Hall H, once again, made me its bitch trying to get in to see the LEGION / DISTRICT 9 panel. Lucky for me, my man Jim Law was already in here covering some other shite, and was able to cover LEGION for me and the first part of DISTRICT 9. But I got in when they decided to show a full 7 minutes of the film that absolutely blew me away, featuring awesome action, special effects, gory money shots, and the actual story that ties the whole movie together, which we still don’t get a good idea from by the trailers that are out there right now. After this clip, I decided that I really hate Mike Sampson, who was able to screen DISTRICT 9 the night before.
Here are some of the highlights from the panel, which featured producer Peter Jackson, director Neill Blomkamp, and star Sharlto Copley. Bring it on!
Beginning of the panel, Hall H is “screened for non-humans” then Peter Jackson comes out and recieves a standing ovation from the crowd. This place literally just went wild.
One of the first things that is brought up is THE HOBBIT. The script is about 3-4 weeks away from being complete and submitted to WB. At this time, it has not been greenlit yet. Once the script has been greenlit, that’s when they’ll start casting.
Director Neill Blomkamp and star Sharlto Copley come out, and get the crowd pumped for a 7 minute clip of the film. But after it starts, it immediately stops due to some technical difficulties.
While waiting for the technical issues to be fixed, Jackson takes a pic of the crowd for “the memory of a lifetime.”
This is when I finally get in. Good thing the footage went wacky, or I’d never would have had a chance to see it.
Hall H goes insane for the 7 minutes in heaven they show us. I am now totally on board this beast, and can’t wait to check it out.
After the footage, acting more like an extended trailer, the panel goes directly to Q&A.
Blomkamp was highly influenced by ALIEN, 2001, and insects for the look and feel of the film, and the aliens.
Copley has been in a few small things prior to this, but nothing this large. That said, he wasn’t nervous about taking on the lead role.
And he’s really not ready to become a movie star after this if the film becomes a huge success. It’s still really weird for him.
Jackson made life easier for Blomkamp after coming on board to produce.
Copley describes some of the tough scenes he had to act in during the shoot, where he had to put a prosthetic flesh-toned sack around his entire ‘package’ during a scene when he’s in the bath. That scene has since been cut from the final film.
Would Jackson ever do a low budget horror movie again? Short answer: YES! He’d love to do a little horror movie while THE HOBBIT is filming, just to keep him busy. Nothing definite, but there’s interest. He likes the freedom of working with a low budget. VERY COOL!
People want to know about the status of HALO. Right now, Jackson doesn’t own the rights to the film, Microsoft does, so it’s hard to say. Jackson would love to do it if the opportunity came up and everything worked out. So would Blomkamp, who is a huge gamer and into the HALO world.
Jackson describes the difference between producing and directing. He really like producing DISTRICT-9, and only guided Blomkamp when he needed it. It wasn’t his intention to make a “Peter Jackson film” by proxy of Blomkamp.
The film cost a whopping $30M, and most (if not all) is seen on the screen.
The stress that the film was made for fans of horror and sci-fi, and not for the masses. They didn’t set out to make a huge blockbuster movie, but a movie fans would enjoy. So if it becomes successful, well… that’s a bonus. They just hope everyone likes it.
And that about wrapped it up. The end of the panel came, and the crowd went crazy once again as Jackson, Blomkamp, and Copely exited the stage.
I wanted to see this movie before, but now I really want to see this movie! The footage was great, the effects were top-notch, and it looks and feels like a film that cost $100M, not $30M. Mike Sampson saw it the other night, and said it doesn’t disappoint. After what I’ve seen, I can’t see how it could.
DISTRICT 9 hits theaters everywhere August 14th. Go see it!
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