Neill Blomkamp Afrikaans pronunciation: ; born 17 September 1979 is a South African-Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. Blomkamp employs a documentary-style, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated effects, and his films often deal with themes of xenophobia and social segregation. He is best known as the co-writer and director of the critically acclaimed and financially successful science fiction action film District 9, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He directed another dystopian science fiction action film Elysium, which garnered moderately positive reviews and a good box office return. He is known for his collaborations with South African actor Sharlto Copley. He is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Time named Blomkamp as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2009. Forbes named him as the 21st most powerful celebrity from Africa.
Early life
Blomkamp was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. At the age of sixteen, he met Sharlto Copley, who had also attended Redhill High School in Johannesburg. Copley provided Blomkamp with the use of computers at his production company, for Blomkamp to pursue his passion and talent for 3D animation and design. In return, Blomkamp assisted Copley in creating 3D work for pitches on various projects. Blomkamp was 18 when he moved to Vancouver with his family, where he enrolled at the Vancouver Film School.
Career
In the late 1990s, he started working in the film industry as a special effects artist and 3D animator. His animation credits include Stargate SG-1 (1998), First Wave (1998), Mercy Point (1998) and Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (1999). In 2000, he garnered his first role of lead animator for the Dark Angel TV series (2000). He was the lead 3D animator for 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001).
In 2003, he was hired to illustrate photo-realistic future aircraft for Popular Science’s “Next Century in Aviation”. In 2004, he illustrated “The Future of the Automobile”. Blomkamp worked as a visual effects artist at The Embassy Visual Effects in Vancouver as well as at Rainmaker Digital Effects, and was signed by Toronto commercial house Spy Films. Blomkamp directed a trilogy of live-action short films in 2007, known collectively as Landfall. They were set in the Halo universe, to promote the release of Halo 3.
Blomkamp was then slated to direct his first feature-length film, an adaptation of the Halo series of video games, produced by Peter Jackson. Jackson came to know of Blomkamp after viewing a reel of his commercial work and shorts, shot in his off time. The four shorts that got him noticed included: Tetra Vaal, a faux advertisement for a third-world police robot that established Blomkamp’s signature style of mixing lo-fi production with seamless CGI; Alive in Joburg, a gritty mockumentary about extraterrestrials marooned in Johannesburg; Tempbot, an Office Space-esque spoof; and Yellow, a short film based on the colour yellow for Adidas’ “Adicolor” campaign by digital studio IDEALOGUE, which portrays a globe-trotting android gone rogue.
Blomkamp has admitted since that the Halo pre-production was a nightmare, and relations between 20th Century Fox and Blomkamp severely disintegrated before the project’s end. When funding for the Halo film collapsed, Peter Jackson decided to produce District 9 instead, an adaptation of Blomkamp’s earlier short film Alive in Joburg, which had been produced by Hansen and Copley. The film, directed by Blomkamp, starring Copley, and co-written with Blomkamp’s wife and production partner Terri Tatchell, was released in mid-August 2009 by TriStar Pictures to widespread critical acclaim. District 9 was later nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Picture, along with nominations for Best Visual Effects, Editing, and Adapted Screenplay.
In October 2010, a video released on the iPad version of Wired Magazine was credited to Neill Blomkamp. It shows an amateur recording of two young men who find a dead mutated creature in a puddle of mud while driving down a countryside road. The creature, a dog-sized mix between a pig and a lizard, presents a tattooed seal on its side that reads “18.12 AGM Heartland Pat. Pend. USA”. “AGM Heartland” was trademarked for its use in an entertainment-oriented website. On 20 February 2012, a 23-second video clip titled “IS IT DEAD?” appeared on YouTube, featuring Yolandi Visser, of the South African group Die Antwoord, crouching over the creature. Blomkamp admitted that he was still interested in making a Halo film in April 2013.
