RoboCop has thrived in pop culture for 30 years. If you look on the surface, at the basic plot, there is no real reason for such a legacy: good man becomes robot, robot kills bad men. But propelling that plot are the characters that surround Alex Murphy, weaving a tapestry of the well-built-out world of Old Detroit / Dallas.
Not long ago, we had the pleasure of meeting one of these characters. We’ve gone into some detail already about our night celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the movie, where we mention introducing ourselves to Diane Robin, who played Chandra in RoboCop.
But here she has been kind enough to sit down for a separate interview with Super Kaiju, where she ran through her varied film history with us. From Adventures in Babysitting to The Fisher King to (yes) RoboCop, Ms. Robin has been a constant presence in some of the most-beloved films in pop culture. We can’t believe how great she’s been to talk to and get to know. So, without further ado: the Super Kaiju interview with Diane Robin.
This interview has been transcribed and edited for clarity and grammar (mostly Jason’s).
Super Kaiju: First off, we had a blast at the 30th Anniversary screening of RoboCop! It was so neat seeing some of the filming locations and having the chance to meet you. Thanks for taking the time to have a quick chat.
How was your experience at the RoboCop screening and fan meet-and-greet?
Diane Robin: It was was amazing! I hadn’t been to such a huge Robocop event before,so I didn’t know quite what to expect. I heard Peter (Weller) speak at the 25th Anniversary reunion,he’s incredible.Dr.Weller is so eloquent, funny, and brilliant …. I could just sit there and listen to him talk all night.
But the thing that blew me away the most was the fans. I had no idea there were so many people who loved RoboCop and everyone I talked to had seen it multiple times. One fan said they had watched it 100 times. I was just so touched by how sweet, sincere and enthusiastic they were about the film after all these years.
SK: RoboCop came out in 1987 and it still hold up as a film that is super enjoyable. The themes are still super relevant.
DR: I don’t know where you got that it came out in ’87 … I’m only 25! I’m doing the math and that’s just impossible. [laughs] But yeah, the themes are relevant and universal. The fact they tried to take away his humanity ,but no matter what they did to him, they couldn’t. I think that resonates with everyone, and that we can in a sense be reborn at any stage of our lives.
What really amazes me about the film is the average age of people at the theater is under 30. The film has a whole new generation of people who love it. It really is a classic that stands the test of time. I had one guy tell me, “My dad had a crush on you and then I had a crush on you.” It’s a little bizarre it’s multigenerational. A little bizarre and a little sweet. [laughs]
But I enjoyed the (30th Anniversary) screening because people knew every line and so loved the film, and were excited to be watching it. It was fantastic. Five years ago, we did a reunion at UCLA and I brought my daughter Devon Johnson, who was 15 at the time and had never seen the film. After my scene I asked her what she thought and she says, “Well, it’s not everyday you get to see someone snort coke off your Mother’s boobs.” [laughs]
But now she is off to college in Norway and her friends watch the film and I am just so shocked how this film has gotten around. All over the world people know and love RoboCop.
SK: How was your time working on that film and being directed by Paul Verhoeven?
DR: I adore Paul Verhoeven. He was so energetic and exciting on the set and you could tell that he just loved doing this. There was nothing blasé about him or a “let’s just get this shot out of the way” attitude. He was like a kid in a candy store … he was so happy doing it.
We shot in Dallas, at night … and I should make a note that it is never a good idea to wear green leather: it looks good on film but it’s like being inside a hot cow. [laughs]
So we we’re filming and I have no idea what we were snorting. Someone said maybe it was baby laxative, and people always ask me, “Was the coke real?” And I say, “The coke was fake ,my boobs are real.”
But whatever it was, we’re snorting it ,and feeling a little high, because it was all night long,and was just a fun atmosphere. At one point Paul Verhoeven came up to me and said, “I’m thinking maybe it would be good if you and the other girl start to kiss.” And I said “I’m thinking maybe … no.” and he goes “No?”
I said, “My boyfriend is going to kill me if I tell him some guy is snorting coke off my boobs and if I start making out with someone else … it’s gonna be the end of us.”
And Paul said, “Okay,you don’t have to.”
Three months later, the guy and I broke up and I was thinking to myself, “Why didn’t I make out with her? She was gorgeous.” It was a very, very fun scene.
SK: Do you have any stories about working so closely with Miguel Ferrer (of Twin Peaks fame)? His role is so great and you both played so well off of each other.
DR: The night before I came into town, I got a message from Miguel, who wanted to meet me and go out to dinner, which was so nice of him. He said, “Our scene is a little intimate so let’s just get to know each other before we shoot.He was charming, and down to earth, and we’re having dinner and he asked, “What do you do besides act?”
I told him, “I love to sing and dance” and he nonchalantly says, “Oh, my mother loves to sing, too.” I said “oh that’s so sweet.” I didn’t know his mother was Rosemary Clooney … one of the greatest singers of our time! He couldn’t have been nicer and everyone adored him. His death was such an enormous loss.
A few months ago, Peter Weller and wonderful writer Ed Neumeier (RoboCop, Starship Troopers) did a tribute for him at the Egyptian Theater. The place was packed and you could feel how loved he was.
SK: How did you get your start in acting?
