Editing RoboCop 2 (section)

=== Filming ===
''RoboCop 2'' was chiefly filmed in [[Houston]].<ref name="Westbrook">{{cite web |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1990_711337 |title='RoboCop 2' creators give city rave reviews |last=Westbrook |first=Bruce |date=1990-06-22 |work=[[Houston Chronicle]] |access-date=2011-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021011102/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1990_711337 |archive-date=2012-10-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1990_750447 |title='Gremlins' sequel better than the original film |last=Westbrook |first=Bruce |date=1990-12-14 |work=[[Houston Chronicle]] |access-date=2011-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021011109/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1990_750447 |archive-date=2012-10-21 }}</ref> Kershner mentioned that Houston was an ideal location, due to the relative calmness of [[Downtown Houston]] at night. He also claimed that they were shooting in winter, and snow and rain would be an inappropriate climate for film production. [[Jefferson Davis Hospital]] was used as the location for the Nuke manufacturing plant; it also served as the exterior of the police station.<ref name="jeffdavis">{{cite web |date=1 February 2009 |author=J.R. Gonzales |title=Old Jeff Davis Hospital gets state recognition |url=http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2009/02/old-jeff-davis-hospital-gets-state-recognition/ |website= [[Houston Chronicle]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610031600/http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2009/02/old-jeff-davis-hospital-gets-state-recognition/ |archive-date=2011-06-10 |access-date=4 May 2020 }}</ref> The finale of the film was shot in the [[Houston Theater District]], near [[Wortham Theater Center]] and [[Alley Theatre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1989_656716 |title=Hollywood in Houston? Scores flock to filming of 'Robocop 2' |last=Dyer |first=R.A. |date=1989-10-13 |work=[[Houston Chronicle]] |access-date=2011-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021011115/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1989_656716 |archive-date=2012-10-21 }}</ref> [[Cullen Center]] was depicted as the headquarters of [[RoboCop (franchise)|Omni Consumer Products]], while [[Houston City Hall]] was shown in a scene in which Mayor Kuzak speaks to the press. The [[George R. Brown Convention Center]] and the [[Bank of America Center (Houston)|Bank of America Center]] were also included in the film. Additional footage was filmed at the decommissioned Hiram Clarke Power Plant.

With Kershner's first few weeks spent storyboarding the visual effects during pre-production, the first month on ''RoboCop 2'' was night shooting, and [[Vistavision]]-camera background [[Motion control photography|plate]]s for [[Phil Tippett]]'s animated [[special effects]] of the final battle scenes.{{Sfn|Johnson|1990b|p=47}}{{Sfn|Persons|1990|p=16}} A week spent filming a major sequence at an abandoned steel mill established how Kershner would direct the film's other scenes in terms of acting, lighting and camera movements.{{Sfn|Johnson|1990b|p=47}}

The [[second unit]] was directed by [[Conrad Palmisano]] and mostly shot in [[Los Angeles]],{{Sfn|Johnson|1990b|p=48}} although a stunt sequence by the unit was reported to be filmed near the entrance of the [[Wortham Theater Center]].{{Sfn|Persons|1990|p=16}} It got so busy it was unable to produce all the shots Kershner wanted; this meant the director had to film with the unit for a few weeks.{{Sfn|Johnson|1990b|p=48}}

A magazine article published at the time of filming described the environment on set as "hell on earth", with the cast and crew rebelling against Kershner's "obsessive finickyness" and "costly reshoots."{{Sfn|Counts|1990|p=46}} However, this was debunked by Weller who said: "Kersh didn't delay anything, he's very, very instinctive - he had his mind made up, usually ahead of time."<ref name="ReferenceA">Cinefantastique Vol 21 No 1 (July 1990)</ref> Kershner said: "I didn't shoot a lot of film at all. You see, if I'd tried to do a lot of coverage, I would never have finished. I would have been 120 days. I had to pretty much lock it in, piece by piece by piece, giving myself an out here and there, a variation, so I wasn't totally locked in. That way, I could finish. If I didn't do that, this would have gone on forever. I never would have gotten each day's work done."<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Although, at the time, Allen praised Kershner for his creativeness and attention to detail,{{Sfn|Johnson|1990a|p=47}} she later criticized the director as antagonistic, and ruining the humor and "heart" of the screenplay.<ref>{{cite web |date=2016 |last=Rowlands |first=Paul |url=http://www.money-into-light.com/2016/11/an-interview-with-nancy-allen-part-2-of.html |title=AN INTERVIEW WITH NANCY ALLEN (PART 2 OF 2) |publisher=Money Into Light |access-date=2020-02-27 |archive-date=February 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227223452/http://www.money-into-light.com/2016/11/an-interview-with-nancy-allen-part-2-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/exclusive-robocops-nancy-allen-originals-epic-cast-chemistry-new-reboot-and-verhoeven-vs |title=EXCLUSIVE: RoboCop's Nancy Allen on the original's epic cast chemistry, the remake, and Verhoeven vs. Kershner |publisher=Syfy.com |date=2014-02-14 |access-date=2020-02-27 |archive-date=June 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624230431/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/exclusive-robocops-nancy-allen-originals-epic-cast-chemistry-new-reboot-and-verhoeven-vs |url-status=dead }}</ref> Peter Weller was also critical of the script: "''RoboCop 2'' didn't have a third act. I told the producers and Irv Kershner up front, and Frank Miller. I told them all. I said, 'Where's the third act here, man? So I beat up a big monster. In the third act, you have to have your Dan O'Herlihy. Somebody's got to be the third act.' 'No, no, the monster's going to be enough.' 'Look, it's not enough!'" Despite the script problem, he enjoyed working on the movie with Kershner: "I had a good time making ''RoboCop 2'' but the script did not have the code, the spine, or the soul of the first one."<ref>{{cite web |date=2013-09-13 |author=Will Harris |url=https://www.avclub.com/peter-weller-on-feminism-sequels-and-more-1798240700 |title=Peter Weller on feminism, sequels, and more |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=2020-02-27 |archive-date=December 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206170007/https://film.avclub.com/peter-weller-on-feminism-sequels-and-more-1798240700 |url-status=live }}</ref> Noonan also claimed to be "relaxed" and enjoying himself on set, where "everyone was incredibly nice," and found Kershner able to adapt with many location and script changes during shooting.{{Sfn|Counts|1990|p=46}}