The District Bum

This weekend was the premiere of District 9 on cable, and it was such a joy to watch again.  A movie like this is why I love Hollywood.  It came as a sweet surprise to everyone.  No one knew much about it, until it was finally released.  The movie itself was almost never made, and the lead player never even thought about being an actor.

When producer Peter Jackson’s film based on the popular video game Halo was shelved, Jackson decided to give director Neill Blomkamp $30 million dollars to make whatever he wanted to.  Blomkamp put together a short film (Alive in Joburg, 2005), and asked non-actor Sharlto Copley to appear on camera for it.  Blomkamp loved Copley’s presence, and depiction of lead character Wikus van der Merwe, and offered him the role.  Copley took it and ran hard.  Soon after the success of District 9 he took the role of Howling Mad Murdock in the new A-Team movie that is being released next week.

You can see the obvious parallels to the apartheid of South Africa.  Instead of racial relations being the issue, it was the co-existence of aliens and humans.  Despite all of the alien visitor movies that have been released this one actually makes you ask yourself the question….what would we really do if a million alien refugees came to this planet?  If they were peaceful, would we greet them in peace?  Or would we try cage, or destroy them out of fear?  I guess these questions might be answered after you answer the main question, do aliens exist in the first place?

Either way, this is not just another movie about aliens.  It received Oscar nominations for Best Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. Part documentary, part feature film.  District 9 became the first mockumentary (or at least part mockumentary) to be nominated for a best picture Oscar, surprising everyone in Hollywood.  Including producer Peter Jackson, whose trust in Blomkamp turned a $30 million dollar investment into an over $200 million dollar box office windfall.

Just like any successful commodity in Hollywood, if it makes money, then someone will find a way to keep it going.  Talks for District 10 (the so-called title) are going on right now.  I know a lot of people are not a fan of sequels, because they feel as if most of them are not as good as the first.  However, if a sequel is done right, then it can be a wonderful continuation into a world you’ve enjoyed so much the first time.  My only solace in this sequel, if it happens, is that producer Peter Jackson, and Director Neill Blomkamp are both involved.

District 9 took Hollywood by surprise, and maybe it was only nominated for best picture because of the new 10 nominee rule, but it was still well deserved.  If you haven’t seen it by now, then it takes a few seconds to set up a record on your dvr, and enjoy it now.