Even if Columbia Pictures' new action-thriller “RoboCop” has an existential element, there’s still plenty of cool factor. For the filmmakers, dabbling in robot technology was like an open playground. “One of the most exciting things to us – as filmmakers but also fans – was to create all the robots,” says producer Eric Newman.

Production designer Martin Whist, who designed the various iterations of RoboCop says that even as they let their imaginations run wild, the truth was right there to back them up. “Every idea we had for something RoboCop could do, it turns out, somebody is researching it now, in real life,” he says. “For example, there are people out there right now in the lab, who have sensors on their brains that allow them to move a robotic hand with their thoughts. We had this idea for a high-powered Taser gun – and it turns out that it’s being developed. Everything in the movie is based in reality.”

RoboCop himself has two separate and very different suits in the film. “The first suit was intentionally a tip of the hat to the original film and the original design,” Whist explains. “I wanted to stay with the coloration of the original design; the overall impression is silver, but – just like they did on the first film – we used a technique where there were multiple colors in it: there are magentas and deep blues in it. It’s a little less sophisticated than the second suit, a little boxier, a little less agile, and that was intentional to show the evolution from one RoboCop to the next.”

In designing RoboCop’s suits, Whist says that the second suit – the black suit – got the bulk of the attention from the designers. “The second suit was black, more visually sleek, designed, thought out, and a little more elegant and aggressive.”

To build the physical RoboCop suits, Whist worked with the team at Legacy Effects, one of Hollywood’s go-to sources for making visions become a reality as the creators of the Iron Man suit and other effects work.

RoboCop has two main weapons: a high-powered Taser that comes out of his thigh (again, a nod to the original film) and a gun that deploys from his forearm. Whist says that it was important to him to maintain a certain level of verisimilitude, even though he was obviously working in the realm of science fiction. “When we designed the Taser, I wanted it to truly make sense how it would come out, how it would deploy, how it would fit, and how that would translate to a real gun in his hand. We wanted it to seem real, to have a logic to it. It had to be a certain size – after all, it had to fit in the leg. And then we had to figure out how it would deploy in a cool way that he could grab onto.”

In designing a futuristic Taser, Whist wanted a design that would not involve a cord. “The Taser gun fires pellets, little flat discs. When you fire, the discs extend like a camping cup, and little fins come out as it propels through the air. When the pellet strikes something, it recompresses, and that compression pushes out a spike. The whole thing is an advanced battery that gives the victim a shock. It was a lot of fun figuring out the mechanics of how it would work.”

RoboCop’s other main weapon is a more traditional pistol that comes out of his forearm. “His arm plate flips open into a gun – it has a brace that goes onto his forearm, near his elbow, and then the gun goes into his hand – the idea is that when the gun recoils, it wasn’t putting all that pressure on his wrist. When I design things like that, I like to be as practical as possible, even though what I’m designing is far from practical. I want it to fit into the world – even though a high-powered Taser gun that pops out of a robot’s leg is a crazy idea, it should have some logic to it.”

Whist also designed the vehicles in the film, including RoboCop’s motorcycle. Based on a Kawasaki 1000, the design team made major modifications. “We modified the frame, extending the wheel base. It’s quite a bit longer than a normal bike, because I wanted RoboCop to take a leaning forward attack position when he’s on the bike. He’s quite big, and the normal bike looked too small under him. Then, we reclad the whole bike in armor, similar to the suit. He merges with the bike when he’s riding it – it looks like one unit. And finally, we redid all the lights and graphics, of course.”

Opening across the Philippines in Feb. 05, 2014, “RoboCop” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

It is the year 2028, when the city of Detroit is being patrolled by the most unique and relentless crime fighter in the world: the half man/half robot Alex Murphy, also known as RoboCop. Condemned to a certain death after being the victim of a terrible explosion, our hero was given a second chance by the powerful corporation OmniCorp, specialized in designing and constructing robots, that offers him the possibility to inhabit a new and powerful mechanical body that enables him, not only to continue living, but to be stronger and faster than he ever could have imagined.

