RoboCop and Nicole Holofcener have nothing in common... until now!

  • The Wire breakout star Michael Kenneth Williams is in talks to join Joel Kinnaman, Hugh Laurie, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Jay Baruchel, Abbie Cornish, and Jackie Earle Haley in the Robocop remake.
  • Holofcener cast Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, and Eve Hewson in supporting roles in her next movie.  Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and James Gandolfini star.

Hit the jump for details on both projects.

robocop poster

According to Heat Vision, Williams would play the police officer who partnered with Alex Murphy (Kinnaman) before he was turned into RoboCop---in the story, Williams' partner is close to the Murphy family.  The cast was already noteworthy (the veterans Laurie, Jackson, and Oldman alone command so much respect).  Should Williams sign the deal, he would be another terrific addition.  I am as cynical about remakes as the next guy, but I like the way this one is shaping up.  Jose Padilha (Elite Squad) is gearing up to shoot RoboCop in Toronto starting next month.  RoboCop is due in theaters August 9, 2013.

Variety provides the logline for Holofcener's untitled feature:

"Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as a divorced soon-to-be empty-nester who meets a woman (Keener) she views as the embodiment of her perfect self. Armed with a restored outlook on being middle-aged and single, protag decides to take a chance on her new love interest (James Gandolfini), but things get complicated when she discovers he's her new friend's ex-husband."

Collette will play a friend of Louis-Dreyfus' who is also Keener's therapist. Hewson is playing Keener and Gandolfini's daughter who is on her way to college.  Christopher Smith,Tracey Fairaway, and Tavi Gevinson also star.  The Fox Searchlight comedy started shooting this week in Los Angeles.