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It would be an understatement to say that Neill Blomkamp‘s "Elysium," which arrived four years after the filmmaker’s "District 9," was hugely anticipated. Many looked forward to the former to see if the filmmaker was a one-hit wonder or a bold new genre voice, and the reactions were divisive. I liked the movie more than most, and thought the mix of social and political elements, if heavy-handed, mostly worked. But there were some really duff aspects, starting with the clunky flashback sequences. In case you were wondering, Blomkamp himself wishes he had a do-over.
"…I feel like I fucked it up," the director candidly told Uproxx. "I feel like ultimately the story is not the right story. I still think the satirical idea of a ring filled with rich people hovering above the impoverished Earth is an awesome idea. I love it so much, I almost want to go back and do it correctly. But I just think the script wasn’t… I just didn’t make a good enough film is ultimately what it is. I feel like I executed all of the stuff that could be executed, like costume and set design and special effects very well. But ultimately it was all resting on a somewhat not totally formed skeletal system, so the script just wasn’t there…"
It’s a remarkably honest assessment, one you don’t hear very often from filmmakers working with hundreds of millions of dollars and A-list stars, but then again, Blomkamp has already tended to forge his own path. Moreover, he seems to understand what his flaws might be as a filmmaker.
"The problem with me is I get so caught up in concepts and ideas. Like I just said, the ring is so cool. The satirical idea of a diamond encrusted ring above, like, slums is such a satirically cool idea —I’m not like a normal person in the sense that I have to have a story for something to be interesting. Concepts are just as interesting to me as stories are. Where, to normal people, stories are more interesting," he explains. "So that’s an example of what I mean. I can be like, ‘fuck, I love this ring, I love all the visual effects related to it, I love these images and how they’re juxtaposed with one another.’ And then be like, ‘as a director, I could have done better.’ And you sort of realize that all these people prefer this element I didn’t pay as much attention to, but I paid a lot of attention to this."
But did he learn his lessons going into "Chappie" which opens on March 6th? And more importantly, will cool concept art translate into a good movie for his "Alien" flick? Time will tell…
He\’s a great director who can shoot shootouts and stuff well – but the film really suffered when there was the stupid hand to hand final battle. Too chaotic. Excited for his take on Aliens. Confused by Chappie btw
Start by making true to life movies and go from there. This mental masturbation that the industry calls movies/entertainment are not even entertaining anymore ! "A Pioneer Qui Tam Relators Story"
You gotta love Blomkamp\’s marketing skills. He\’s got a new movie coming out next week & he\’s done everything he can so people aren\’t talking about it. And with his being attached to direct Alien 5 he\’s basically added $5 to $10 million on the opening weekend grosses as fans go to see "Does he still have it".
Answer: He doesn\’t.
I think it\’s too soon for Blomkamp to publicly disown Elysium. Yes, it wasn\’t as good as everyone\’s high expectations. But it was still a good B-style sci-fi action movie. Now by saying he "f*cked up", he\’s robbing his own film to have a life of its own down the line. Ten years from now, instead of people appreciating Elysium a littl more, they\’ll see it on tv and say "the director disowned this movie".
"I’m not like a normal person in the sense that I have to have a story for something to be interesting. Concepts are just as interesting to me as stories are." – makes him very normal in Hollywood. Could be a quote from anyone who makes action movies. Unfortunately doesn\’t make him some crazy visionary, it could have come straight from Michael Bay.
I feel his vision was muddied by studio influence.
He didn\’t disown the movie. He said that the idea of an elite society, so far removed from the plebeians that they live in space, was a concept that could have been better served that his revenge/action film. It was a great concept that didn\’t have the story to reach its ultimate potential. That doesn\’t mean that Elysium isn\’t decent in it\’s own right.
district 9 was brilliant then Hollywood threw money (and stars)at him and he made Elysium
Gareth Edwards made \’Monsters\’ it was brilliant then Hollywood threw money (and stars) at him and he made \’Godzilla\’
Duncan Jones made \’MOON\’ it was brilliant (especially the soundtrack) so Hollywood threw money and stars at him and he made SOURCE CODE
Movie sucked. You don\’t "go back". It sucked because he is a one hit wonder.Chappie will prove this.
