Neill Blomkamp makes his full-length feature-film debut with District 9 today (unfortunately for us Brits, it doesn’t open until September 4th). Blomkamp was once attached to direct the on-off-on-again Halo movie, and a lot of people had their doubts about him directing District 9 (under the eye of producer Peter Jackson) simply because he was a “newbie.”
You may not know that before he set his sights on feature films, Blomkamp was a short film and commercials director. District 9 is actually based on his short film called Alive in Joburg from a few years ago – the short is incredibly ambitious and it was almost inevitable someone would try to extend it into a full-length version – Why not the guy who did the short film?
However, as evident from the rave reviews of District 9 (including from our own Vic Holtreman), Blomkamp has done a fine job with his first full-length movie. The naysayers are probably sorry (if they’re not, they should be) for discounting him so early.
Today’s Screen Rant pick is a neat playlist showcasing Blomkamp’s short films, including Alive in Joburg and one he did for Halo. Check two of the video(s) out below:
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ALIVE IN JOBERG
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HALO 3 SHORT
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For more short films by Neill Blomkamp, check head over to the YouTube Playlist.
I was quite surprised to find out Blomkamp did the very cool dancing robot car ad – just shows you how unrecognized a lot of these commercial directors go sometimes. I’m glad to see someone like Blomkamp going from short work to feature films. If District 9 is anything to go by, it certainly won’t be the director’s last.
What do you think of Blomkamp’s short work? Which is your favorite?
As stated, District 9 opened today in the US, and opens in the UK on September 4th.
