How Sony/MGM Just Let 'RoboCop' Become a Flop Through Inaction

It's nearly confirmed - MGM's RoboCop remake is going to flop. Though it doesn't come out until August 9th, 2013, this is pretty much when it was decided. The fate of the movie has been all but secured simply through the inaction of Columbia/Sony and MGM's marketing department(s). How can I say this? How can I actually make a sound prediction this far out? Let me explain. RoboCop just started shooting this weekend in Toronto. On the very first day of principal photography, paparazzi got the shot they were waiting (a whole day) for - one of Joel Kinnaman in his cyborg outfit. Now it's out. All over the internet. Everyone has seen it, scrutinized it, in just over 48 hours. And because of that, this movie's failure is pretty much guaranteed.

Here at FS.net, we have a long-standing policy opposing any/all set photos. We never post them. Period. (I know the teaser image is one, but used for the sake of covering it as news.) I even wrote an entire editorial about it back in 2011 - and that was before The Dark Knight Rises set photo frenzy, which was nearly out of hand. Posting paparazzi-taken set photos is a sad and disgraceful habit of hit-hungry websites who use the excuse "well, everyone wants to see them!" Of course they do. Everyone wants to know the ending of every movie before they see it. Just because it's some crass impulsive urge doesn't mean we, as the curators of content and creators of hype, have to indulge in it. Leave that to TMZ or Just Jared. I prefer not to stoop to the low standards of gossip rags. But that certainly won't (and doesn't) stop the endless spread of set photos.

So what's wrong with RoboCop? This remake has had potential. One of my favorite shirts that I wear only has the OCP (Omni Consumer Products) logo from the original 1987 Verhoeven film - made by Last Exit to Nowhere. Every time I wear it, someone always stops me to comment on it. Usually "that's awesome" or "I love RoboCop!" It's proof there is a huge fan base out there, and just like Tron, it's one of those 80's sci-fi franchises that still has a passionate fanboy following (of males 20 to 40 years old). If you play your cards right, it could be a big sci-fi hit. But MGM (who is distributing through a deal with Sony/Columbia Pictures) hasn't played their cards right. Not only making the wrong decisions with every card they draw (what really happened to Aronofsky?) but they're trying to bluff big time and it's not going to work. At least I don't think.

RoboCop 2013In fact, their bluff is so blatantly transparent, it has created a large amount of negative buzz before they have even shot a single frame of footage. Tough break. But with these first set photos from the first weekend, things have been pushed to the edge. Before that, there were already troubling quotes coming out about this remake; as I said, they tried to bluff, but everyone could see right through it. Word is that Brazilian director José Padilha was speaking on the phone to friend Fernando Meirelles, and told him "it is the worst experience. For every 10 ideas he has, 9 are cut. Whatever he wants, he has to fight. 'This is hell here.'" Whether or not it's accurate, the fact that quote was one of the first to come about the production is not a good way to start. When searching for RoboCop, that story is everywhere, the first thing anyone looking will find.

There was, kind of, a brief follow-up. Padilha apparently stated, in a translated interview found by Latino Review, that the quotes weren't entirely true and "we deal with those difficulties with coolness and familiarity." But no one picked up that story, it barely spread to a few sites, not many cared (why would they?). Plus, his quote almost confirms that there are troubles, as he doesn't seem to outright deny them anyway. But there was no response. Sony/MGM was tight-lipped all the way, as expected, as it finished casting and gearing up to begin production in Toronto the final weekend of TIFF. The perfect time/place for paparazzi to descend, especially with reports that Joel Kinnaman was around at parties anyway. They went and got the shot they wanted.

In this day and age, studios can't just cower behind a wall of silence when this kind of negativity flares up. The internet has power that can shape a film's fate before it even shoots. Bad buzz got worse this weekend when ComingSoon landed two set photos from Toronto of Kinnaman as the new Alex Murphy/RoboCop in costume. There's a camera in one shot, but the other looks like he's just walking to his trailer. Beyond that, we don't know whether this is a prototype, just an exoskeleton, an FX extension, but not the finished suit, or actually the final costume being shown in full minus a few post-production touch-ups. Well, take all of that and toss it out the window, because these two photos have been spread everywhere, and every fan/non-fan has already taken an opportunity to state their opinions, be it on Twitter, Facebook or to friends over texts.

Nearly every other movie website has taken the chance to post these, even sadly Hollywood Reporter. Devin from Badass Digest sums up the general reaction: "underwhelming in the extreme, and further fodder for the belief that design is long dead in Hollywood genre films... I find it hard to care, honestly. This is a movie whose existence is pointless; it will never be as good as the original and it does not seem to be interested in pushing boundaries, at least as far as design goes." He goes on to joke that "I'm sure they'll say they started from a place of realism" but I doubt they'll respond to these criticisms and will just cover it up with publicity way down the line. Nevertheless, the world has taken notice, and there's plenty of responses to back it up.

