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The latest trailer for MGM/Sony remake of 1987 Paul Verhoeven's Sci-Fi classic has arrived, but does it raise the bar?

The latest trailer for the upcoming remake of Robocop hit the internet today and it has literally reignited my interest in this oft-delayed project. The film, which takes place in a near-future America run by big business, stars Joel Kinneman as the titual cyborg that rebels against his programming. The film also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Micheal Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earl Haley and Jay Baruchel. Directed By Jose Padilla (Elite Squad, Secrets of The Tribe), Robocop lands in theaters just in time for Valentines Day on Feburary 12th, 2014

The official synposis is below:

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.

Get a load of the new "Robocop." Joel Kinnaman steps into the role originated by Peter Weller in the first trailer for the forthcoming remake, which once again follows Detroit police officer Alex Murphy (here critically-injured rather than killed) as he adjusts to his new life as the titular cyborg.  Also starring Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel and Jackie Earle Haley, the star-studded film was helmed by Brazilian director José Padilha ("Elite Squad: The Enemy Within," "Secrets of the Tribe"). In the sense that it's a remake of a decades-old Paul Verhoeven sci-fi/action film, "Robocop" has...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed its 276-member-strong class of 2013.

The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.

Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.

"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the 276 members of the entertainment industry invited to join organization. The list includes actors, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, producers and more. Of those listed below, those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2013. "These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch in a press release. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy." Koch also told Variety, "In the past eight or nine years, each branch could only bring in X amount of members. There were people each branch would have liked to get in but couldn't. We asked them to be more inclusive of the best of the best, and each branch was excited, because they got...

The Academy just added 276 Oscar voters.

That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.

AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.

Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.

Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.

“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”

The 2013 invitees are:

Actors

Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”

Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”

Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”

Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”

Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”

Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”

Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”

Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”

Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...

Brazilian filmmaker, writer and producer José Padilha gained critical acclaim for his documentaries Bus 174 and Secrets of the Tribe as well as his action dramas Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2, about special forces military police fighting the dealers and criminals hidden away in Rio de Janeiro's hillside favelas. Padilha recently replaced Darren Aronofsky as the director of the Robocop remake at MGM and looked to move forward with the project hiring Joel Kinnaman, who earned rave reviews for his role as Detective Stephen Holder on the AMC crime drama The Killing, to play the lead role made famous by Peter Weller. Deadline reported today that MGM and Padilha offered Kinnaman the role but that actor did not yet confirm one way or the other.

Brazilian filmmaker, writer and producer José Padilha gained critical acclaim for his documentaries Bus 174 and Secrets of the Tribe as well as his action dramas Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2, about special forces military police fighting the dealers and criminals hidden away in Rio de Janeiro's hillside favelas. Padilha recently replaced Darren Aronofsky as the director of the Robocop remake at MGM and looked to move forward with the project hiring Joel Kinnaman, who earned rave reviews for his role as Detective Stephen Holder on the AMC crime drama The Killing, to play the lead role made famous by Peter Weller. Deadline reported today that MGM and Padilha offered Kinnaman the role but that actor did not yet confirm one way or the other.

Brazilian filmmaker, writer and producer José Padilha gained critical acclaim for his documentaries Bus 174 and Secrets of the Tribe as well as his action dramas Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2, about special forces military police fighting the dealers and criminals hidden away in Rio de Janeiro's hillside favelas. Padilha recently replaced Darren Aronofsky as the director of the Robocop remake at MGM and looked to move forward with the project hiring Joel Kinnaman, who earned rave reviews for his role as Detective Stephen Holder on the AMC crime drama The Killing, to play the lead role made famous by Peter Weller. Deadline reported today that MGM and Padilha offered Kinnaman the role but that actor did not yet confirm one way or the other.

Brazilian filmmaker, writer and producer José Padilha gained critical acclaim for his documentaries Bus 174 and Secrets of the Tribe as well as his action dramas Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2, about special forces military police fighting the dealers and criminals hidden away in Rio de Janeiro’s hillside favelas. Padilha looked to build his fan boy cred replacing Darren Aronofsky as the director of the Robocop remake at MGM. Padilha spoke to The Telegraph and shared his plans for rebooting Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 film about a Detroit policeman badly injured on the job and rebuilt as the city’s first robot cop.

