Liked the original RoboCop? Then you might not like the new one

By Matthew Jackson, Source: Blastr.com

When it comes to his upcoming reboot of RoboCop, Brazilian director Jose Padilha said he’s not interested in repeating what Paul Verhoeven did in the 1987 original. Instead, he wants to focus on other issues, like the deep meaning behind robot existence.

In an interview with a Dutch website, Padilha was asked how his vision of the cybernetic super-cop will differ from Verhoeven’s, and he noted that—while he admires the Verhoeven film—he wants to tackle a different set of social issues, particularly, it seems, just what it means to be RoboCop:

“I love the sharpness and political tone of RoboCop, and I think that such a film is now urgently needed. But I will not repeat what Verhoeven has done so clearly and strongly. Instead I try to make a film that will address topics that Verhoeven untreated. If you are a man changes into a robot, how do you do that? What is the difference between humans and robots developed? What is free will? What does it mean to lose your free will? Those are the issues that I think.”

Origin of Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Remains a Mystery

By Whitney Clavin & Trent J. Perrotto, Source: NASA.gov

Observations from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission indicate the family of asteroids some believed was responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs is not likely the culprit, keeping open the case on one of Earth’s greatest mysteries.

While scientists are confident a large asteroid crashed into Earth approximately 65 million years ago, leading to the extinction of dinosaurs and some other life forms on our planet, they do not know exactly where the asteroid came from or how it made its way to Earth. A 2007 study using visible-light data from ground-based telescopes first suggested the remnant of a huge asteroid, known as Baptistina, as a possible suspect.

James Cameron has been brainstorming that next Terminator movie

By Don Kaye, Source: Blastr.com

There’s both good news and bad news about the next Terminator movie, and the good news involves none other than James Cameron.

According to Deadline, the development process for Terminator 5 has been moving along, with producers hoping to put the film into production by the end of 2012, Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to the franchise and action director du jour Justin Lin (Fast Five) getting behind the camera.

But a line near the end of the Deadline piece also mentions that Terminator creator James Cameron has been in “a brainstorming meeting or two” with Schwarzenegger and Lin. While this is not a complete surprise based on earlier comments made by Lin, it also sounds like Cameron could be getting more involved in the project.