Writing
Aug 23, 1957
Edward Neumeier
Writing
Biography
Edward Neumeier (often credited as just Ed Neumeier) (born 1957) is a screenwriter best known for his work on the science fiction movies RoboCop and Starship Troopers. He wrote the latter's sequel, and most recently wrote and directed Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. Neumeier studied journalism at the University of California at Santa Cruz then attended the School of Motion Picture and Television at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). After completing his bachelor's degree at UCLA, Newmeier started work in the Hollywood film business, as a production assistant on the TV series Taxi, a proof-reader for Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures; and as a junior executive at the Universal Pictures company. Neumeier wrote his first outlines and film treatments for his first movie, RoboCop, as well as "spec" scripts. He declined an offer of a vice-presidency at Universal Pictures, to develop the screenplay for RoboCop, with Michael Miner. The rights to the screenplay were bought up by the Orion Pictures company, and was granted a budget of just under $15 million. Paul Verhoeven was assigned to make the movie. Neumeier also co-produced RoboCop, which was released in movie theaters in 1987 in North America and some other locations. This movie was a success, and it drew just over 50 million dollars' worth of ticket sales in the United States, alone. The success of RoboCop also motivated the production of two sequels, RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3, and also two TV series, one live-action and one animated. Most of the creators of RoboCop had left before the production of these sequels. The first sequel to RoboCop, RoboCop 2, was planned to have its screenplay written by Neumeier. He had written a first draft of a screenplay for RoboCop 2, when a screenwriters' strike occurred. It prevented Neumeier from writing any more of the screenplay. The Orion Pictures company next decided to hire the comic book artist Frank Miller to work on his own screenplay for RoboCop 2. A decade after the first RoboCop movie was produced, Neumeier rejoined Paul Verhoeven to work on Starship Troopers, which was adapted from the novel with the same name by Robert A. Heinlein in 1959. With violence and satire thrown into a story of efforts by the human race to insure its survival (in ways similar to RoboCop at times, Starship Troopers seemed to have been more successful in Europe, Asia, etc., than in North America where it drew gross ticket sales of about $54 million at theaters, although Artforum magazine selected this film as one of the "10 most artistic [film] achievements of 1997". Neumeier also appeared in this film in the brief role of a man convicted of murder and sentenced to immediate execution. Description above from the Wikipedia article Edward Neumeier, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Feature Films (4)
The 30-minute long featurette "Inside the Federation" mirrors the commentary, with a look at the challenges faced in the filmmaking process with such a limited budget, and how some of the visual effects were handled.
Inside the Federation
A behind-the-scenes look at director Paul Verhoeven's imaginative re-telling of Robert Heinlein's classic science fiction novel. Produced for the “Starship Troopers” DVD.
Death from Above: The Making of 'Starship Troopers'
Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."
Starship Troopers
A look behind the scenes at the making of this science fiction classic about a policeman killed in the line of duty, only to be reborn as a half-man, half-machine supercop. Includes interviews with star Peter Weller and director Paul Verhoeven, who give their views on the efforts that went into making the film.
Flesh + Steel: The Making of 'RoboCop'
Television & Series (3)
These blockbusters brought us together and gave us the time of our lives. Meet the actors, directors and industry insiders who made them happen.
The Movies That Made Us
An in-depth look into the ground breaking franchise and features new interviews with cast and crew.
RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop
The series heads to the very frontiers of space and science to produce the definitive television history of science fiction, told through its impact on cinema, television and literature, with the help of filmmakers, writers, actors, and graphic artists. Each episode will explore one of the enduring themes of science fiction: time travel; the exploration of space; robots and artificial intelligence; and aliens.