller's script
RoboCop and RoboKong soon appeared.
An epic battle ensued in which RoboCop rescued his co-workers and then dealt with RoboKong. In the finale, freed from corporate directives, Murphy said goodbye to Lewis and left at dawn to patrol the city.
In Miller's version, Clint Eastwood was to become the President of the United States. Not such a bad choice. Especially when you remember that RoboCop was called "Dirty Harry with iron balls" in advertising.0007
Like Corporate Wars, Miller's work was far from ideal. The new characters came out too flat, and the script, designed for a standard two-hour film, frankly could not cope with two large storylines, which is why many moments came out too sketchy. In addition, the emphasis on the theme of a man locked inside a car was completely gone, and all the religious symbolism of the first film was completely gone.
However, it was only a draft version, and it could well be brought to mind. Miller worked well with Tim Hunter, he had the support of producer John Davison on his side.
It only took time to refine the material. But it wasn't exactly him. Orion Pictures had already announced the release date and weren't going to move it. So Miller was ordered to halve the plot, completely cutting out the line about the rehabilitation units (they decided to use it for the third part), and hired an experienced screenwriter to help him Waylon Green .
Miller tried to defend his vision, but in fact he could not do anything. Although his work revolutionized the world of comics, he was an outsider to Hollywood. The attitude of the bosses towards Miller can be summed up with this phrase from one of the unnamed studio officials:
“Yes, the comics, of course, are very beautiful and all that. Perhaps they even look like movies. But until Miller gives us a movie that makes 50-60% of its production budget on its debut weekend, what the fuck do we care what this guy has done before?
Seeing things going nowhere, director Tim Hunter left the project a couple of weeks before filming began.
A veteran sci-fi director, Irwin Kershner , who specialized in sequels to well-known franchises, was taken on an emergency basis (among other things, he directed The Empire Strikes Back ). Unfortunately, no amount of experience could make up for the problem of an unfinished script. Miller and Green worked hard, trying to bring the plot fragments left after all the cuts into a single whole, but in fact the script was being added already in the course of filming.
The Fall of RoboCop
"RoboCop 2" was released in June 1990 and did not live up to expectations - both the studio and ordinary viewers. Evaluating the continuation now, after 26 years, it cannot be said that the film turned out to be terrible. It can be described with a word typical of most sequels: "do it." Sometimes this is enough to keep the streak going. Sometimes not. Still, RoboCop 2 has lost a lot compared to the first film, and it's too noticeable.
Nevertheless, the third part was still put into production.
Frank Miller, who still harbored some illusions about Hollywood, even wrote the first script for it, based on the storyline cut from the previous part about the rehabilitation teams.
But this time it got even worse. In a desperate bid to make some money, the studio slashed the film's budget, drastically recut many of the scenes, and cut out the violence so that teenagers could go to the movies. After that, Miller vowed to cooperate with Hollywood. He put his experience on Robocops into a succinct piece of advice to young comics writers: “You better not become screenwriters.”
Due to budget cuts, RoboCop 3 even lost its main star, Peter Weller . Robocop suddenly found a face Robert Burke
The financial failure of RoboCop 2 was one of the final nails in Orion Pictures' coffin. Apart from Dances with Wolves and The Silence of the Lambs , the studio was losing money on every movie of those years. At the end of the following year, 1991, Orion Pictures filed for bankruptcy.