Brazilian filmmaker, writer and producer José Padilha gained critical acclaim for his documentaries Bus 174 and Secrets of the Tribe as well as his action dramas Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2, about special forces military police fighting the dealers and criminals hidden away in Rio de Janeiro’s hillside favelas. Padilha looked to build his fan boy cred replacing Darren Aronofsky as the director of the Robocop remake at MGM. Padilha spoke to The Telegraph and shared his plans for rebooting Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 film about a Detroit policeman badly injured on the job and rebuilt as the city’s first robot cop.

Brazilian filmmaker, writer and producer José Padilha gained critical acclaim for his documentaries Bus 174 and Secrets of the Tribe as well as his action dramas Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2, about special forces military police fighting the dealers and criminals hidden away in Rio de Janeiro’s hillside favelas. Padilha looked to build his fan boy cred replacing Darren Aronofsky as the director of the Robocop remake at MGM. Padilha spoke to The Telegraph and shared his plans for rebooting Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 film about a Detroit policeman badly injured on the job and rebuilt as the city’s first robot cop.

Documentarist – Istanbul Documentary Days, Turkey’s largest documentary film festival, was held for the fourth time from May 31 to June 5, 2011. The festival has been garnering more attention internationally and widening the scope of its programme every year. The result of prodigious efforts undertaken by the founders as well as a large team of young people who are mainly university students, Documentarist is organized under the auspices of the Eurasia Art Collective (Ask) and is activist in its inclinations. This year’s festival was comprised of various sections focusing on such themes as environmentalism, music, anthropology and the post-communist era.

The World We Consume section of the festival included films with striking insights into some of the most important environmental issues of our times. “There Once Was an Island” (2010), directed by

Briar March, tells in a poignant manner the story of people of Takuu, a tiny low-lying atoll in the South Western Pacific.

The 14th annual Revelation Perth International Film Festival is, once again, packed to the gills with worldwide wonderful, weird and revelatory filmmaking. The fest runs this year on July 14-24.

The highlight of the festival is the once-in-a-lifetime live performance of Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then, which will be performed on July 17 at 7:15 p.m. American animator Brent Green will be traveling Down Under to provide the live musical score and narration for his emotional, live-action animated tale about undying love and creation. He will also be accompanied by band mates and foley artists, Mike McGinley, John Swartz, Donna K and Drew Henkles.

Some other films to look out for at the fest will be the Australian premiere of Zach Clark‘s terminally twisted Vacation!, a black comedy about four girls on a debauched weekend of drinking and drugging that ends horribly for all involved; Marie Losier’s acclaimed...

Here is an excerpt from the report over at Variety's 'Showblitz'. Studio is considering Jose Padilha, Doug Liman, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Romanek, Justin Lin, Gavin O’Connor, James Mangold and Gary Shore (largely a commercials director) for the Hugh Jackman-toplined actioner. And here is a list of the directors along with the movies they're best known for. Jose Padilha: Secrets of the Tribe and upcoming RoboCop reboot. Doug Liman: Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jumper, Fair Game. Antoine Fuqua: Training Day, Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Shooter and Brooklyn's Finest. Mark Romanek: One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go. Justin Lin: Annapolis, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five. Gavin O’Connor: Miracle, Warrior. James Mangold: Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Knight & Day. Gary Shore: As a commercials director, previous clients include Adidas, Emi, Warner Brothers,...

MGM's in talks with Jose Padilha to direct a reboot of Robocop. Drop your weapon! You have fifteen seconds to comply! Brazilian director Padilha's credits include the Bus 174 documentary as well as Tropa de Elite ("Elite Squad"), winner of a Golden Bear award at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, and Trope de Elite 2. His latest work Secrets of the Tribe premiered at Sundance last year. Robocop was fast-tracked three years back which was supposed to come together under Marty Parent and helmer Darren Aronofsky attached. Mike Medavoy, producer of the original Robocop directed by Paul Verhoeven, is on board to produce alongside Arnold Messer, Brad Fischer and David Thwaites.

MGM's in talks with Jose Padilha to direct a reboot of Robocop. Drop your weapon! You have fifteen seconds to comply! Brazilian director Padilha's credits include the Bus 174 documentary as well as Tropa de Elite ("Elite Squad"), winner of a Golden Bear award at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, and Trope de Elite 2. His latest work Secrets of the Tribe premiered at Sundance last year. Robocop was fast-tracked three years back which was supposed to come together under Marty Parent and helmer Darren Aronofsky attached. Mike Medavoy, producer of the original Robocop directed by Paul Verhoeven, is on board to produce alongside Arnold Messer, Brad Fischer and David Thwaites.

