District 9 Preview

By: Tim McGovern

Monday August 10, 2009

In theaters August 14th

Peter Jackson’s animated mind has re-invented cinema and has been a clockwork in its ability to re-imagine worlds with indefatigable industry. From the dream-like realm of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, to the jaw-dropping spectacle of King Kong, the Oscar-winning Jackson has been at the fulcrum of Hollywood’s elite. So after orcs, trolls, elves, and a 40-foot tall gorilla, what is there left for Jackson to bring to the silver screen? Aliens, of course, in the anticipated District 9, which is scheduled to invade theaters August 14th—TriStar Pictures will be distributing the film. Jackson, who decided to produce the film, rather than direct, has vacated his director’s chair to South African born director Neill Blomkamp.

The film is set in Johannesburg, South Africa—South Africa is known for its brutal confrontations between the majority African population and the minority white colonists, as well as its racist history of apartheid—where aliens arrived 28 years prior to the beginning of the film in the form of refugees from their home world. Their presence known, the aliens are forced to reside in South Africa’s District 9, while the leaders of the world contemplate what actions to take toward their extraterrestrial visitors. Control of the aliens’ well-being is eventually placed in the hands of Multi-National United (MNU). The company has vested interest in finding a way to make the aliens’ advanced weaponry work; but MNU cannot use the aliens’ weapons without a key component: alien DNA. While re-locating the aliens to a different camp, a MNU employee becomes infected with an alien virus that effectively alters his DNA. The infected human becomes the missing link in being capable of unlocking the secrets of the alien weaponry. Hunted relentlessly, the infected human seeks solace in the most unlikely of places: District 9.

The film stars Sharlto Copley, who plays the MNU employee who becomes infected with the alien virus—Wikus van der Merwe. Relatively new to acting, Copley is a producer, director, and writer, as well. His writing credits include a pair of short films: 2001: A Space Oddity—a comedy about a space shuttle crashing in Cape Town—and Hellweek, a spoof on digital artist training in Africa. Copley is a childhood friend of Blomkamp’s and a frequent collaborator with the director.

“A small amount of power goes a long way with Wikus,” said Copley, of his character. “He’s an ordinary guy who likes to wield power in a bureaucratic way.”

Jackson described Wikus’s situation more bluntly: “Wikus has a very bad day,” he said.

Other actors include David James, who plays Koobus, the MNU’s chief enforcer, ordered to capture Wikus.

“Koobus is the dark side of the MNU … Everyone at MNU knows that Koobus is not someone you mess with,” James said, adding that he thought Blomkamp liked the psychopathic edge he brought to the character of Koobus. “He can lie so convincingly to everyone around him—he’s operating with his own agenda,” James said.

South African actor Jason Cope plays the non-human Christopher Johnson, though Cope said his roles in the film were hardly limited to one.

“Actually, I play about 10 different characters,” Cope said. “It was quite a thing to wake up and say, ‘Which creature will I be today?’”

Cope said of his role that he was not trying to act like an animal or insect, but that his goal was not to act human, either.

Director Blomkamp is considered one of the finest talents in the industry. With a propensity toward re-inventing visual effects, Blomkamp won an Emmy Award when only 21-years-old. After making a transition to directing, Blomkamp used his skills in directing music videos and commercials. Blomkamp’s talent lies in his ability to create footage in which computer graphics and imagery and live action seamlessly blend together without any traces of artificiality. Blomkamp’s successful commercials include such companies as Nike, Gatorade, Panasonic and Namco. Most recently, Blomkamp directed three Halo commercials for Microsoft.

Blomkamp’s ability to create realistic computer images is sure to mesmerize audiences.

“We didn’t spend much time painting a beautiful picture,” Blomkamp said. “We just got in there and captured a raw, authentic feel.”

To capture that raw and authentic look, Blomkamp and his crew set up a multitude of mini-cameras on each set, which captured action and the filming process. A corporate video was even filmed for the corrupt organization MNU, where Copley speaks directly to the camera. This sense of realism is not always present in films and should create the illusion that audiences are actually viewing live news footage of District 9 and the aliens. Blomkamp said he used archival news footage to add to the realism of the South African setting, as well.

“A lot of films will reference footage that they claim is existing footage … The only difference is that there is a greater amount of it in this film,” Blomkamp said.

Filming in Johannesburg has a uniquely African flavor, Blomkamp said, adding that it would be next to impossible replicating the city anywhere else.

“There is so much visual detail here,” Blomkamp said. “The dirt or barbed wire or weeds; it’s incredibly rich, visually.”

Johannesburg serves as the perfect backdrop for Blomkamp to create a world of cruelty and injustice that continues to plague South Africa today.

The aliens in District 9 are not the cute and loveable type of aliens found in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; rather, they are scary and warrior-looking. In fact, the aliens are meant to look disgusting. Blomkamp said he envisioned aliens that were insect-like in appearance, with exoskeletons that resemble a crawfish or crab. Blomkamp utilized visual effects and prosthetics in creating the aliens, which are sure to be recognized as a unique vision for aliens in film.

The trailers released for District 9 allow audiences to see what the aliens look like and understand their perilous situation, as the creatures are threatened with being evicted from District 9, a slice of earth studded with rusted shacks. The audience can easily sympathize with the aliens, who, though repulsive, simply want to return home.

District 9 offers an interesting take on aliens, who look like monsters, but really are not, and perhaps will be one of the first films in which audiences can experience the daily troubles and toils of aliens, not entirely removed from our own.

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District 9 Preview

By: Tim McGovern

Monday August 10, 2009

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