Neill Blomkamp, the visionary director behind District 9, Elysium, and Chappie, has found a way to get his ideas onto big and small screens without necessarily involving the sometimes ponderous Hollywood studio system. Enter: Oats Studios, Blomkamp’s indie production company that aims to churn out some unique properties delivered to you, the viewing audience, in a most modern way.
The aim for Oats Studios is to release free short films over YouTube while also offering a paid version of the same film over Steam, which would include more assets like concept art, 3D models, VFX content, etc. The idea has been percolating along beneath the surface for some time, but Blomkamp recently released the first teaser trailer for Oats Studio: Volume 1. The story, what little we glimpse of it, fits right in Blomkamp’s wheelhouse and this early teaser leaves you wanting more. Just how much more you want will determine what Oats Studios will offer in the future. And if there’s enough demand, you might even see these short films on the big screen as full-fledged Hollywood productions in the future.
There’s no official confirmation at the moment, but it looks like Sharlto Copley, Sigourney Weaver, and Dakota Fanning were involved in this production; we’ll update if and when more information becomes available.
You can see the trailer below.