Oct 6, 2015
Lady P and Anne Marie Kelly are joined by Ed Neumeier, the writer and producer of ROBOCOP and STARSHIP TROOPERS, to talk early science fiction films. Their discussion centers primarily on the 36th film on the Sight and Sound Greatest Of All Time List: Fritz Lang's 1927 German Expressionist classic, METROPOLIS. They give a brief overview of the socio-political environment at the time of production (yep, that means Hitler), and talk about how the film co-opts the styles and themes of several early-20th century art movements. Plus they discuss how Robot Maria has left her fingerprints on every subsequent android assembled since METROPOLIS' release.
For the second topic, they talk about Ed's personal cyborg creations. Ed details his path to becoming a screenwriter, and how he ended up a producer on ROBOCOP by his late-20s. He also talks about writing STARSHIP TROOPERS (a favorite around these parts), and the process of turning Robert Heinlein's ring-wing polemic into an anti-war satire. He also touches on the precariousness of early success, and what aspiring screenwriters should do if they want to follow in his footsteps.