At 7pm tonight, Sony world-premiered their upcoming sci-fi film “District 9″ which Peter Jackson produced. I’ll have a lot more to say about this film but the quick info is that it’s fucking great. We were asked not to tell you too much about it as to preserve the mystery, but suffice it to say it’s unlike anything I’ve seen and you will not believe what they managed to do with $30 million dollars. Also, Peter told us all the aliens were CGI in the movie, and that’s another thing that I couldn’t believe. They had some close-ups that looked truly amazing and it really looks so much more expensive than that price. If you thought the month of August would let you down, this is something to be excited for.

don't want to reveal too much about it because going into it cold is the best possible way to see it, but I have to tell you this film was awesome. Every once in a while a great sci-fi film comes along that turns the genre on its a head. This felt like one of those films. It has great commentaries on society, cultural differences, prejudice, and other real world issues. But at the same time it manages to dish up special effects and gritty, nasty action that is unlike anything seen in recent memory. District 9 blows away Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, no question. A full review will come later, but this film is really going to fly under the radar and knock your socks off. This is a case where the trailers and commercials have NOT ruined the movie for a change. You're gonna love it.

Afterwards, we went to a private meet and greet with Peter Jackson. After some chitchat, he did a Q&A with everyone in attendance. Here are a few of the highlights:

- District 9 was advertised as being a low budget film, but it doesn't look like one at all. Between major CGI scenes and heavy action, this looked like a very expensive film. However, Peter Jackson confirmed it cost only $30 million. That's astounding considering what we saw. The low cost of filming in South Africa, the use of an effects house in Vancouver for all the aliens shots, and no big name actors kept the cost down.

- All the aliens in District 9 were CGI. They had some practical ones made for closeups, but they opted to go entirely CGI.

- Since District 9 was low budget, they decided to cut loose on the action and get the hard R rating on the gore and killed humans. Throwing caution into the wind seems to have paid off for them. Jackson noted it was the kind of stuff that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen couldn't do as blockbusters.

No way.

it's insane how much this has in common with Cloverfield. Unwanted visitors, small budget yet extraordinary visuals, largely handheld style, no big names involved whatsoever aside from one producer, marketing campaigns that reveal little, great early buzz... this probably means that regular audiences will generally dislike/hate it as they did with Clovey, but fuck them, at least some people will appreciate it.

[and the action is much more gruesome I.

If you'll remember about a week or so ago, I was lucky enough to invite 14 JoBlo readers (and their guests) to the first ever screening of DISTRICT 9 at Comic-Con. I just got back from that very screening and while I will refrain from giving a formal review at this point, I'll say that it's an incredible piece of filmmaking from a first-time director.

Peter Jackson quickly introduced the film and mentioned that he wanted to make a sci-fi film on a low budget but if this was a low budget film it looks as expensive as any studio blockbuster (it was in fact made for $30 million). I was almost positive that some of the alien shots were a mix of practical FX and CGI and was astounded to learn later that all the alien FX were 100% CGI. Jackson said they tested a practical alien but wound up cutting it from the film. But here you're getting FX that are as good as anything you'll see in TRANSFORMERS 2.



But to compare DISTRICT 9 to TRANSFORMERS on any level is completely unfair to D9. They are both summer movies but that's about where the comparison ends. DISTRICT 9 is a movie that's about something. I was worried that the "message" would get a little heavy-handed and dilute the fun factor but while the film certainly has a message, it doesn't bash you over the head with it. The tone is set early but for all the metaphors to pre- and post-apartheid South Africa, it's an exceptionally effective sci-fi/thriller/action flick.

As Jackson later explained, they knew they couldn't beat films like TRANSFORMERS 2 or GI JOE in scope, so he decided early on that he wanted to beat them at being R-rated. And that is pulled off to gruesome effect. There's a particular alien weapon in the film that...well, I don't want to give anything anyway but let's say the result is messy. But there is plenty of splatter and a number of decapitations, torn limbs and more to keep the genre fans really satisfied.



To help keep the budget low and allocate the most amount of funds to what you see on screen, the film's star is director Neil Blomkamp's college buddy Sharlto Copley who was allowed to improvise off a more generalized script. The film starts off with a very "Office" like/documentary vibe (with Copley even playing a vaguely Michael Scott character) before it settles into a more traditional film in the 2nd act. But Copley does a fantastic job and the fact that he's an unknown primarily improving his dialogue really helps lend to the authenticity of the film.

I'm not going to officially rate or review the film (we'll have that on the site soon enough) but it's right up there with the best films of the summer. If the summer wasn't already chock-filled with solid genre fare like STAR TREK and DRAG ME TO HELL, I'd say it was the best. But DISTRICT 9 holds it's own and, actually, comes off like a hybrid of both of those movies put together. Make sure you see it this August.

I'm curious how gruesome the human deaths are. I have a soft spot for aliens murdering humans.

So do I man!
The last time I remember real aliens integrated to society killing humans was in Alien Nation. Those guys could snap apart a human being

and Starship Troopers minus the integration part.

I dont really remember anything since. But the promise of a splatter weapon and decapitations is wonderful. I hope the aliens win!

you're right, they were just bugs doing what bugs do. Stupid humans trying to colonize space.

That is pretty much what AVATAR is!!!

O
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Seeing as Starship Troopers is one of my favorite films of all-time, it stands to reason Avatar will be too.

I’ve got one science fiction idea that I’m absolutely in love with, which I’m pretty sure is going to be my next film. 99% sure…It’s totally original, it’s my own story…It’s set on another planet, but it’s cool. It’s violent, very violent, and very unique hopefully. We’ll see.

Bloomkamp's next film will be another sci-fi and very violent:



I like this guy...

or bigger.

Never.