After Elysium, he started work on his next sci-fi film, Chappie, in April 2013. The film was based on his own short, Tetra Vaal. Blomkamp directed and Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures) and Media Rights Capital co-produced and co-financed the film, which was released March 2015.
In early 2015, Blomkamp posted several pictures to his Instagram page that showed concept art for an Alien film he might have been working on. Included in the art is Ripley and Hicks, a ship bearing resemblance to The Derelict from the 1979 Alien, and a concept Xenomorph. In a February 2015 interview with Collider, he stated that he planned the Alien sequel with Sigourney Weaver in the lead role as Ellen Ripley. On 18 February 2015, Blomkamp himself confirmed that the Alien film will be his next project. In March 2015, he confirmed that he planned more than one sequel to the Alien franchise. The project was shelved in October 2015, pending the outcome of Ridley Scott’s second prequel installment, Alien: Covenant. In January 2017, a fan on Twitter asked Blomkamp about the outlook of the film going into production, he responded by saying they were “slim”. On 1 May 2017, its title had been revealed to be Alien: Awakening. Though Ridley Scott initially confirmed Blomkamp’s film had been officially canceled, 20th Century Fox may reconsider after the fan reception of Covenant. Fans of the franchise have started a petition to help save Blomkamp’s cancelled film. As of June 2020, there’s no update on whether the planned and cancelled film is being revived.
In November 2015, it was announced that Blomkamp would be working on adapting the forthcoming Tom Sweterlitsch novel The Gone World, described as a “sci-fi time travel” concept.
In 2017, Blomkamp announced the creation of his own film production company, Oats Studios, and confirmed a series of experimental short films and other content titled Oats Studios Volume 1 to be released via Steam. The films will also be available for free streaming on YouTube. These films are distributed to gauge interest in a certain theme, with the intention to expand them into a feature film if deemed viable. The first short, an alien invasion-themed film co-written with Sweterlitsch, is titled Rakka.
In July 2018, Blomkamp announced that he would be directing a new entry in the RoboCop film series for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film will be adapted from a previously-unproduced spec script written in the late 1980s by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, the writers of the first film, who will also executive produce the film. Tentatively titled RoboCop Returns, the film will serve as a direct sequel to the first film, ignoring 1990’s RoboCop 2 and 1993’s RoboCop 3, as well as the 2014 remake. On August 15, 2019, Blomkamp announced on Twitter that he is no longer directing RoboCop Returns as he is focusing on directing a horror movie instead.
In December 2020, it was revealed that Blomkamp had secretly shot a supernatural horror film in British Columbia during the summer of 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personal life
Blomkamp is married to Terri Tatchell, a Canadian screenwriter, best known for co-writing the screenplay of District 9. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with Blomkamp at the 82nd Academy Awards.
Unrealized projects
- Halo
Halo is the first of Blomkamp’s canceled projects, and would’ve been his debut feature film had all gone to plan. Microsoft started developing a Halo movie back in 2005, with Alex Garland tapped to write the script, Peter Jackson brought on to produce, and Guillermo del Toro in talks to direct. When del Toro backed out, Blomkamp was drafted in, having impressed with a series of short films set in the Halo universe and previously worked with Jackson. The script went through the re-write stage – with would-be Game of Thrones co-creator D.B. Weiss among the writers tackling it – and Blomkamp spending months in troubled pre-production, which frequently stopped and started again, with the director’s vision completely clashing with Microsoft and 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, who had been backing the movie alongside Universal and Fox pulled out the funding for the movie was lost, and the Halo movie totally collapsed.
