The Ongoing Legacy of ROBOCOP: 25th Anniversary Reunion, Screening, Panel Discussion. Melnitz Movies, funded through the UCLA Graduate Students Association and the ASUCLA Student Interaction Fund, presents the 25th anniversary cast and crew reunion screening of ROBOCOP (1987) Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the James Bridges Theater in Melnitz Hall 1409 on the UCLA campus.
Filmmaker Ken Russell called it “the greatest science-fiction film since METROPOLIS.” Controversial director Paul Verhoeven (TOTAL RECALL) brought ROBOCOP to life in 1987 as an effects-laden work of science fiction with a satirical edge that has since become a cult-classic phenomenon. Written by UCLA alumni Ed Neumeier (STARSHIP TROOPERS) and Michael Miner (BOOK OF STARS), ROBOCOP reflects a superhero fantasy come to vivid, bloody life.
A post-show conversation led by TFT Dean Emeritus, Bob Rosen, features (schedules permitting) Verhoeven; UCLA alumni Peter Weller (Alex Murphy/RoboCop), Nancy Allen (Officer Lewis), Phil Tippett (ED-209 visual effects designer), Neumeier and Miner; with additional cast/crew members in attendance including Miguel Ferrer (Bob Morton), Kurtwood Smith (Clarence Boddicker), Frank J. Urioste (editor), Steve Flick (Oscar-winning sound editor), and Angie Bolling (Mrs. Murphy).
Samuel B. Prime, UCLA’s Melnitz Movies Director, started planning the 25th anniversary screening of ROBOCOP in August 2011.
“To me, ROBOCOP is the single greatest American theatrical motion picture experience ever realized,” said Prime. “ROBOCOP is an important work to the UCLA community; it represents both an outstanding success of and collaboration between its alumni, from Neumeier and Miner, to Peter Weller, a current Art History PhD candidate. Numerous executives at Orion Pictures, ROBOCOP’s production company, also connect back to UCLA.”
ROBOCOP’s hit as a part of the Dallas International Film Festival Closing Night festivities in April clinched it for Prime.
“As with the successful DIFF anniversary screening, our aim is to bring the family together and celebrate this extraordinary film,” concluded Prime.
Co-writer Michael Miner reflects on the pop-culture significance of ROBOCOP, 25 years later:
“Ed (Neumeier) and I wrote ROBOCOP as comic relief for the cynical decade of the 1980s. Ronald Reagan and his cronies had just mortgaged America’s future to the corporations. The satirical tone results in scathing black comedy and our plot centers on how a corporation tries to privatize law enforcement and ‘own’ someone’s personality. The history of America, in spite of its hypocritical ideology of freedom for all, is actually one long, uninterrupted scenario of exploitation and feudal governance. That’s why ROBOCOP is so powerful. Its social criticism is very loud. It’s not about vacuous superheroes saving the world. Instead, it’s about an honest soul, confronting corruption. From HIGH NOON to TAXI DRIVER, movie heroes have always spoken truth to power and become an inspiration for the powerless. I think that is the essence of ROBOCOP’s popularity.”
Cast member Angie Bolling, with a relatively small role in a flashback sequence, sums up the imprinting of ROBOCOP on America’s collective pop culture.
“I’m not surprised that ROBOCOP still resonates with audiences after 25 years. I am amazed that my role has made me a cult-heroine in Sci-Fi circles among a surprisingly large fan base of all ages. I have to admit that after all this time I’m absolutely delighted with being remembered as ‘Mrs. RoboCop,'” said Bolling.
Interview with Peter Weller and Angie Bolling (Mr. and Mrs. RoboCop) reunited at the Dallas International Film Festival
ROBOCOPOrion Pictures/Park Circus, LLC35mm, 102 min.
Print courtesy of the Joe Dante and Jon Davison Collection at the Academy Film Archive.
*Limited tickets are free and available first-come, first-served starting at 6:30 p.m.
The UCLA Graduate Students Association – Melnitz Movies available here
https://gsa.asucla.ucla.edu/briefing-room/calendar/2012-05-31/25th-anniversary-robocop-paul-verhoeven-1987
