If there were an award for creating media coverage for a picture by releasing the least substantive news about a film, then the guys at MGM would be this years runaway favourites. It has been some six years since the- seemingly- ever struggling MGM announced a possible remake of
Paul Verhoevens unlikely dystopian classic action film
Robocop, in which time it has been officially ditched once- unofficially many more- and been linked to a myriad of directors, the most notable of which was Darren Aronofsky, with whom the studio had a succession of undignified off the record failings out over issues of budget and shooting format. Eventually Aronofsky was ditched, probably on the advice of the marketing men who plunged MGM into their current mire in the first place, and a host of new names linked before
Jose Padilha (known for the ultra-violent Elite Squad films)
was confirmed as the unlikely man to bring the robotic cop back to the big screen. Now the studio are looking to assemble a cast in similairly noisy fashion, the latest manifestation of which is the
unofficial publication of a wanted list designed to inject the movie back into the headlines. In what seems the most cynical of publicity tactics, this includes the names of Hollywoods most bankable leading men including
Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves and
Tom Cruise. That any of the named men will actually consider working with a floundering company who conduct business in such a manner seems unlikely and, given the fee each demand, would appear to be well out of MGMs price range. Whoever ultimately ends up playing the mechanical/human hybrid cop, it could well be a decision that dictates whether one of the grand names of the classical Hollywood era survives far into the next decade.