Most recently, hes appeared inRoboCop, playing the conflicted science genius Dennett Norton in Jose Padilhas remake.
Were you familiar with the original RoboCop movie before you signed on for this one?
And I always think its fascination when you have people like this doing genre films.
Youve got Alfonso Cuaron doingHarry Potter,Tomas Alfredson doingTinker Tailor they give it their own…spice.
It has an edge to it.
Do you feel the themes in the script chime with your own world view?
Because it has quite a dystopian view of the present in the way it relates to current events.
This one, I think you watch it and its science fact you watch it and it looks recognisable.
The cynicism of the media.
Hes sort of touched on all of this.
Just because you might do it, should you do it?
All those questions are important.
Its a political film wrapped up in a [sci-fi story].
So its got a lot going for it.
Do you think it holds up against the first one?
I think it dares to be its own thing.
The remake explores those themes in a different, modern way.
I like the touch of the inside marketing.
Lets make him look like a Transformer the kids want him to look like a Transformer.
What do you think?
Shall we go for the silver suit or the black suit?
Its a PR campaign, essentially, isnt it?
That idea of, No, Im going to give them a man inside a machine.
Thats what the public wants.
And the more you find out, the more…
I live in America at the moment, in California.
I mean, its falling around him.
The empire is crumbling.
You mean its crumbling around Barack Obama?
Its Bush on steroids.
I could turn on the regular TV and see this.
On the news just now, I saw Britains top-secret drone aircraft being unveiled on the BBC.
Quite a coincidence, given the premise of the film.
And were going to have drones delivering things.
InRoboCop, he isnt just a stock sci-fi scientist, though he could easily have been.
Jim Gordon could have been a stoic cop, but he was so much more.
So whats your process for bringing the nuances to those characters?
Well, it was almost there on the page.
Hes in a situation where hes working for a company that he knows has a military aspect to it.
Hes in the research department, hes the head of the research department, which is very much experimentation.
Then hes reluctantly taken into this project with the promise of unlimited funding.
And hes flattered thats one of his weaknesses, his vanity.
And hes up against the wall.
Hes challenged, ethically.
My thing is, whats he going to do?
He forms a relationship with this man [Alex Murphy], who trusts him.
Or does he stay and give him a little tweak?
In Hollywood, things seem to have changed a great deal over the last 10 years.
Well I think what happens is a trend.
I got typecast as a villain, the bad guy, and I wanted to turn that around.
I think it was [suggests scary mask over face, with hands].
I said I wasnt interested.
I said, What about Commissioner Gordon?
And to his credit, he thought about it, came back and said yes.
Youve got to look good in that suit as well.
And that caused a whole trend, like dominoes.
I think it takes one person with imagination like Nolan.
Gary Oldman, thank you very much.
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