With all the excitement surrounding the possibility of a Robocop statue [1] in Detroit right now, it only makes sense that MGM is trying to strike while the iron is hot. Word on the street is that they are nearing a deal with someone to direct their upcoming reboot of the franchise, and that someone is Brazilian director Jose Padilha. Not quite a household name here in North America, Padilha directed the gritty cop thriller Elite Squad and its sequel Elite Squad 2, both of which made some serious coin in Brazil. He has also directed a handful of documentaries, including the acclaimed festival hit Secrets of the Tribe. A couple of years ago, Darren Aronofsky was attached to direct a new Robocop movie, but the project eventually fell apart [2], possibly due to the studio's insistence on making it a 3-D movie. While it would have been cool to see what Aronofsky...

Actor Tim Blake Nelson will host the awards ceremony at the Sundance Film Festival, which also announced Tuesday the members of the five juries that will determine the winners. The festival runs from Jan. 20-30; the awards will be handed out the evening of Jan. 29. (The Short Film Awards will be named earlier at a ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 25, at Park City’s Jupiter Bowl.)

The complete list of jurors follows, with bios provided by the festival.

U.S. Documentary Jury

Jeffrey Blitz

Jeffrey’s film career started in 2002 with the Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning documentary “Spellbound.” His fiction feature debut, “Rocket Science,” became his first to play the festival (Sundance, 2007; Dramatic Directing Award). He has also directed the documentary “Lucky,” (Sundance, 2010) and multiple episodes of NBC’s “The Office.” In 2009, he won the Emmy for comedy directing.

Matt Groening

Matt Groening created the longest-running comedy in television history, “The Simpsons.” As a cartoonist,...

Filed under: Documentaries, Sundance Film Festival, Columns, Cinematical

Pictured: An image from Steve James 'The Interrupters'

Doc Talk is a bi-weekly column on all things documentary and non-fiction cinema.

Could anyone have guessed this time last year that 2010 would be the best year for documentary ever? Might we have predicted it based on the selections for the Sundance Film Festival, which we knew then to include new non-fiction works by Alex Gibney, Davis Guggenheim, Michael Winterbottom & Mat Whitecross, Leon Gast, Sam Green, Amir Bar-Lev, Stanley Nelson and Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing? The thing is, it's very possible none of those works would even crack my top ten list for the year in docs.

But the festival did bring us many of my favorites of 2010 (including my #1, 'Last Train Home,' though this had previously premiered elsewhere, as well as 'Restrepo,' 'Enemies of the People,' 'Gasland' and the...

Filed under: Documentaries, Sundance Film Festival, Columns, Cinematical

Pictured: An image from Steve James 'The Interrupters'

Doc Talk is a bi-weekly column on all things documentary and non-fiction cinema.

Could anyone have guessed this time last year that 2010 would be the best year for documentary ever? Might we have predicted it based on the selections for the Sundance Film Festival, which we knew then to include new non-fiction works by Alex Gibney, Davis Guggenheim, Michael Winterbottom & Mat Whitecross, Leon Gast, Sam Green, Amir Bar-Lev, Stanley Nelson and Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing? The thing is, it's very possible none of those works would even crack my top ten list for the year in docs.

But the festival did bring us many of my favorites of 2010 (including my #1, 'Last Train Home,' though this had previously premiered elsewhere, as well as 'Restrepo,' 'Enemies of the People,' 'Gasland' and the...

Now that he seems to have filmed all there is to document in the deep sea, particularly regarding the wreckage of the Titanic, James Cameron apparently has a new obsession: indigenous tribes of the Amazon. Recently he spoke about the Achuar people, who'd seen Avatar and responded in a way that made him alter his plot ideas for the film's sequel. Now he's talking about making a 3D documentary on Brazil's Xikrin-Kayapo tribe. He has already filmed a short piece about their opposition to a major dam project in their area (the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant), which will be included as a bonus feature on the next Avatar DVD release out this Christmas. The feature will be more on the tribe's life and culture.

Cameron, who likened the plot of Avatar to the tribe's issue with the dam construction, could learn a few things from other recent documentaries about Amazon peoples.