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Joined: 17 Nov 2001
Post Count: 6533
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:40 pm |
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The Fate of Catzo - A RoboCop2 Mystery
If you like good mysteries, RoboCop2 is full of them. Maybe not to the casual viewer but to fans there's plenty to discuss, research and speculate on when it comes to this problematic sequel.
The perhaps biggest mystery is that of the missing villain Catzo, or the Elvis guy as he is know to fans, who suddenly disappears and never get a proper exit or death. It's not hard to come to the conclusion that his death was simply cut from the finished film, there ARE a lot of scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor, but what happened to him? Are there clues to his demise in the script or other media? Let's have a look.
The fourth draft of RoboCop2, dated August 8, 1989, has Catzo dying at the Nuke factory raid. Let's examine the entry in the script:
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INT. LAB NIGHT
Gunfire has stopped. For a moment. COPS wait, GUNS ready.
Behind LAB EQUIPMENT, CATZO and GILLETTE circle. CLANKING
FOOTSTEPS. They freeze.
ROBO stands at the doorway.
ROBO
Come and get it, scum.
GILLETTE fires a burst from his ASSAULT RIFLE and CHARGES,
ripping the pin from a GRENADE with his teeth.
ROBO holds his ground, waiting--then FIRES a BURST--
--the GRENADE EXPLODES, still in Gillette's HAND. It takes
Gillette's arm away.
IN A SERIES OF SHOTS
A WIRE NOOSE whips through the air to ROBO's NECK.
CATZO yanks the wire
ROBO clatters to the floor, clutching at his neck. Sparks erupt
from his neck as the wire bites in.
ROBO rises to one knee, teeth gritted, and yanks the wire.
CATZO crashes across LAB EQUIPMENT and takes a bath in NUKE.
ROBO walks past CATZO, watching as--
CATZO wallows in NUKE, smiling ecstatically. BLOOD streams from
his MOUTH, his NOSE, his ears.
CATZO
Thanks... it's great...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
A grizzly death for Catzo. And here we of course also get to read the death of another missing Cain villain named "Gillette" who also mysteriously disappears from the movie. It seems like a plausible scene to have appeared in the movie and if we take a look at the RoboCop2: Arcade game there is a screen that very much duplicates this scene from the script.
Can't get much clearer than that can it? But let's take a look at the comic adaptation of RoboCop2 just to be absolutely sure. This comic is a great source for fans to, while not all, get to know many scenes that was cut from the movie. Perhaps Catzo's death can be find within the pages of the comic version?
Unfortunately, at first, it looks like a disappointment. It is not overly clear if Catzo as a character is even in the comic, and nothing resembling the death from the script can be found. But then comes a scene that sticks out.
The villain Lewis fights doesn't look anything like Catzo, but the scene stands out. Seems likely that it is one of the main bad guys from the movie, but who? It could as easily be the other missing villain Gillette.
Let's go to the novel adaptation of RoboCop2 next.
TO BE CONTINUED
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Rick CH-L4
Joined: 10 Jan 2002
Post Count: 3728
Comment: I'm The No. 2 Guy Around Here
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:33 pm |
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Great article. From memory when I read the novelization by Ed Naha it does deal with Catzo's demise and it also involves taking a bath in Nuke, but I don't think it happens like in the script as mentioned in your post. At least, I don't think it does...! _________________
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Maxlee C-L1
Joined: 18 Nov 2011
Post Count: 1082
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:41 pm |
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Funny. As you may or may not know, I have about 172 problems with RoboCop 2, but Catzo simply vanishing after the shootout is not one of them. Even though he's probably the 4th most important gang member after Cain, Angie and Hob, he always felt very expendable to me. He's "just there" and I only kinda remember him for his somewhat joyful demeanor whacking Duffy on the head and "I'm tired...".
I heard about the "drowning in Nuke" script before and always thought it was a fitting end. I can imagine how it would play out, with Catzo looking bloodied and stoned as hell slowly sinking away in a bath of Nuke.
As the movie is, it's kinda hard to explain why the film makers allowed him to dissapear, not even Lewis or some no-name cop just shooting him in the head and be done with it, a 3 second scene.
The guy behind Catzo is known as "Asian guy" is he not? He's the guy that basically cuts RoboCop straight in halve with the circular chainsaw and he dissapears too right? He must be Gilette, that fits him very well.
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Archive .
Joined: 17 Nov 2001
Post Count: 6533
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:50 pm |
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Maxlee : | As the movie is, it's kinda hard to explain why the film makers allowed him to dissapear, not even Lewis or some no-name cop just shooting him in the head and be done with it, a 3 second scene. |
Like most I hadn't a problem with it, or noticed it, the first time I watched Robo2. It's one of those characters that you think about upon repeated views and as a Robo fan. As you said, it's a strange thing to not include especially since Robo shoots several anonymous bad guys in the nuke factory raid. The guy with the sniper rifle for example could easily have been either Catzo or Gillette.
I suspect the cut was made late in the production, and to cut down the length of the movie that scene seemed less important which is probably true.
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Maxlee C-L1
Joined: 18 Nov 2011
Post Count: 1082
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:57 pm |
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That's why I have the feeling they either wanted to film "Catzo drowning in Nuke" or had some sort of scene set up for it (stuntman ready to take the plunge in the Nuke bath?) but decided it was either too much work (for a minor character) or was abandoned in post-production.
