Exclusive: Neill Blomkamp Talks Politics Of 'Elysium,' "Nightmare" Of 'Halo' & Teases More 'AGM Heartland' On The Way

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by Kevin Jagernauth
July 14, 2012 2:57 PM
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However, with the film largely being kept under wraps, boasting a much higher price tag than "District 9," and with expectations raised on the back of that film's incredible reception which included four Oscar nominations, you might think that Blomkamp would feel more pressure this time out. But instead, he's smartly given himself enough latitude that the experience is not all that different from his first time out. "It is surprisingly more similar to 'District 9' than I had anticipated. Everything just scales up linearly, in terms of filmmaking. In terms of pressure, it's the same as 'District 9,' there's no more pressure," Blomkamp said. "I've created a good situation with the way the autonomy I have to make the film is conducive to creativity and I think is a less stressful environment than a film like 'Spider-Man' or a film where there's a real amount of scrutiny happening on it to make sure that it makes the money it needs to make. Luckily, I've set it up in a way that it isn't necessarily exactly like that. And Sony has been really quite cool about the film trying to stay true to what it's about, and to not dilute it or water it down. They've been pretty awesome about that."

With the presentation at Hall H wrapped up and the film not hitting theaters until next year, we continue to wait to see more from "Elysium," but Blomkamp may have a little surprise for fans up his sleeve. Folks may remember that in the fall of 2010, a mysterious video he directed appeared in an iPad issue of Wired titled "AGM Heartland." Nothing has been heard about it since, but Blomkamp said it's "a weird, strange science fiction comedy" shot on an iPhone, and that there may be more on the way: "That has nothing to do with 'Elysium.' That's another project that may very well see the light of day soon, that is absolutely hilarious. Hilarious. I love that project. I may release another video of that pretty soon actually." Keep your eyes peeled.

"Elyisum" opens on March 1, 2013.

--Interview by Jeff Otto

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More: Neill Blomkamp, Halo, Elysium, AGM Heartland, Comic-Con

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loudrockmusic | July 15, 2012 4:56 AMReply

I like how he's taken white people's fondness for colonizing stuff that's not theirs and transferred it into space. I'll bet no people of color reside on Elyisum.