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"I take no pleasure in taking a life if it's from a person who doesn't care about it."
Though we may never get to see Gary Oldman play Commissioner Gordon again now that Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy has ended — that is, unless the recent rumor that Warner Bros. is planning to use the Justice League movie as "a vehicle for Christian Bale to reprise his role as Batman" is true, in which case a cameo by Gotham’s top cop wouldn’t be out of the question — we will get to see him play a former police commissioner in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Add his stint as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies and his recently completed work as Norton in MGM's Robocop remake and that makes four major tentpole franchises for Oldman.
Long before Oldman became a staple of summer popcorn movies, he had already developed a strong cult following for playing deliciously dark (Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula), terrifyingly sadistic (Warden Glenn in Murder in the First) and mesmerizingly maniacal (Norman Stansfield in Léon: The Professional) villains. The man once dubbed "psycho deluxe" for his over-the-top bad guy roles plays the hero more often than not these days, but when he funnels the same energy and intensity into quieter performances they simmer, as in his Oscar-winning role as disgraced spy George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Punk rocker, vampire, drug dealer, corrupt cop, good cop, shapeshifting wizard, spy — Oldman masterfully played each character with zeal, but which roles were his best?
Rate the Top 10 Best Gary Oldman Movies >>
Posted 03.12.13 by BrentJS -
Playing a former President or First Lady is becoming a trend in movies these days, especially with Precious director Lee Daniels' upcoming The Butler, which will span eight different administrations while it tells the story of White House butler Eugene Allen. While Alan Rickman will play actor-turned-President Ronald Reagan in that project, it looks like Michael Douglas will also get a chance to play Reagan as well.
Catch more casting tonight Weekdays 5:30p ET / 2:30p PT
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The cast of Brazilian director José Padilha's (Elite Squad) RoboCop has increased by one. According to Deadline, Academy Award-nominated actor Jackie Earle Hayley (Little Children) has signed on to star in the remake of director Paul Verhoeven's 1987 movie as Maddox, the man "who dispenses the military training" to cop-turned-cyborg cop Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman), post-RoboCop transformation.
Haley joins an impressive cast that so far includes Abbie Cornish (Sucker Punch) as Ellen Murphy, House actor Hugh Laurie as the CEO of OmniCorp — the company responsible for manufacturing RoboCop — Academy Award-nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) as "charismatic media mogul" Pat Novak, and Academy Award-winner Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) as Norton, the scientist who creates Robocop. The Sorcerer's Apprentice star Jay Baruchel is said to be "circling" a lead role in the movie, as well.
more about the RoboCop remake >> Posted 07.23.12 by BrentJS -
In 1987, a movie about a murdered law enforcement officer who was revived and turned into a robot became a hit and one of the best reviewed movies of the year. There's a reboot of RoboCop on the way and the new police-officer-turned-cyborg, Joel Kinnaman, sat down to talk about the new action sci-fi flick.
We learned that Kinnaman did not have to do much research for his role considering he'd already seen the original a couple dozen times. Though the actor couldn't reveal much about the upcoming flick, he assured us that in this telling of RoboCop the future won't look like the 1980s.
watch kinnaman's interview >> Posted 07.11.12 by Mandy -
Brazilian director José Padilha's (Elite Squad) RoboCop remake is still in pre-production, but MGM is already promoting the movie with the launch of a new viral web-site for OmniCorp, the fictional company in the movie responsible for creating RoboCop. Many of the site links are labeled "Access Denied" when clicked, but under "Product Line" there is an explosive video showcasing several of the machines being developed by the company, from the XT-908 aerial drone, to the familiar-looking ED-209, which has no problem taking out a tank. We also get just a brief glimpse at the chassis of the new RoboCop, described as "human resources meets robotic engineering."
watch the viral video >> Posted 07.08.12 by BrentJS -
Brazilian director José Padilha's (Elite Squad) last few casting choices for his Robocop remake have provided insight into how the movie will differ from director Paul Verhoeven's 1987 original. First, Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) was cast as Norton, the scientist who creates Robocop and finds himself in a moral dilemma between his loyalty to his creation and the company that employs him; a character that did not exist in the original. Then, Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers) was cast as "charismatic media mogul" Pat Novak, another character that wasn't in the original Robocop. Now Padilha's looking to cast the remake's villain, who will again be an executive at the megacorporation that created Robocop.