When Murphy’s wife Clara reluctantly signs off under strenuous pressure the authorization for her fading husband to be a part of the newly devised RoboCop program, as what is explained to her as the only way of keeping him alive, little does she know that they are puppets in the middle of a gigantic political and corporate battle.

That is the story of Columbia Pictures' “RoboCop,” based on the classic cult movie directed by Paul Verhoeven in 1987, which will hit theatres all over the world as an action-packed adventure constructed around themes that seem more relevant today than ever before.

Being a physicist before getting involved in filmmaking, the Brazilian director Jose Padilha was fascinated by the themes of the story: “Humanity has evolved a lot, which we can see through the increase of our average life-span. There is undeniable progress. I love science because it has changed things mostly in a very positive way; but, as a famous physicist once said, ‘Science is a key that can open two doors: the door to heaven and the door to hell.’ So, you should be weary of what you do with it and keep your eyes open. And the reason to make a movie like RoboCop is precisely to discuss things like what does it entail to have robots pulling triggers. Because if they kill a kid by mistake, who is to blame? Once you get autonomous machines making life and death decisions accountability becomes fuzzy, and that is something we need to discuss because it is an area where science can go astray.”

The first step was to construct an exciting script around that concept and find the right actor to play Alex Murphy/RoboCop, a role that would end up in the hands of Joel Kinnaman. “There is a big difference between the vision of a robot in 1987 to our future vision of a robot now, because today we already have robots and people with bionic hands and legs that work perfectly well,” explains the Swedish born actor. “So, our vision of a robot in 15 years is going to be something that is pretty advanced!”

“I am pretty sure we will have international debates in the UN trying to decide what is correct or incorrect about the use of autonomous robots in war,” foresees Padilha, “and the same thing will be discussed in every country in regards to their law enforcement laws and the constraints and of what robots can or cannot do. It’s going to happen! And our movie is grounded this way, as its premise is that you cannot use robots for law enforcement in America. Only a conscious human being can be allowed to pull the trigger, because only a human being understands what it is to be human and the true value of human life. So, contrary to the original movie, my RoboCop doesn’t die and become a soulless robot. His brain is intact! This way the emotions and cognitive capacity of Alex Murphy are in there the day he wakes up and finds out he is a robot.”

Opening across the Philippines in Feb. 05, 2014, “RoboCop” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

In 1987, director Paul Verhoeven thrilled the world with “RoboCop,”the tale of a cyborg cop that patrols the streets of a futuristic Detroit in the name of justice. Now, filmmaker José Padilha (“Elite Squad”) reintroduces “RoboCop” when the science fiction that the original movie depicted in the 80’s is actually now closer to science than to fiction.

Columbia Pictures' “RoboCop” stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley and Jay Baruchel. The screenplay is by Joshua Zetumer, based on the 1987 motion picture written by Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner.

Director Jose Padilha talks about re-inventing “RoboCop” in the following interview.

Q: How was the idea of remaking “RoboCop” born?

Jose Padilha: Around 3 years ago I went to a meeting at MGM, because they wanted to talk to me about some projects they had. They mentioned several movies they were interested in doing but that didn’t really appeal to me, until I saw they had a poster of the original “RoboCop” on the wall in the background and I said to them: ‘That’s the one I want to do!’

Q. Why did you want to do it?

Padilha: Because I wanted to shoot a movie that talked about the relation between fascism and the automation of law enforcement, like the first film already did; but make it more current, as we are on the verge of having to face this reality.

Q: What was the main premise of the story?

Padilha: We are in the future (2028) and all the superpowers are using robots for war, but in America they don’t allow them to be deployed domestically for law enforcement because there is a law that forbids the machine to pull the trigger. That was my take from day 1, in that room, and that is the movie we have shot.

Q: How was the process of finding the right actor to play the lead role of Alex Murphy/RoboCop?

Padilha: I spent a lot of time trying to find the right actor for this role, and Joel Kinnaman - after delivering a great first audition - was the one that kept coming back and doing it better and better. And even though we didn’t have a finished script then, but only a couple of scenes for him to read, every time he returned he just nailed it. And that kept on happening until the moment I said: ‘Guys, lets stop looking. We have him!’”

