By Barbara Chai
- Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
- ‘Elysium’ writer-director Neill Blomkamp.
In 2009, writer-director Neill Blomkamp stormed the Hollywood scene with “District 9,” his alien thriller set in South Africa that took viewers and critics by surprise.
Until then, Blomkamp had only made short films, including a series set in the “Halo” universe which caught the attention of Peter Jackson and led to a planned “Halo” feature. That film fell through, but Jackson ended up producing a feature about extraterrestrial activity in Johannesburg based on another of Blomkamp’s shorts.
That film, “District 9,” co-written with Terri Tatchell, cost $34 million to make and melded computer graphics with Blomkamp’s cinema verité style. It earned $216 million world-wide and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Since then, Blomkamp, 33, has attracted a strong following of fans who eagerly awaithis new sci-fi film, “Elysium,” which will be released Aug. 9 by Sony 6758.TO +1.40%TriStar Pictures and Media Rights Capital.
“Elysium” is set in the year 2154 and is about a world divided by wealth – the majority of inhabitants suffer on a decrepit Earth, while the privileged few ascend to Elysium, an orbiting space station where there’s no such thing as war, poverty or sickness.
The director talked with the Journal about the making of “Elysium,” why he chose to incorporate themes such as class and immigration, and his filmmaking career. Below is the first of three parts.
“District 9″ took Hollywood by surprise and now you have a legion of fans eager for your next film. Did you feel any pressure while making “Elysium” to have it live up to the first success?
The concept of even having fans is still kind of weird to me. I really just feel like a filmmaker that is only just finding my foot in and is beginning to participate in Hollywood and making films. So the idea of any kind of fandom or people that are waiting for something that I may release is very distant in my mind. It almost doesn’t even factor in. So I didn’t really feel any pressure in regards to pleasing people that liked “District 9″ and will they or will they not like “Elysium”? My mind just doesn’t really work that way, currently. It became more about, does “Elysium” live or die by its own merits? Am I making a film that, if I was an audience member sitting down in a theater seat, would be a film that I would want to see? I mean, for me, the answer is yes, absolutely. That’s how I went about making it.
- Kimberley French
- Matt Damon in ‘Elysium,’ written and directed by Neill Blomkamp.
What is it like to go from a $34 million budget for “District 9” to a $115 million budget for “Elysium”?
Weirdly, it actually didn’t feel that different for me. The process felt incredibly similar. You can make films in Hollywood where they have like a $200 million budget and everything is cushioned like crazy. You have this 20% buffer in every department and it feels like you’re just burning money and everybody’s very relaxed and you kind of take your time and just work slowly on things. Or there’s the approach like “Elysium” which is, even though it cost $100 million, it should look like a $200 million film. It should be punching significantly above its weight. The same way “District 9″ looked more than it cost $30 million. They both operate by the same principle. When you’re doing that, there’s no comfort in having $100 million. The budget feels as tight and it feels as stringent as “District 9″ did. The crew feels like they’re maxed out, everybody’s pushing as hard as they can. So, to me it felt exactly the same as “District 9.” It just felt three times bigger. But the cool thing is, when you’re doing it that way, it leads to some interesting films that I think don’t happen if you have all of the comfort and luxury in the world.
Did you feel pressure on the business side of things?
The only pressure I felt, which is totally separate from fans or living up to “District 9,” is I feel a financial obligation of the film, having to live up to and make its money back. I want to make a film that is commercially successful because that means that the larger cinema-going audience around the world like the movie, which is my goal. That’s my job, to make films that people respond to. If financially it does well, I get to make more films, and if it doesn’t do well financially, it starts to become more difficult for me to get other films made. So, that pressure of just the size of the film does occasionally enter your mind. But that’s the only pressure I felt. There’s no artistic pressure.
“Elysium” has well-known actors Jodie Foster and Matt Damon, whereas on “District 9” you worked with a largely unknown cast. Was there a noticeable difference?
I expected it to be very different, and it actually wasn’t. It was more pleasurable and easier than I was expecting, and than “District 9.” Because they’re so experienced and they’re so talented and know what you’re looking for that it makes the process very easy. I kept saying that my job was being made easier. If anything, it actually alleviates pressure.
Do you ever envision making a film that’s not sci-fi?
Yeah, totally. But what I do not envision is ever making a film that doesn’t have any kind of fantasy element to it. I’m just not interested in straight-ahead drama, or a straight-ahead action film. The only genre of movie that I could see making that doesn’t have anything magical or otherworldly about it would be a war film. I’m very interested in history and a war film could be something that would lure me in. But other than that, if there aren’t other worlds to go to, or other weird things to experience, I’m just not really interested in making it. Sci-fi is just one of many places. You could have fantasy. You could go forwards or backwards in time. I’m really interested in different forms of horror. But it has to have that element. To me, that’s what cinema is. Cinema isn’t a bunch of people talking at a dinner party — I’m just not interested in that.
Check back in for Parts 2 and 3 of the interview with “Elysium” writer-director Neill Blomkamp. Follow @barbarachai
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