Let me just get this out of the way at the top: the 30th Anniversary screening of RoboCop, presented by the Alamo Drafthouse and SyFy, was the best movie experience I have ever had.
Dallas doesn’t have many claims to fame in movies and pop culture. Sure, we have Logan’s Run, Who Shot J.R.?, Oliver Stone’s conspiracy-laden JFK, and Office Space. And then smaller budget classics like Primer and Bottle Rocket (which has an awesome screening of its own happening soon) round out nearly the entirety of the list.
But RoboCop, especially for a film nerd growing up in Dallas, was always something special. The city (“Old Detroit”) was a major character in the movie, having to play both futuristic and decrepit in the same landscape shots. But Dallas in the 80’s played it well.
And, for me (and for many Dallas film nerds), it was always a point of pride: “RoboCop was shot in my city. In my hometown.”
When this 30th Anniversary celebration was first announced, Jason and I didn’t even have to think for a second about going. A screening of RoboCop in front of OCP headquarters? It was automatic. And then when Peter Weller, RoboCop himself, was announced as a special guest, it became one of the most-anticipated days on our movie calendar.
Our day started at 5:00. As we pulled up to the Alamo Drafthouse, I don’t know why, but I felt nervous. We had been hyping up the event between ourselves: buying our t-shirts, planning our prints and comics that we hoped we could get signed. There were a lot of opportunities where we could get disappointed. But as we walked upstairs to the Vetted Well bar, immediately surrounded by fellow Robo-dorks, all nerves suddenly subsided. Everyone was here for the same reason: to celebrate one of the best science fiction movies ever. The energy was incredible.
We checked in and were quickly ushered to the front of the theatre where we boarded a trolley (you read that right) to take us across Downtown Dallas in a quick, but well-planned, tour of the different filming locations.
James Wallace, programming director for the Alamo Drafthouse DFW, did a great job getting us all excited, spouting off facts and quotes as we passed by alleys where creeps got their dicks shot off, clubs where Ray Wise gets his hair pulled and Shell stations where gas attendants taught themselves geometry.
The tour ended and we headed back to the Drafthouse so that the real fun could begin. We waited in line nervously on the patio of Vetted Well for our turn to meet Alex Murphy himself, Dr. Peter Weller.
It was nerve-wracking … what do you even say to Buckaroo Banzai? “I liked your voice acting in the animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns?” (Or even, “Star Trek Into Darkness was actually pretty good?”) Luckily we both had enough time in line where we were both able to collect ourselves enough to not make fools of ourselves.
Dr. Weller was patient and kind to each fan, taking his time to answer questions, admire the items brought to be signed and to really make it personal for each Robo-nerd. Jason and I fumbled through our portfolio, shook the man’s hand, and thanked him for being such an iconic part of both of our lives.
And, as an added treat, Diane Robin, who played one of the, well, “bitches, leave” … bitches was signing autographs and meeting fans as well. (We’ll have an interview with her posted in the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled.)
The sun began setting and we headed back over to Dallas City Hall, which had been lit up for the night to play the part of OCP Headquarters again. Special cocktails, customized pint glasses and an “authentic” Detroit Police Department cop car all contributed to the atmosphere. (As Peter Weller later recounted: “It was a piece of shit car then and it is a piece of shit car now.”)
To cap off the day, SyFy’s Aaron Sagars moderated an incredible panel with Peter Weller (who pulled up to the stage in that same blaring, flashing cop car) where, for one last time, he went through his thought process and training regiment for the filming of the movie. A Texas native (and UNT graduate), Weller was very jovial and talkative, especially about a movie that he infamously hates talking about (by his own recollection, he “hadn’t talked about it publicly in five years.”)
But fondly remembered filming in Dallas, where he had friends and family living at the time, eating Mexican food and “listening to Peter Gabriel’s Red Rain and blasting the shit out of it to get jacked for the movie.” He had been training for the New York Marathon during the time of filming, running the streets of Dallas, letting it all soak in, becoming a part of his portrayal.
And then the lights went down and the movie began; every shot of Dallas getting a hearty round of applause, every iconic line said or shouted with a smile by the fans around us. The screening was an incredible, tangible example that Dallas is proud of its history and place in pop culture. And I am so glad I got to be a part of it.
Thank you for your cooperation.
