Sunday, August 9th, 2009 (Short Film Sunday: Alive in Joburg)

Yesterday, whilst blogging about the speculation of Steven Spielberg producing a big screen version of the hugely popular XBox game Halo, I mentioned that I would fill in a bit of time between the production of the failed Peter Jackson/Neill Blomkamp Halo to their new project, next Friday's District 9. The story actually begins with the 2005 South African short film by Blomkamp, Alive in Joburg. The nearly six minute science fiction film deals with a documentary style of interviewing characters in Johannesburg, South Africa about a group of extraterrestrials being contained by the government. The film takes place in 1990, when South Africa was still under apartheid, and puts the alien refugees among the already oppressed black population.

Taking a passenger seat to the unique use of the cinema verite technique in a genre picture, and the heavy topic of race relations in a very short film was the special effects. One thing Blomkamp lacked in his short was a budget, but a good head for a science fiction picture was there. And to say that the former television commercial director still created some decent effects with a low budget would be a vast understatement. The first of the film, in which the aliens are inside the technologically advanced bio-suits, looked like it could be right at home in a well developed video game. This could have been a reason that Blomkamp was picked up as the director for the film adaptation of Halo, a highly anticipated flick with an already built-in hardcore fan base in his debut feature. It wasn't meant to be though, as development hell would grab producer Peter Jackson's project by the throat.

As bad as this would seem on paper, it was a great beginning for Blomkamp, as Jackson became so impressed, that he decided to just place the young director's talent elsewhere, and commissioned Alive in Joburg to be expanded into a feature length film, to be produced and distributed by Jackson's WingNut Films. This project, of course, is what would eventually become this week's big conversation point, District 9. One casting note in this now highly anticipated sci-fi motion picture is that of Sharlto Copley, a producer for the short in which it is based. Copley can also be seen around the 3:22 mark of the short featured below.

So, if you are like me and think that District 9 has the possibility to be the next big thing, watch this short and be entertained. Enjoy, and just think of what could be done with roughly 106 more minutes and some $30 million extra.

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

With the upcoming release of Neill Blomkamp and producer Peter Jackson's science fiction film District 9 upon us, there has been a lot of talk of the origins of the film, as the movie came to fruition during the development of a big screen adaptation of the XBox game, Halo (More on what happened from Halo to District 9 tomorrow). Of course, I don't think any fan of the genre is terribly upset that the development hell of the immensely popular video game adaptation spawned what looks to be an incredible work; however, it has sparked a good bit of conversation on if we'll ever actually see Master Chief grace the big screen. I have always been a Nintendo enthusiast, using Sony as a dirty, artistically beautiful mistress, leaving no room for the ring of death gamble, so an adaptation of the game isn't moistening my pants exactly. Yet, when it was announced that Jackson would be behind the film, it caught my attention, and now, the new rumor, via IESB, is that Steven Spielberg will be taking the reigns as producer of the film after falling in love with Stuart Beattie's screenplay treatment. Will this spark the interest of the broad cinephile spectrum again? I am also curious to find out if hardcore fans of the game are stoked about this. I mean, really, how could they not at least be slightly excited. Given, I would take Jackson over Spielberg, but we're not exactly talking about a Uwe Boll here. As a note, I realize the picture is of Spielberg holding the Nintendo Wii game, Boom Blox Bash Party, in which he actually developed. It would have been more relevant to show him holding a copy of Halo, or at the very least BioShock, which the aforementioned article brings up as proof that Spielberg is a bit of a gamer. So, in short, Google Image failed me.

Aside from Halo, there is really no other cinema news worth repeating, so I thought I'd take this time of empty space to share a few articles I was reading about John Hughes before I decided to look up the day's happenings. First, ABC News has an article counting down the top five musical moments of the late director's films. Paste Magazine counts down the top ten films written by the very underrated Hughes, the list being topped by The Breakfast Club. The true testament to how influential and awesome Hughes was, is that as much of a staple as The Breakfast Club is, that spot is almost debatable. Finally, here is the ghetto scene from National Lampoon's Vacation, which was written by Hughes. In fact, it was the short story this film was based upon, Vacation '58, that kick started his career at National Lampoon Magazine. Enjoy, and once again, rest in peace.


P.S., ToyRocket has a decent sale. I find it relevant enough to this blog, as plenty of film merchandise and collectables a splayed across the sale.