Neil Blomkamp is a South African director, producer and screenwriter. He gained fame thanks to the thriller "District N9". He also directed the critically acclaimed science fiction film Elysium - A Paradise Not on Earth.
Biography
Neil Blomkamp was born in Johannesburg (South Africa) in 1979. At 16, he met Charlto Copley, who took the teenager as an animator to his company. Charlto subsequently starred in Neil Blomkamp's films such as "District 9" and "Elysium - A Paradise Not on Earth."
At 18, Blomkamp moved with his family to Vancouver, where he entered the Vancouver School of Motion Picture Arts.
In addition to Charlto Copley, Blomkamp is friends with Michael Bey and Peter Jackson.
Short films
In his youth, the future director Neil Blomkamp was fond of computer animation. Before starting work in feature films, he shot several commercials and short films. His first short film, Tetra Waal, was shot in 2004, and in 2015 was adapted into the feature film The Robot Called Chappi.
Neil Blomkamp's shorts were produced by Charlot Copley, and the scripts were written by Terry Tatchel. The most famous short film of his career, Surviving in Jobburg, was the first draft for District 9. As in the full-length film, we are talking about the invasion of alien creatures and the reaction of people to this event. The painting "Survive in Jobburg" lasts only 5 minutes.
In 2016, Blomkamp shot the 13-minute action Escape with Clive Owen, Dakota Fenning and Vera Farmiga in the lead roles.
In 2017, his sci-fi short film "Racca" was released.
Breakthrough
There are still few full-length films in the filmography of the director Neil Blomkamp. The most successful project of his career was and remains the sci-fi thriller "District 9", based on the short film "Survive in Jobburg" (2005). Like its short predecessor, "District 9" is shot in a pseudo-documentary style.
The film tells about the first contact of aliens with people. 20 years ago, their spaceship hovered over Johannesburg. They did not show hostility, just wanted to find a place under the sun on another planet. For the sake of calm city residents, the authorities decided to relocate all the aliens in a specially equipped area number 9. There is an accident with Vicus van de Mervé dealing with the resettlement - one of the aliens injures him. Strange changes occur in the body of Vikus: he gradually turns into an alien. None of the former friends want to help Vikus, seeing in him only material for research. Can Vikus find a cure for an alien infection before it's too late? And will someone want to help him with this?
The main roles in the film were played by Charlto Copley, Vanessa Heywood and David James. The producer was Peter Jackson, known to the viewer thanks to such masterpieces as The Lord of the Rings and Cute Bones. Neil Blomkamp co-wrote the script with Terry Tatchel, with whom he had previously worked on several short films.
The tape "District No. 9" became a box office hit, collecting 210 million dollars at the box office with a small budget of 30 million dollars. The film was well received by critics and received four Academy Award nominations, which can be considered an unprecedented achievement for a pseudo-documentary science fiction film.
Other projects
The next full-length film by Neil Blomkamp "Elysium - a paradise not on Earth" was released in 2013. Elysium, like District 9, is shot in the genre of science fiction. The events of the film take place in 2154. Violence, fear and hunger reign on an overpopulated Earth. The richest people escaped this nightmare by moving to the Elysium space station, and the rest of the Earth's inhabitants became slaves to the elite. However, people are not ready to put up with this state of affairs.
The main roles were played by Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Alice Braga. With a budget of $ 115 million, the box office amounted to $ 286 million. The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics - they praised both the acting and the well-thought-out plot of the picture.
The last of Neil Blomkamp's feature films was filmed in 2015. "A robot named Chappy" is based on the first short film directed by Tetra Baal. The main character of the picture, Chappy's robot, is truly unique - he is able to feel, understand and think. Realizing that he is not just a cold machine, Chappie is trying to find his way in the human world.
Charlto Copley, Dev Patel and Hugh Jackman chose Blomkamp for the lead roles in the film A Robot Named Chappy. Unlike previous Neil Blomkamp films, “A Robot Named Chappy” received mostly negative reviews from critics. They responded positively to the acting, but found many shortcomings in the script. As for the audience, they were less categorical. "A robot named Chappi" found his fans around the world, collecting more than $ 100 million at the box office.
Personal life
Blomkamp is married to screenwriter Terry Tuchell, with whom he worked on the films "District 9" and "A Robot Called Chappy." Terry has a daughter Cassidy from her first marriage.