DR: When I was first starting out, I had a manager tell me, “Just sneak onto the Universal lot, get into a casting director’s room and give them your picture and resume.” So I did. I got into a casting director’s office, handed her my resume and thought, “God, it is so easy to break into show business.” [laughs]
And then, of course, a security guard grabbed my arm and literally dragged me off the lot. As I’m getting my car, I saw a guy and said, “Do you want to hear what just happened to me?”
So I tell him the story and he goes, “Do you have an agent?” I said, “Clearly, no” and he responds, “Well, I’ve never met anyone like you. I want to represent you.” And, three months later I was on a series. Funny how things work out.
SK: Your IMDB page is impressive and very long. You have been in The Fisher King, Wilfred, Santa with Muscles ... what are some of your highlights throughout your career?
DR: [laughs] Yes, I’ve had a varied career to say the least. I’m just so happy being on sets. I don’t care if it’s a drama, comedy, or a big-budget, I just enjoy working. And when you are there everyone has the same goal to make something the best it can be … it’s sort of like its own magical world.
A few years ago I did an independent movie called Dating Daisy and I got to play one of my favorite parts, a very strong willed(but lovable) mother.My Mother Marlene Robin passed away a few years ago, and she was my heart. I always wanted to do something to honor her, she was such a vivacious,funny lady ,a real force of nature.
When I auditioned for it, I just had toe surgery and I told my manager, “Oh no, what am I going to do … my toes are all bandaged up!” He goes, “Well ,they aren’t looking at your toes.”
“But what if they do?” and he says, “Tell them you had a toe job.”
o I go into the audition and at one point in the script the character literally gets down on her hands and knees, begging her son not to marry this girl. So I get down and I think, Oh my God I can’t get up. Because if I had gotten up, I would have dug my toes into the floor, the bandages were going to come off and blood was going to go flying in the director’s face and I was definitely not going to get the part.
So I looked at the guy who is auditioning for my husband ,and I sort of just slugged him. I said, “Don’t just stand there, help me up!” The second I did that, the director told me later “You had the part, no one else was going to be coming in here hitting people with bloody toes.”
So it’s odd how you end up getting things.
SK: The Relic is a stand-out on this list. Does anything stick out on being in such a fun movie?
DR: Well, I had worked with Peter Hyams before on a movie called Sudden Death. And I adore Peter, I just think he’s fantastic.
So when I got The Relic, I didn’t have a script but I was told I am going to be the Mayor’s wife and it’s going to be shot in Chicago. I get there and on the first night, I’m in this gorgeous dress and I am coming out of a limousine and walking into the history museum and said, “Oh my God this is going to be so fantastic”. The director looks at me and replies, “Just wait.”
So the next night we are in a basement and I’m all fixed up and they say, “OK, hose her down.” And I’m like, “What are you talking about?” and they go, “Oh, you are going to be wet the entire film, the sprinklers go off in the museum and you’ll be drenched for three months.”
And I go, “No, no, no. I know the director. I’ve worked with the him before,I need to straighten this out!So I go up to him and say, “Peter, are you kidding me? They want to hose me down.” He replied, “Do you want me to do it or do you want them to do it? Because, either way, you are going to be wet for the next 3 months.”
The first month I was in Chicago, freezing, and when we got back to LA they built a duplicate set on the Paramount lot and they gave us all wet suits. A wet suit under an evening dress isn’t the best fit but I just thought it was funny that I had no idea until I got there what the movie was really about.
We never even actually saw that incredible monster that Stan Winston made the first month. We were there screaming and crying and running from something we couldn’t even see. But being in those filthy sewers it in the middle of the night … I was so freaked out. And then we did finally see the monster … I thought it was incredible what Stan Winston created.
SK: Well it sounds like I am going to need to watch The Relic again.
DR: All you are going to see me do is scream and cry. Which is what I did for months.
I’m glad that you mentioned Santa with Muscles one of Mila Kunis’ first films, she was and is such a beauty. Hulk Hogan was such a sweet heart and I was this character called Doctor Watt and I’m supposed to be terrorizing him. He looks at me and goes, “I could just pick you up and just fling you around like a little Barbie doll.”And I said “Please don’t .”
You just never know what is going to happen on a set … what’s going to be kept in or what’s going to be left out.
And I loved The Fisher King. I thought that it was such a fantastic movie. Richard LaGravenese wrote the most beautiful script,and Robin Williams was spectacular. I was very good friends with the producer, Debra Hill she was an incredible lady, and created the Halloween franchise.
I honestly can not think of a bad time I have had on a set. As I said, everyone is there with the same goal and everyone is so happy to be there. It such a lucky thing to get to do and I don’t know why anyone would ever complain about it.
SK: Do you have any upcoming projects that you can or want to talk about?
DR: I have two upcoming projects but I’m not allowed to talk about them yet. It’s so weird because in the old days you could talk about everything and now, until they do the publicity, we are not allowed to talk about anything.
But one thing I can talk about that is coming out soon is RoboDoc, directed by Chris Griffiths who is so brilliant ,and awesome to work with. I think it comes out later this year. I saw the trailer for it and it looks fantastic. There are incredible interviews with Paul Verhoeven,and so many of the cast and crew. It was so much fun. I think that anyone that who loved RoboCop will love the documentary.
Again, we want to thank Diane Robin for being such a pleasure to interview. We can’t wait to see what these secret projects she has coming up are and are going to definitely be watching The Relic again this weekend. “Bitches leave.”
