Starring: Robert Hobbs, Jason Cope, Sharlto Copley Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
U.S.
Opening Date: August 14th, 2009
THEY SAY
District 9 depicts a fictional world where
extraterrestrials have become refugees in South Africa.
Thirty years ago, aliens made first contact with
Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in
technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last
survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift
home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what
to do with them.
Now, patience over the alien situation has run out.
Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU),
a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare – they will receive
tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ awesome weaponry work. So
far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA.
The tension between the aliens and the humans comes
to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto
Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus
quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most
valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology.
Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide:
District 9.
After plans for a big screen Halo movie
to be produced by
Peter Jackson
(Lord
of the Rings, King Kong)
and directed by Neil Blomkamp fell through because of budgetary
concerns, District 9 was announced. Neil Blomkamp is of course the
South African director who made a splash with that Citroen car morphing into
a dancing giant robot commercial a few years back.
"We have seen some of [director] Neil [Blomkamp]'s enormously creative work
launching Halo 3 and he is a true talent who understands how to use
visual effects in full service of the story. With Peter Jackson and his
team at WETA workshop working with Neil, we believe District 9 can
be a true event tent pole on our release slate," said Amy Pascal,
Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
It was filmed on location in South Africa.
WE SAY
We were skeptical about District 9 being a
rehash of Alien Nation (you know, the
movie about the real aliens from outer space being shipwrecked in L.A.), but then we saw the
trailer below and you can consider us excited now!
