District 9' director Neill Blomkamp s latest film Elysium opens in UK

Elysium, the new film by South African writer, director and producer Neill Blomkamp, topped the US box office on its opening weekend, turning over $30.5 million.

Starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and South African actor Sharlto Copley, Elysium is a story of a dystopian future, where the poor inhabit Earth, and the rich live in Elysium. Blomkamp told the BBC, It's not science fiction. This is now. The divide between rich and poor is getting more and more extreme.

Blomkamp moved from South Africa to Canada at the age of 18, and chose Vancouver as the setting for the glamorous Elysium. The rest of the film was shot in Mexico City, at the world's second largest rubbish dump, the Bordo Poniente landfill site.

So far Elysium has taken in $10.9 million overseas and will open in UK this weekend.

Rory Bruer, Sony's president of worldwide distribution, said, To hit the $30 million mark is very good considering the competitive landscape and all these new movies coming in. We love being in the Neill Blomkamp business. He's a great storyteller, and this film will be a big success for the studio.

On the eve of Elysium's release in UK cinemas this weekend, Blomkamp has been speaking about his next project. Sony Pictures Entertainment and MCR, the studio and financers of Elysium and Blomkamp's 2009 cult sci-fi film District 9, will be involved in Chappie, Blomkamp's next enterprise.

Chappie is the story of a robot stolen by two gangsters for his artificial intelligence. Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er of Die Antwoord, the rap-rave duo who coined the term zef' for South Africa's rising counter-culture, will star as the gangsters while District 9 star Copley will lend his voice to Chappie.

Working once again with Terri Tatchell, with whom he wrote District 9, Blomkamp has hinted that his next film will be a comedy, based on the 2003 short film Tetra Vaal.

Doug Belgrade, president of Columbia Pictures, said Neill has proven that he is a true original voice, and we expect that Chappie will strike a chord with worldwide audiences in the same way that District 9 and Elysium have. We love the script he and Terri have written, and we're looking forward to working again with our friends at MRC.

Elysium opens in the UK on 16 August.

Read an interview with Sharlto Copley here

LINK:	http://www.thesouthafrican.com/entertainment/district-9-directors-late...
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