- Alien: Awakening
In January, 2015, Blomkamp revealed a wealth of concept art for a proposed fifth Alien film that he had been working on. The film, tentatively titled Alien: Xeno, would apparently have retconned Alien3 and focussed on an older Ripley and Hicks. Blomkamp released the unused concept pieces via his Instagram account so that fans of the franchise might have a chance to see them, and the images were met with considerable interest. Soon after the release of that artwork, ComingSoon.net asked Blomkamp whether he had met with Fox regarding his ideas, but the director revealed that he had not. “Fox was blindsided by it, which wasn’t my intention,” he explained. “I just wanted to share artwork with people that liked the franchise. I don’t know whether it’s going to happen or not. We’ll see.” However, Blomkamp apparently did later meet with 20th Century Fox, and on February 18 he appeared to confirm that the studio had officially greenlit a fifth Alien film with him in the director’s chair. Fox later acknowledged this, stating that Blomkamp’s film would be a sequel to the original four films. Sigourney Weaver subsequently indicated she would be willing to participate in an Alien film directed by Blomkamp. It is not yet clear to what extent Alien 5 would have resembled Alien: Xeno; in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Blomkamp stated that his original concept for the film had changed after talking with Weaver on the set of CHAPPiE and asking her for input. On March 21, it was reported that the plot of Alien 5 had been altered slightly following a meeting between Blomkamp and Ridley Scott, to avoid clashes between the film and Scott’s (then-unnamed) for Prometheus sequel, Alien: Covenant. Blomkamp also confirmed the film would not be called Alien 5, saying, “It gives away too much if I say the title.” On June 29, it was announced that Alien 5 would film in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. During publicity for the film The Martian in September 2015, Ridley Scott stated that a first draft script for Blomkamp’s film had been completed, and that the movie was scheduled for release in 2017. The following month, Blomkamp posted an image to Instagram showing a Pulse Rifle prop from the movie, slightly modified from its appearance in Aliens with modern RIS rails and attachment. On October 30, 2015, Blokamp announced via Twitter that the film had been put on hold, stating that “alien is kinda holding/ pending Covenant. So I shall be working on other things…as much as I love the xeno- and Lt ripley.” Despite this, in April 2016 the director shared a new piece of concept artwork showing an adult Newt, posting the image to his Instagram account to celebrate Alien Day. However, in early 2017 he confirmed that the chances of the film happening were “slim”, while producer Ridley Scott also stated that the film was unlikely to happen during press rounds for Alien: Covenant. In a 2017 interview with AlloCiné, Scott confirmed that Fox had decided to cancel Blomkamp’s Alien 5, and that it had never developed beyond a ten-page pitch. In a 2017 interview with IGN, Ridley Scott stated that Blomkamp’s film was to be called Alien: Awakening. However, this was also previously mooted by the director as the title of his planned interquel between Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. In 2019, James Cameron started supporting trying to resurrect Blomkamp’s movie as Cameron’s Aliens movie continued and Ridley Scott has supported him, but in 2021, Disney and 20th Century Studios are eager to revive the movie.
- The Gone World
In 2015, Blomkamp is signed to direct the movie set as an adaptation of author Tom Sweterlitsch’s then-upcoming novel of the same name. It was earmarked as Blomkamp’s next film after the cancelation of Alien 5, with the book described as a “sci-fi time-travel procedural”, with Blomkamp looking to write as well as direct. However, there was little word on the project until 2017, when Blomkamp revealed that he was ready to start work on the project, having received a copy of the book (which wasn’t published until early-2018). Things seem to have gone cold again since then though, with no updates on the project recently. Since the film was in development at 20th Century Fox, that puts its future at risk. In 2019, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox are intent on beginning with a clean slate, already canceling a number of major movies that were in the early stages of planning.
- Chappie sequels
Blomkamp said he “wrote Chappie as a trilogy” and expressed interest in making sequels if they were “economically feasible”. As of November 2016, no sequels are planned. Blomkamp said the film did not perform well enough.
- Greenland
In May 2018, Blomkamp directing a disaster film with Chris Evans joined the cast of the film, from a screenplay by Chris Sparling for STX Entertainment. In February 2019, it was announced Blomkamp would no longer direct the film and later replaced by Ric Roman Waugh and Evans by Gerard Butler.