Here's a tweet reply I received - Alejandro nails it. I may be out of my own ability to change the fact that set photos are covered so vehemently by other movie blogs, but it's up to the studios to make a difference in the end. And if they're just going to ignore them, it's going to continue hurt them. Not always, and many films can and do get away with it, but not this time. So much so, that the audience has acknowleded how bad it is:

These two tweets below from Nordling of AICN (which I had nothing to do with) truly say it all. And as of writing this, both of those tweets have already been retweeted six times. It's not just a prominent writer for a geek website making up his mind early. He's instantly influencing the fanbase and audience, who will in turn influence non-fans, too. This is all happening a year before release. Before they've unveiled or done any real marketing. This is why this movie is almost guaranteed to flop. Due to a complete lack of marketing or concern, the audience is already tuning out. Marketing, whenever it does hit, won't even have a chance to save it. RoboCop is finished. They could of course turn it around, but this negativity will still be lingering.

Before we get into the helpful side of this, there is another quick marketing recap necessary. RoboCop has actually had studio-released marketing, but its been feeding the negativity. Beyond casting updates, the only official marketing for RoboCop arrived around early July and during Comic-Con this summer. A viral site for robotics company OmniCorp (omnicorp.com) was launched with some weaponry teases, followed-up by a viral banner showing the new "ED-209" mech on the side of the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego (photos here). I remember having conversations then about how terrible the new design looked, with people I would consider true fans of this franchise. Sony's first soft marketing launch, which was an admirable attempt I'll give, was nonetheless ineffective at building good buzz. As we now know, it just went downhill from there.

In addition to all this criticism, my biggest complaints are that studios can be running better marketing, but aren't. They can be using better tactics to promote and keep everyone's attention focused on studio-made marketing, if they truly cared. So I've decided to suggest a few ideas of what I would prefer to see them do. More questions meant to prod them: why aren't we seeing this kind of response, or this kind of marketing?

Give us an Actual First Look at Murphy or RoboCop

Hollywood's current response to set photos is to attempt to cover them up with real photos. That is the good idea, since there's not much else that will help. If the photos are taken from public property (e.g. a sidewalk) they're legally safe, no matter what. The studio can't do anything. However, they can divert our attention. I'm sure most execs think "in the long run set photos don't hurt us much." That can and occasionally is true (look at TDKR I guess), but with RoboCop it's the fact this is the first way most audiences are introduced to their movie, that should make them concerned. If Hollywood is so obsessed with control right now (which they are), then why aren't they controlling the very first look at a hot remake? To the point of releasing good photos before any paparazzi has a chance to get a shot on the street. It's one of the only worthwhile tactics.

To top it all off, there's also bad buzz from an early script review floating around. Since the project has been in the works for so long, even with Padilha and writer Nick Schenk on the latest draft, the script is out there. HitFix's Drew McWeeny took a swipe at it on twitter (via Bleeding Cool): "I'll share this one detail. In the film, when Murphy is turned into Robocop 1.0, it's described 'a high-tech version of the '80s suit.' Then they show a focus group scene where criminals laugh at the design. 'He looks like a toy from the '80s!' So they redesign him to look 'meaner' as Robocop 2.0, who passes focus group approval. So they not only make sure to include the original design, they also point out it’s dated and stupid. *facepalm*" Again, this is the first word out about the currently in-production RoboCop remake. Give us some hope guys, don't let everyone trample over it without a shred of positivity to show. Might as well give up now if that's the case.

RoboCop - Coming 2010!Remember this outstanding bit of promo art from 2008 (seen to the left)? It's probably the best marketing for this RoboCop remake/reboot we've ever seen. It was used as an early promo at the Licensing Expo in 2008, teasing two years out (hint, hint, Sony?) for its summer 2010 release, which obviously never happened. Still, this was the kind of imagery that actually made me excited, but none of what we've seen from the studio so far has come close. And these set photos just seem to have made it worse. However, a promo banner (touting the bland black armor) has recently appeared on the Argentinean movie site Cine1, which confirms this is the new look and also hints at how much their marketing campaign is already ruined if teasing small portions of the armor is their plan.

Give us hope! Give us OmniCorp! Give us RoboCop! Give us something. Sitting around pretending none of is this is happening, that negativity doesn't matter, ignoring that the internet exists (and so do paparazzi), is only going to hurt. Studios must learn that in this day and age, where the internet drives opinions years out, inaction is ineffective. Lack of confidence leads to failure, especially when it comes to a property that needs action. RoboCop is one of those. The same "that's awesome" response I get from wearing a shirt that says OCP on it should be the same response fans are having any/every time they see images from this. But it's too late for that. The first impression has already been made and it's bad, perhaps even so bad it may be hard to recover from. If this isn't a flop next August, I'll be the very first to eat my own claim chowder.