THR reports that House actor Hugh Laurie is in negotiations to play the CEO of Omnicorp, the company behind the cyborg known as Robocop. The company in the original was Omni Consumer Products, or OCP. Whether Laurie's taking the place of the original's chairman referred to as "The Old Man" (Dan O'Herlihy) or senior president Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) — or a combination of the two characters — is unknown. But it's clear that the CEO of Omnicorp will be the movie's villain.
more about the Robocop remake >> Posted 06.13.12 by Ryan -
The already-impressive resume of Samuel L. Jackson — well over 100 movies, including the Star Wars prequels, The Avengers, and most of Quentin Tarantino's movies — will soon include another major movie franchise. According to THR, Jackson will be able to add Brazilian director José Padilha's (Elite Squad) RoboCop remake to his list of credits, joining a cast that so far includes Joel Kinnaman (AMC's The Killing) as Alex Murphy, the mortally wounded cop who is turned into a literal law enforcement machine, and Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) as Norton, the scientist who creates Robocop.
more about RoboCop >> Posted 06.07.12 by BrentJS -
Remakes. While plenty of moviegoers groan over the prospect of yet another remake or — as they're often called nowadays — "reboot," studios keep finding success with them... And the proliferation continues.
Likely many balked at the news of a remake of director Paul Verhoeven's 1987 sci-fi classic Robocop. Production is ready to go this September and actor Joel Kinnaman (AMC's The Killing), who is cast in the lead role, made a case to Collider about why fans shouldn't instantly reject remakes.
I used to be like “Why are we doing a remake? What are remakes being done for?” But then, we do that all the time in the theater. If we weren’t doing remakes, nobody would know who Shakespeare was. I’m not saying that Robocop is Shakespeare, but it’s a way to... we’re retelling. That’s what we do as human beings. We retell our favorite stories. That’s what we’ve done since we were sitting around campfires. It’s a part of the human spirit. It doesn’t have to be negative to creativity. It can be completely opposite. That’s how you can break new ground by rethinking something that’s already been done.
more from kinnaman about RoboCop >> Posted 06.04.12 by Ryan -
Months after actor Joel Kinnaman (AMC's The Killing) was confirmed to play the lead role in the upcoming remake of Robocop, another cast member has finally been added. THR reports that Gary Oldman has joined the cast of the remake directed by Jose Padilha (Elite Squad).
Like director Paul Verhoeven's 1987 original, Kinnaman will play Alex Murphy, a Detroit cop who is saved from the brink of death by being turned into the cyborg protector of the futuristic city. Unlike the original, Oldman will play a character named Norton, the scientist who creates Robocop and ultimately finds himself stuck between the needs of the corporation and Robocop's attempt to rediscover his humanity. In the original, Miguel Ferrer played Bob Morton, a wormy executive that helped usher the Robocop program through Omni Consumer Products, but didn't have scruples about it later.
more about Robocop >> Posted 05.24.12 by Ryan -
Now that Sony and MGM have a director (Jose Padilha, Elite Squad) and a lead actor (Joel Kinnaman, The Killing) ready to work on their upcoming remake of Robocop, the studios are making further changes to the script, now in the hands of its third screenwriter.
The original script was written by Josh Zetumer, who was hired at the same time as Padilha last March. Gran Torino scribe Nick Schenk, who is collaborating with Padilha on another project, was hired to do rewrites in January, but apparently it wasn't enough. Variety reports that Sony has brought in writer James Vanderbilt to do a "polish" on the script. Sony is very high on Vanderbilt after his work on The Amazing Spider-Man and reportedly outbid other studios for Vanderbilt's "Die Hard meets Air Force One" spec script White House Down.
What changes Vanderbilt will make are unknown, though fans can already expect that the latest RoboCop won't be a retread of director Paul Verhoeven's 1987 original. While fans may or may not have been pleased by Kinnaman's recent admission that his version of the armor won't include the visor used in the previous RoboCop movies, the 32-year-old Swedish-American actor told Collider that he will "fight" to keep the movie rated R.
more from kinnaman on RoboCop >> Posted 04.03.12 by Ryan