- RoboCop Returns
In July 2018, was confirmed a new film of Robocop titled Returns with Blomkamp directing and Justin Rhodes rewriting an original script by Neumeier and Michael Miner for MGM. In 2019, Neumeier said that Blomkamp wanted RoboCop Returns to be as close to the first film as possible saying that Blomkamp feels that “it should be the proper Verhoeven if Verhoeven had directed a movie right after RoboCop. On June 29, 2019, Blomkamp confirmed that the original RoboCop suit would be used in this film saying “1 million% original” when answering a fan’s question on Twitter. Blomkamp also gave an update on the script saying “Script is being written. Going well! Imagine watching Verhoeven do a follow up film.” On August 15, 2019, Blomkamp announced on Twitter that he is no longer directing the film as he is focusing on directing a horror movie titled Demonic. On November 20, 2019, Abe Forsythe was set to direct.
Filmography
Feature films
| Year(s) | Title(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Studio(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | District 9 | Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell | Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham | TriStar Pictures |
| 2013 | Elysium | Blomkamp | Bill Block, Blomkamp and Simon Kinberg | |
| 2015 | Chappie | Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell | Blomkamp and Simon Kinberg | Columbia Pictures |
| 2021 | Demonic | Blomkamp | Stuart Ford | TBD |
| TBA | Inferno | Blomkamp | Blomkamp and Stuart Ford | |
| District 10 | Blomkamp, Sharlto Copley and Terri Tatchell | Peter Jackson | TriStar Pictures |
Short films
- Tetra Vaal (2004) (director, visual FX)
- Tempbot (2005) (director)
- Alive in Joburg (2005) (director, writer, visual FX)
- Yellow (2006) (director, visual FX)
- Halo: Landfall (2007) (director)
- The Escape (2016) (director)
- Rakka (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Cooking with Bill: Damasu 950 (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Firebase (2017) (director, co-writer)
- God: Serengeti (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Cooking with Bill: Sushi (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Cooking with Bill: PrestoVeg (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Cooking with Bill: Smoothie (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Zygote (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Kapture: Fluke (2017) (director, co-writer)
- ADAM: The Mirror (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Praetoria (2017) (director, co-writer)
- Gdansk (2017) (director, co-writer)
- God: City (2018) (director, co-writer)
- Anthem: Conviction (2019) (director, co-writer)
Commercials
- Nike – Crab (2003) / Evolution (2004)
- Citroën C4 – Alive with technology (2004)
- Gatorade – Rain (2006)
Other credits
- Stargate SG-1 (1998) (3D animator)
- First Wave (1998) (3D animator)
- Mercy Point (1998) (3D animator)
- Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (1999) (3D animator)
- Dark Angel (2000) (lead animator)
- Art of Dying music video – Day Survive (2001) (director, visual FX)
- 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) (lead 3D animator)
- Smallville (2001) (3D animator)
- BV-01 (2005) (special thanks)
- Best Ever Ads 2 (2006) (himself)
- Crossing the Line (2008) (additional director)
Recognition
- 2004, First Boards Awards – “One of the top five directors to watch”
- 2004, Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival – “Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase”
- 2004, Shark Awards (shortlisted)
- 2005, VES awards “Outstanding VFX in a commercial” for Citroen – Alive with technology
- 2008, Cannes Lions 2008 – Film Lions- Grand Prix – Halo: Combat
- 2009, Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Director & Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay – District 9
- 2009, Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay – District 9
- 2009, Won – Bradbury Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America – District 9
- 2010, Nominated – Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Nominated – Academy Award for Best Picture 2009 – District 9 (written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)
Reception
Critical, public and commercial reception to films Blomkamp has directed:
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore | Budget | Box office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 9 | 90% | 81 | B | $30 million | $210.8 million |
| Elysium | 68% | 61 | B | $115 million | $286.1 million |
| Chappie | 31% | 41 | B | $49 million | $102.1 million |
| Average | 63% | 61 | B | $65 million | $199.7 million |