Neill Blomkamp was the result of a LOT of drama around here and as we figured, he has cut his teeth on a smaller budget film and is now moving up into bigger and better things now that he has proven himself.
In a recent interview we get a glimpse at what Neill is up to next.
LATimes Blog quotes Blomkamp talking about his next film:
Not much. I’m trying to keep it to myself at this point. But it is science fiction and it has many sociopolitical ideas that interest me. Those ideas are wrapped up inside something that is like a Hollywood action film.
I had heard that Blomkamp was going to stay away from sci-fi for his next film, but that could have just been speculation when he said a District 9 sequel wouldn’t be his followup now that he is the golden boy.
Speaking of which, when he was asked if he has been offered films since his success with D9, he is not timid about admitting how many.
I’ve been offered films – a lot of films, in fact – with seriously high budgets, and I’ve turned them all down. The reason is exactly what you said earlier: Once the budgets get bigger, you can’t do what you want as a director, unless you’re Peter Jackson or James Cameron. And even then, the pressure is still on the filmmaker. Even if the studio isn’t clamping down on you, all the pressure is on the director. And if you screw that up, the jeopardy situation is even worse. The way you don’t get yourself in that jeopardy situation is by making films that aren’t as risky financially. I just want to make films that have enough of a budget to pull off high-level imagery but also have a budget that is low enough that I can do what I want.
I find it interesting that the guy who was going to do Halo is now shying away from massive budget films. Maybe he was burned in the process of getting Halo shot down from under him and now he wants to focus on things that he has more control with.
With the recent feud with Sam Raimi and Sony I am inclined to agree with him.
I kind of liked how District 9 wasn’t all that “Hollywood” and how well the effects were. I will be keeping an eye out for what he does next to see if his plan works out for him.
