According to the Hollywood Reporter, Hugh “I have a girl’s first name for a last name” Laurie is in final negotiations to play the villain in MGM’s remake of Robocop. Laurie joins a cast that already includes Joel Kinnaman as the lead, Gary Oldman as Robocop’s creator, and Samuel L. Jackson as a media mogul who constantly screams “motherf*cker” (I hope). The remake is being directed by Elite Squad‘s Jose Padilha.
During the Elite Squad 2 Q & A at Sundance, I asked Jose Padilha if he was going to keep making cool movies in Brazil or take a huge paycheck in Hollywood for some crappy blockbuster, and he said “I’m not interested in paychecks.” I guess remakes don’t count? Hindsight being 20/20, I really wish I’d shouted “I’ll buy THAT for a dollar!”
Laurie will play the evil and ultra-rich CEO of Omnicorp, the company that makes Robocop.
The actor, repped by WME and Hamilton Hodell in the U.K., starred as the abrasively eccentric and brilliant title character of House M.D. for eight seasons, gaining five Emmy nominations in the process. He most recently appeared on the big screen inThe Oranges, anchoring the ensemble indie drama. [THR]
I don’t really know much about House, but from what I’ve heard, I’m guessing this means that at some point, Robocop gets diagnosed with lupus.
[Photo credit: Helga Esteb, Shutterstock]