Now is the time to take action. Well, two weeks ago was, but we're passed that. Instead of letting set photos est@blish excruciatingly low precedents and allowing movies to "get the life suck[ed] out of them" a year out, step up and give the audience something. Confidence is key, and if that's missing, it's all over. I hate set photos so much that it frustrates me when movies get wrongfully revealed and scrutinized like this. But it's up to Hollywood, moviegoers, and other movie sites, to make a difference. Maybe José Padilha's RoboCop will turn out pretty good in the end. Only time will tell. Although I don't have much any confidence in it. OmniCorp doesn't seem to have this future under control at all. Where is Verhoeven when we need him?


How Sony/MGM Just Let 'RoboCop' Become a Flop Through Inaction | FirstShowing.net

Thats a lot of reading right there.

Not gonna post a "Didn't Read LOL" gif.


But somebody else read through that and cliff note it for me..

No film's demise is guaranteed. Remember when the first trailer for the Amazing Spider-Man came out? Yeah, that having a "tepid reaction" would be an understatement. Scrutinising that trailer made sense, though, because a one to two minute trailer is a far better indicator of what a movie's going to be like than a single snapshot of the RoboCop suit. That said, look how the Amazing Spider-Man was received by the critics and fans alike. It did decent numbers and managed to squeeze a 70%+ average on RottenTomatoes, despite a !!ty teaser trailer.

The Internet is a wild place full of geeky fanboys and Roger Ebert-wannabes, of course any photo that's not to their liking will get the magnifying glass treatment. Especially something as iconic as the RoboCop suit. I wouldn't write off the film's success just yet. For God's sake, it's a single photo, not a crystal ball into the future of the project. It's not even close to being an indicator of what the film will be like. Hell, RoboCop being good or not doesn't even hinge on how the suit looks. A RoboCop reboot will be successful regardless of complete cornball writing and subpar acting. Just as long as the special effects are tolerable, the gratuitous violence plentiful and RoboCop's gadgetry showcased, nostalgic fans will eat it up.

The guy whoever wrote this writeup, I swear. Something I'd expect from an Internet blogger, though, so I'm not even mad.

here ill help you




























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tl;dr version: RoboCop reboot will flop because apparently "everyone" has been bashing the photo of the new suit from the movie set. This is supposedly a good indicator of how a movie will flop in a year's time.

Do niccas even remember what the original Robocop suit looked like?

[pic]

!! looked like it was made out of pots and pans [pic]

I hope niccas aint saying they wanna see that back in 2012

What a bunch of bull!!

a) the new Robocop suit really doesn't look THAT different. If you colored the parts of the suit lighter like the original, it would look virtually the same yet more streamlined.

!!ing nerds.

here's a counter argument for him. Amazing Spiderman.

photos of the Amazing Spiderman suit leaked in May 2011

People shat on that movie for a over year and it still made almost 750M[pic]

Avatar is the biggest movie ever and from the time the first trailer dropped to...today...niccas have shat on it.

Basically all this internet !! means squat in the grand scheme of things and using it as a barometer is bad.

but back in the day it was revolutionary

OG Suit was badass !! what u heard! [pic]

I still wanna see that [pic] robocop is supposed to be a slow[..] piece of !! robot, cant make him look all athletic with nice[..] abs and !!

[pic][pic][pic]

yeah, by 80s standards. Its 2012 and this guy is on the big screen


that tank movement aint cuttin it no more.

I wasted 5 minutes reading that article. the suit looks coo to me. he really that mad about it tho-

He's not Iron Man though. He shouldnt move like a man inside of a suit. That's one thing that made the OG acting so good. He moved like a damn robot.

Anyway I'm not really trippin till I see it in action. If he's fuking jumpin out of the shadows off of rooftops or flying in the trailer I'm not going to see that garbage. That's why the 3rd one was garbage had him fighting robot ninjas and !! gtfoh.

He's supposed to be causing massacres in coke factories and !! not doing acrobatics.

[pic] OG suit was hot. da fuk u talkin bout??

ocp doesnt make mistakes. except that one time !! jones had to eliminate that one guy. but they fixed that mistake with style. so im not worried about it.

I remember they said the same !! about Dredd. Now that !! is at 90 percent on RT and everyone is saying it's a cult classic or some !!. [pic]

wait until the final product. Everyone always judges movies based off set photos which is !!ing idiotic.

I !!s wit the OG suit [pic]

[pic] it dont even look like he's a robot

Bring back da og suit

"wutz !!in ya murph?"

"this new suit...this new suit is !!in me"