Neill Blomkamp exploded on the scene with 2009's "District 9," a box office hit, critical smash and awards favorite. Not bad for a directorial debut. But despite nearly $290 million in worldwide grosses and fairly decent reviews, Blomkamp's follow-up, "Elysium," is considered to be somewhat of a disaster by most, including Blomkamp himself.
"I feel like, ultimately, the story is not the right story," Blomkamp told Uproxx about the 2013 movie. "I still think the satirical idea of a ring, filled with rich people, hovering above the impoverished Earth, is an awesome idea. I love it so much, I almost want to go back and do it correctly. But I just think the script wasn’t ... I just didn’t make a good enough film is ultimately what it is. I feel like I executed all of the stuff that could be executed, like costume and set design and special effects very well. But, ultimately, it was all resting on a somewhat not totally formed skeletal system, so the script just wasn’t there; the story wasn't fully there."
Blomkamp wrote and directed "Elysium," which takes place in a dystopian future where the richest percentage of Earth's population live in a space station above the planet, leaving the poor masses to struggle below.
"The problem with me is I get so caught up in concepts and ideas. Like I just said, the ring is so cool," Blomkamp told Uproxx. "The satirical idea of a diamond encrusted ring above, like, slums is such a satirically cool idea – I’m not like a normal person in the sense that I have to have a story for something to be interesting. Concepts are just as interesting to me as stories are. Where, to normal people, stories are more interesting."
As it turns out, Blomkamp hasn't left concepts behind. In January, he posted concept art from an "Alien" project he worked on during post-production on "Chappie," his next film. This month, Twentieth Century Fox announced that Blomkamp would make the film, which may follow "Aliens" in the franchise's continuity. At least from a conceptual position.
"I want this film to feel like it is literally the genetic sibling of 'Aliens,'" he said in a recent interview. "So it's, 'Alien,' 'Aliens,' this movie."
Head to Uproxx for more on Blomkamp.