District 9 is an upcoming science fiction film produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neill Blomkamp. The film is set for an August 14, 2009 release date.] It takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa. The teaser trailer for the film was released with X-Men Origins: Wolverine as well as Year One.
Development
Originally, Neill Blomkamp was contacted by Peter Jackson to direct Halo, a film based on the series of the same name. When this project did not turn out due to internal disagreements between Fox, Universal and Microsoft, Jackson and those involved felt obligated to give Blomkamp financial support and a chance to direct another movie, and it was decided that the short film Alive in Joburg could be expanded into a feature instead.
QED International fully financed the production of the independent film, underwriting the negative cost prior to American Film Market (AFM) 2007. At AFM 2007, QED entered into a distribution deal with Sony Pictures under TriStar Pictures for North America, all other English-language territories, Korea, Italy, Russia and Portugal.
Plot
District 9 is based on Alive in Joburg (video), a short film directed by Neill Blomkamp, Sharlto Copley, Simon Hansen and Shanon Worley. The title is influenced by the real-life District 6 in Cape Town. Copley also portrayed one of the interviewed policemen. The short film is about aliens landing in South Africa and becoming confined to a specific area and forced to work.
In the movie, aliens made first contact with Earth twenty-eight years prior to the beginning of the film, after which humanity waited for either a hostile attack or for giant advances in technology, though neither came. Instead, the aliens that arrived 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. Patience over the alien situation ran out and control over them was contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens' welfare. MNU stands to receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens' advanced weaponry work.
MNU, thus far, has failed in making the alien weaponry work, for activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA. 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, for he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Van der Merwe becomes ostracized and friendless and comes to hide in District 9.
The fictional District 9 is located in what is actually Katlehong, a township in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Marketing campaign
| This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (July 2009) |
The film relies heavily on Viral marketing to build interest. Among the techniques used are: an immersive website and, most recently, posters in various cities on bus stops. The first widespread use of this marketing tactic for this movie occurred at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con. A large protest rally against the movie's "non-human" race spread all over the convention center, going as far as to declare certain restrooms and exhibition halls for "humans only".
The official website for the film, D-9.com, is "run" by Multinational United (MNU), a fictitious company from the film. After a 32-second MNU "safety alert" promoting the site and a phone number, the website presents the viewer with a short instructional video and two options: enter the site as human or "non-human" (the film's cultural reference for "alien," and an echo of the use of "non-white" on signage in apartheid-era South Africa).
Both versions of the site have differences: The narrative tone of the human version of the website is calm and appealing while the narrative tone for the non-human is forceful and commanding. The map provided for the human version is mostly blue with very few restricted zones. The map provided for the non-human version, however, shows the majority of the map to be restricted. In addition, jobs are offered to both humans and non-humans by entering an "access code". The human access code is "Careers" and the non-human code is "labor". The non-human site is written in an alien script, providing an option to "translate to English." The human website does not provide a link to translate English to the alien script.
MNUSpreadsLies.com is a fictional blog run by a non-human equal rights advocate ("Christopher"), arguing that Multinational United is oppressing the non-human race. The website shows an uncensored version of the film's trailer originally seen upon navigation to D-9.com. In it, the alien's face is not pixellated. A translation of the alien's responses to his interrogator are provided (blog entry 05-06-2009 "See The Real Me"). The blog is written in an alien script, providing an option to "translate to English."
Starting in June 2009, signs on bus benches reading "Bus Benches for Humans Only" began appearing in major cities. Similarly, posters reading "Bus Stop for Humans Only" began appearing at bus shelters. Other "no aliens" posters have appeared in businesses and comic shops. Posters encourage "reports" of "non-human activity" by calling a toll-free number: 1-866-666-6001. The call connects to the fictitious MNU company. The caller is offered a number of options, such as the ability to "report non-human activity" or explore "career" opportunities for humans or "labor" opportunities for non-humans available at MNU. It also gives the caller the opportunity to speak to a representative. Later posters for the film, also appearing in major cities, include "This Bus (or This Car) for Humans Only".
Peter Jackson has confirmed to give a panel about the movie in San Diego Comic-Con 2009.
On May 1, the teaser trailer was officially released online on Apple.com and later added to D-9.com, the official website, and was also attached to the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The theatrical trailer was released to the internet on Wednesday, July 8, and alongside the film Brüno.
Howard Stern on his July 30th 2009 Sirius Satellite Radio show, gave the film a "5 out of 4 stars" review based on an advanced screening.
Cast
- Sharlto Copley as Wikus Van De Merwe
- William Allen Young as Dirk Michaels
- Robert Hobbs as Ross Pienaar
- Jason Cope as Grey Bradnam
- Kenneth Nkosi as Thomas
- David James as Koobus
- Vanessa Haywood as Tania
- Nathalie Boltt as Sarah Livingstone
- Sylvaine Strike as Dr. Katrina McKenzie
- John Summer as Les Feldman
- Nick Blake as Francois Moraneu
- Jed Brophy as James Hope
- Louis Minnaar as Piet Smit
- Vittorio Leonardi as Michael Bloemstein
When Sony released the teaser poster for District 9, I complained that they should have made the sign smaller, and the spaceship bigger. The new theatrical one-sheet does just that. The new trailer hits theaters this Friday attached to Bruno. But you won’t have to head to the theater to see it, as it will premiere on Yahoo first this Wednesday. But for now, check out the new poster after the jump.
0 comments:
Post a Comment