District 9 - some inspiration for Indies

RodThompson said:
New trailer takes away the Faux Doc feel. Looks like a normal movie now.
Click to expand...

To me, it looks more like they're mixing the faux documentary style with a more traditional filmmaking style. I wonder how that is going to work? If Blomkamp has managed to make these two elements work with and not against each other, he will have possibly created a new style that will become heavily imitated in the following years, at least in genre fiction. We've already had Cloverfield and Quarantine, making the faux doc style a natural progression of the whole shaky cam = perceived realism trend in early 21st century filmmaking. Either way, District 9 looks like a pretty amazing film.

Just based on the visuals of this newest trailer, if District 9 is successful at the B.O. I think Blomkamp will easily get the Halo job. He's already got Peter Jackson's support. Another factor is that there is a new Halo game coming out this fall, which has a good chance of enticing the studios to become interested in a Halo film adaptation again once they see how many copies it sells.
 
Last edited:
re:
Yeah, I agree. The pixelated face thing didn't seem right. Maybe it is an unfinished effect?

I think the reference to this was to hide the alien's identity, (within the film itself) In the future aliens have become common and it is done like what they would do to a human in a documentary or news cast to not reveal them. it has nothing to do with unfinished fx. It was in the original short film as well. I love this movie concept, thank god Peter is doing something Danny Boyle might do instead of another "Hobbit movie!
Cheers
 
I liked the pixelated face. It added to the "realism" of the approach. Now it just looks, well, CGI.

I hope they have the guts to keep the doc. style. This movie has the potential of being great, if they don't fall for early feedback from the trailer...
 
I can't see them abandoning the doc style based on a little feedback out there, everything Blomkamp has done has had that style, he is pretty damn good at it.
 
Some of the TV spots make this look almost Campy (not that I'm against that, I love my camp) and then the newest full length trailer makes it look like an intense sci-fi action movie. I wonder if there will be a mix in the final product, kinda like a RoboCop.

Looks cool either way. I can't wait.
 
jeremytuttle said:
Some of the TV spots make this look almost Campy (not that I'm against that, I love my camp) and then the newest full length trailer makes it look like an intense sci-fi action movie. I wonder if there will be a mix in the final product, kinda like a RoboCop.

Looks cool either way. I can't wait.
Click to expand...

That's what I took from it. I got an instant RoboCop feel from the campy trailer. Could be fun.

MAH
 
Which trailer is this 'campy one'? I never got the impression that it was supposed to be campy, not from any of the trailers or the original short film 'Alive in Joburg' that this whole thing started out as.

I always saw District 9 as a serious science fiction piece that just happened to have some faux documentary elements to its narrative and cinematography style. I really hope this is treated seriously and has an intense storytelling style. We don't need another half serious half silly sci-fi action film (Transformers 2) this summer, but another serious sci-fi flick to go along with the excellent Moon would be great.

I do like Robocop though, since it wasn't complete camp, but instead had a nice satirical streak running through it. I watched another Verhoven sci-fi film last night, the spectacularly silly Starship Troopers. Man, that is a goofy movie.
 
Last edited:
The first trailer for District 9 totally had me going. I really thought it was an actual documentary about some third-world situation that's gotten out of control. So I was stunned that they got me, because if there is one thing that is difficult to do, it's the 'talking heads' faux documentary style... at least when it's not in the Waiting for Guffman/Spinal Tap style. That said, I think the tongue-in-cheek style marketing campaign, like the bus stops and benches all over L.A. with 'Humans Only' posters on them is just a viral, twitter-age way to get the word out on the film for the non sci-fi geeks. The film itself will, hopefully, live up the potential of that first preview.

I plan on posting something on this in the User Films section next week, but I've been doing a science fiction web series called The Grey Corridor. It's about a guy named Woods Ulmann who's written books about his experience with alien abduction. He's pressured to write a follow-up to his best-selling abduction tome, Xenophobia, and the pressure is causing writer's block. Instead of writing, he decides to videotape and blog about his daily experiences... the web series is the faux result of that decision.

Anyway, the episode that we were really excited about doing is online now at youtube. It's from the perspective that he literally woke up in the middle of the night with the camera on the bedside table and proceeded to tape the abduction experience.

Grey Corridor Episode 2: Alien Abduction

We shot the first four episodes on DV with an HV20. I re-encoded it to 720p in compressor for the web so that we'd get the HD option on youtube. Total cost for all four episodes: $500... and a ton of time on the computer!

If you like the video, please rate it, because a troll whose comment I deleted (claimed he's been abducted for the past 30 years, the video sucks because greys 'do not use doors', and then proceeded to direct you towards his channel), keeps logging in under different accounts and down-rating it. Gotta love youtube...
 
Batutta said:
It's getting great reviews so far. Both the trades have been positive, and one reviewer at AICN called it a classic on par with Aliens and The Thing...and it's an original! A novelty for Hollywood these days. I'm officially excited--
Click to expand...

I was excited for this before, but if it is really on par with those two classics, then great. Hopefully it will live up to it. Either way it should be an interesting night at the movies.
 
This looks like it could be cool. But WOW, when I saw the 3rd trailer. I had a blast from the past, Ill I could think was Star Ship Troopers. Wow.
 
I hope they went for the Starship Troopers Camp/Satire approach. I think with all the recent serious sci-fi movies that came out, we really need something fresh, original, and that could at the same time be entertaining and unpretentious. I hope to see "early Peter Jackson" humour in this..
 
Watched the movie yesterday at an advance screening and it was very good. The premise might not sound too original but the movie is. I think it's kind of over-hyped but maybe I just need another viewing to take it all in. Overall it was very entertaining, had some great special effects and very cool gadgets.
 
I'm tired and off to bed but I loved it. I know this movie won't be for everyone but I found it to be a refreshing change of pace. Not perfect by any stretch but I was thoroughly interested and entertained for the duration.

MAH
 
For those who have seen it already: How bad is the shaky cam? Is it like Cloverfield (my wife and I had to leave the cinema after 10-min because we got seasick)?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top