Michael Keaton Replaces Hugh Laurie as OmniCorp CEO in Robocop Remake

Hugh Laurie was MGM's first choice to play OmniCorp's CEO Raymond Sellars in the Jose Padilha-directed Robocop remake, but the two side was unable to come to an agreement, with Laurie ending the talks last Friday.
Today, Deadline reports that MGM has chosen Michael Keaton for the role after speaking to a number of people, including Clive Owen. Keaton, as CEO of OmniCorp, is the main villain the movie. The role was originally played by Dan O'Herlihy in Paul Verhoeven's 1987 original.
Joel Kinnaman is playing the title character in the remake and, besides Keaton, he is joined by Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jackie Earle Haley, Jay Baruchel, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
The director, Jose Padilha, hails from Brazil and is getting his first taste of the Hollywood studio system with Robocop, an experience he doesn't want to go through again, according to his close friend and fellow director Fernando Meirelles.
Robocop is scheduled to go before the cameras in September for a August 9, 2013 release.
- Comment
Binh Ngo's Latest Blog Entries:
Robocop (2014) Photo Gallery
More Robocop (2014) News
About Binh Ngo
Binh previously worked with Senh Duong on RottenTomatoes.com as its Editor-in-Chief. They reteam for the sequel which promises more action, more laughs, and more drama.