25th anniversary screening of “˜RoboCop’ to reunite cast and crew, some of whom are former Bruins

In 1979, two students, Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner, attended UCLA for film. Though they did not know it at the time, the two would later team up to write the famed 1987 science fiction classic “RoboCop.”

Despite the fact that Neumeier and Miner attended UCLA at the same time, they did not cross paths as students. This was most likely because while Neumeier was here as an undergraduate, Miner was working on his master’s degree.

In addition to Neumeier and Miner, the film featured one other UCLA affiliate. Peter Weller, who is currently finishing up a Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance art history, played the title character of RoboCop.

Because of the film’s connections with UCLA, its 25th anniversary will take place in the James Bridges Theater with nearly all of the cast and crew in attendance. In addition to prize giveaways, the screening will also feature a Q-and-A session with the members of the cast and crew, including director Paul Verhoeven and the UCLA alumni.

After attending UCLA, Neumeier opted to go straight into the film industry, working as a production assistant and as a script reader. From there, he worked his way up to junior executive at Universal Pictures.

At one point, Neumeier found himself on the set of the movie “Sling Blade,” and it was there that he said he had a sudden rush of inspiration for the idea of “RoboCop.”

“On the set, I saw a vision of a robot cop, and it was so vivid. … Never again did I experience a wave of inspiration quite like that,” Neumeier said.

He simply entertained the idea until he met Miner, who had since established himself in the world of music video directing.

Coincidentally, Miner had also formulated a very similar concept for a movie. He called his protagonist “Super Cop,” and according to Miner, it featured an enhanced cop dealing with the debate between the rational and the metaphysical.

After three months, the two had written the first draft of what would become “RoboCop.” Miner and Neumeier said that though the two could not be any more opposite in working styles, they made a great team.

After Orion Pictures bought the screenplay and got Verhoeven to sign on as the director, the next step was selecting an actor to play RoboCop. Neumeier, who was also the film’s producer, decided with Verhoeven after a private audition that Weller was just the man to play the title character because his trim, athletic build would work well in a robotic suit.

Weller first attended the University of Northern Texas with the intent of playing jazz music. Yet he discovered his love of acting and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theater.

But according to Weller, his path to becoming an actor was by no means an easy one. He said he was often told that he had no real talent, but he was able to overcome these obstacles with hard work.

“A, you’re going to need all of the luck you can get, and B, there is nothing stronger than tenacity,” said Weller. “What you don’t think you know, you can learn, and what job you don’t think you can get, you can get. … Tenacity, in a word, is the best advice I can give.”

He also obtained his master’s degree from Syracuse’s Florence, Italy, campus. In Italy, he cultivated a passion for visual art which eventually led him to UCLA.

All three artists attended UCLA at different stages in their lives, and yet each expressed the importance that the school has held for them.

According to Neumeier, as a student he was able to watch films in the James Bridges Theater for his classes, which made a huge difference because it was such a rare resource at that time. Weller said that even at the age of 64, the friends and professors he has met at UCLA have been just as influential as any others he had as an undergraduate.

According to Samuel Prime, the director of Melnitz Movies, it is this excitement and gratitude from these men that he expects will be the first step in bolstering the film program.

“I hope bringing everyone from the cast and crew of “˜RoboCop’ can be a creative and curricular genesis. … These alumni are eager to give back by reaching out past the screen and working with students by teaching classes. They’re excited to meet the next generation of film professionals,” Prime said.