Q: What do you believe Joel Kinnaman brought to that complex character?

Padilha: He was very patient, because every day he had to arrive to set early in order to put the suit on. And, actually, he did a lot of action scenes himself in that suit! But, to me, the most important thing he did was to deliver the extraordinary performance of a man who has a wife and a son he really loves and then one day wakes up to realize that he almost died and that to save his life his wife consented to a procedure that turned him into a robot. Now, to face that reality and understand the limitations of being a robot (you can’t touch your wife or your son, or even sleep at home) are amazing dramatic circumstances that in this case had to be delivered only with his face and one hand, and Joel did it brilliantly.

Q: How does his wife Clara react to what happens?

Padilha: The character of Clara Murphy is very dramatic because she has a loving husband and son, who really needs his father, and then suddenly she is forced to see Alex in a life and death situation and make a decision under a gigantic amount of pressure: am I going to allow this procedure to be done to him with the chance of seeing him later or should I let him go?

Q. Australian actress Abbie Cornish plays Clara Murphy. What was required of her for that role?

Padilha: What was required of her was a pretty big range, because we see her with her husband as a happy couple but later also under a lot of stress. That’s not a role that can be played by any actress, but Abbie is just fantastic. The moment I saw her audition I knew she was Clara Murphy.

Q. And what can you say about Gary Oldman, who plays the scientist that makes the RoboCop project come to life?

Padilha: Gary is one of the most talented actors alive, who has complete control of the set and of the craft of his job. And, on top of that, he has this amazing talent to turn it on and off in a split second. He is so good that he can even make bad lines in a script work, which is something you have to be careful with because then you might not realize they weren’t bad lines in the first place… But Gary, of course, will tell you so.

Q. Michael Keaton portrays the head of OmniCorp, Raymond Sellars, the main villain of the story.

Padilha: Yes, but it is important to say that our villain is kind of grounded, manages a gigantic corporation and is also a genius. Michael created a character that was on the border between right and wrong, which was very smart. His performance in RoboCop is one of my favorites.

Q. Then you have Samuel L. Jackson as the media mogul Pat Novak, a huge supporter of the RoboCop program and OmniCorp’s plans to introduce law enforcement robots in America.

Padilha: He is just a force of nature as this media guy. When he steps onto the set every single camera looks at him.”

Q. How relevant are the themes of this film today?

Padilha: Paul Verhoeven created an iconic character that embodied the philosophical concept that automated law enforcement could lead to fascism. Funnily enough he did this in 1987, but now we are very close to this actually happening.

Q. Can you explain how close we are to this being a reality that we will have to deal with?

Padilha: If you open the newspaper every day you are going to end up reading about drones at least 50 times a year, if not more... Now they are piloted, but we are soon going to move on to drones that pilot themselves and robots that go to war and make their own decisions according to very sophisticated hardware and software without people being involved. This is going to happen. It was already in Verhoeven’s movie and it is also the reason I wanted to make this one, because what is being discussed in RoboCop is happening now and is going to be very prominent in the future

Q. So, what was your main goal with RoboCop?

Padilha: The challenge was to make a movie that touches key ideas about politics and about what it means to be human while still reaching a broad audience. You have to strike a balance between the drama and the fun, which you do by finding the right tone.

Opening across the Philippines in Feb. 05, 2014, “RoboCop” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us atwww.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures have just rolled out the teaser trailer for they're upcoming action thriller “RoboCop” which may be viewed here athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq9ym2mAjsU&feature=youtu.be.

Directed by Jose Padilha, “RoboCop” stars Joel Kinnaman (TV's “Game of Thrones”), Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. The screenplay is by Josh Zetumer and Nick Schenk, based on the 1987 motion picture written by Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner.

In “RoboCop,” the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years – and it’s meant billions for OmniCorp’s bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice.

Opening across the Philippines in February 2014, “RoboCop” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.phfor trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.