I also have a gut feeling they did film Lewis battling Catzo/Gillete/Gangmember with knives, but, as per the "Irvin Kershner hated Nancy Allen" rumors, those scenes were cut as well.
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HOB888 O-L5
Joined: 17 May 2012
Post Count: 141
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:43 am |
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I guess his death wasn't filmed due to time or budget, or worse, filmed but ultimately cut and lost.
It's important that some small characters are immediately recognizable. _________________ http://robocop2directive5.blogspot.fr/
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RoboPimp PIMPY SUPREME
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Post Count: 3124
Comment: "You dead wrong if ya think that pimpin' gon' die" - Snoop Dogg, P.I.M.P. (Remix)
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 4:29 am |
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Great article, and some food for thought. While it certainly does appear he was intended to die in a vat of Nuke, let's consider a theoretical alternative. What if he got out of Detroit before Cain's empire completely crumbled? He was clearly a higher level goon so he should have had access to cash and, more importantly, the formula for Nuke. My guess would be that he ditched town and settled somewhere safer, basically any city that doesn't have Robocop in it. From there he could have established his own Nuke empire. The quality might not have been as good, maybe he was only capable of replicating one flavor or made his own, lower quality version. It would still be highly addictive, and if he had the right connections, enough to establish a little crime empire of his own. Obviously there is nothing in the movie, script, or adaptions to support this, but it's more interesting than just assuming he got killed off screen.
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artuditu mio Cid
Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Post Count: 1446
Comment: Stay out of trouble!
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 6:46 am |
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Another scenario could be the nuke bath was filmed and for whatever reason did not look good and that is why it would be left out in the editing room. It is not always because of length or budget that scenes are cut out, sometimes they just look bad in the screen (special effects, acting or just bad writing or ideas become obvious when filmed).
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Stan The Man Bah Concepts Division
Joined: 05 Jun 2003
Post Count: 7020
Comment: I'm the guy in Old Archive.
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 7:33 am |
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I actually noticed almost right away that he disappeared. That we never got a definitive showing of what happened was one of R2's flaws for me, though admittedly a more minor one - Catzo is someone we notice in the film so for him to just vanish was a bit irksome. But ultimately I just shrugged it off accepting he got killed off-screen. No biggie. Only later did I find out about the 'Nuke bath' death, which sounds gruesome indeed and at least gave something of an explanation, even if not in the final film. Would have been cool to see but to be fair, it really isn't absolutely necessary. All-told, as said there's any number of reasons his death sequence, if even done at all, could have been left out of the final product.
That having been said, this is quite neat, Archive, and it will be good to get some more info on this admittedly more minor yet notable aspect of the film. Looking forward to it. _________________ I don't wanna pay that, PhotoBucket. Now maybe you haven't heard, but I'm the guy in old Archive. So hows about you just shit snow for a year and I'll figure out something else. Sayonara!
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RoboFan_93 Would Buy You For a Dollar
Joined: 17 Aug 2007
Post Count: 4165
Comment: Scumbags see the judge on Monday morning
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 7:58 am |
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I've always thought the scene in the arcade game was kind of funny. Never knew it actually originated from an earlier draft of the script. I'd thought that he either got axed somewhere during the factory raid or that he too got one of those trucks, escaped and laid low. But frankly, I never gave it much thought either.
That Elvis shrine and the picture of Mother Teresa are the things that have me curious to this day...
Great read, looking forward to Part 2. _________________ Anything you post can be used against you!
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HOB888 O-L5
Joined: 17 May 2012
Post Count: 141
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 2:16 pm |
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RoboFan_93 : | I've always thought the scene in the arcade game was kind of funny. Never knew it actually originated from an earlier draft of the script. I'd thought that he either got axed somewhere during the factory raid or that he too got one of those trucks, escaped and laid low. But frankly, I never gave it much thought either.
That Elvis shrine and the picture of Mother Teresa are the things that have me curious to this day...
Great read, looking forward to Part 2. |
Cain was very mystical and religious in the early drafts, he couldn't bear the fact that Murphy was immortal and not him.
The crystal stone was used during a meditation.
The Elvis shrine could be part of Catzo's collection, after all they're utterly rich.
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KidGoesWild L-L3
Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Post Count: 663
Comment: I type it, you think it
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 2:33 am |
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I always assumed back in the days he was simply killed in the police raid. I think the way it is in the movie is better, him turning into mutant or overdosing on nuke wouldve been too cartoonish I think, not in a way that would fit the movie. The movie itself is an extremely bizzarre macabre cartoon, but thats just not in the same I line I would think.
_____________________________
http://robocopmovies.blogspot.com/
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JohnBoyAdvance Sgt-L1
Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Post Count: 188
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 11:30 pm |
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I wondered what happened to Elvis Guy and Shang Tsung guy ages ago and I kinda prefer the whole they thought screw Detroit lets make our own drugs cartel with blackjack and hookers.
I mean hell, by the sounds of the news report in the beginning, Nuke was nationwide and just centred in Detroit.
The Nuke bath death does sound like a retread of Emil's death from Robocop as well.
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chaos one O-L3
Joined: 05 Feb 2007
Post Count: 93
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 6:39 pm |
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i really wish they did flesh out more of the gang members.
That and I wanted a lot more Angie on screen, she was kinda wasted :\
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