To me, what doomed the story was the socialist mentality behind it. Dealing with the theme of social inequality without appealing to socialist clichés is not easy. As he said, the idea of a ring above earth were the rich people live is indeed awesome. What is stupid is assuming that rich people would prevent poor people from accessing its resources just because their evil, and not because the resources are limited. The logic behind the story was totally stupid. In the end you get this message that if the powerful people go down, then everything will be fine. It will not. Bring down the powerful and share their resources among the poorest, and what you get is the same poor world with no rich people. It would be very funny if the movie countinued for 10 more minutes and showed what happened to the 20th poor guy in line to receive medical treatment. You know, when he got to his turn and the machine ran out of whatever resource was powering it and the guy said "oh sh…". And then the world came back to the same it was before all the rich people got expropriated.
Maybe he should have just done Battle Angel since James Cameron apparently isn\’t going to get around to it. Extremely similar story.
None of this talk about getting blinded by his infatuation for concept and visuals is particularly encouraging for an "Alien" project in which he spent his initial energy fleshing out conceptual art rather than writing a script.
Poor Sigourney Weaver. She\’s going to be fighting "Alien" in battle armored Depends before they get around to bringing this series to the conclusion it deserves.
elysiun had matt damone so petty much it rules. All y\’all assholes know I\’m right.
Loved D9. Really disliked Elysium. He\’s absolutely right about the script not being what it could have been. I\’m very glad that he publicly announced this, and was already hyped for Chappie because it was another Blomkamp film, not to mention, Die Antwoord!!
I appreciate his candor, I liked the movie but had a hard time sharing it with friends because they were put off by the heavy handed aspects of the story that lacked nuance and depth. It wasn\’t quite as tone deaf as the story in Avatar, but it was the same type of deal. I still love District 9, and I look forward to his next movie and hope he can craft a story that doesn\’t go for easy answers, and that can live up to his other wonderful ideas
i like his visual tastes, was never into the stories or characters. But as for his comments it is his movie and if that is what he feels so be it. Hopefuly he can hook up with someone to round out the equation with him.
I thought Elysium was a real good movie
It\’s a good thing when a director is given millions of dollars because he\’s excited about a concept, particularly in the realm of sci-fi, which has lost the importance of allegory in today\’s multi-million dollar projects. If Blomkamp is a concept-oriented filmmaker then let him run with it. What Elysium showed us is that a director must recognise his need for an accomplished screenwriter before cameras starting rolling. As with the old quote about the sound-era studio execs "paying more attention to creaky floorboards than creaky stories" the technical accomplishments of Elysium can\’t mask the weakness of the story but that isn\’t to say that Blomkamp should take a story as his starting point from now on. District 9 showed that he wasn\’t a particularly nuanced screenwriter but with a script that was good enough he could be a director as storyteller and entertainer. Here\’s hoping that he can continue to take a great concept as his starting point but then let an accomplished writer articulate it into something he can really work with.
Could someone who has a direct line to Mr. Blomkamp please call him and explain to him what a satire is.
"Elysium" didn\’t work for me. It just didn\’t seen nearly as focused as "District 9." "Chappie" hasn\’t sounded interesting to me from the beginning. The new "Alien" could be very cool! Hoping Blomkamp makes it work.
His biggest f*ck-up is repeatedly using Sharlto Copley, who has been absolutely terrible of late. Jodie Foster was also acting like she was stuck in a particularly hammy children\’s pantomime too. Just horrendous performances from both.
i liked Elysium. prefered it to district 9. but maybe its because i didnt have any expectations about it and was pleasantly surprised. only thing i didnt particularly like was jodie foster. always the same gormless expression. she was great in Silence of the lambs and her kids movie. but since then she seems stuck in the same wooden pose.
After the success of District 9 Blomkamp thought he didn\’t need co-screenwriter Tatchell for Elysium. Result: disappointment critically and commercially. Wisely, he realized his mistake and brought her back for Chappie. Directors are great visualists but they tend to struggle with abstract concepts like story and character.
Elysium was a really beautiful turd. A B-movie for sure, but one that should have been made for $200k or less. With cheapo sets and everything. Directed by 80s version of John Carpenter.
I think Blomkamp wanted to do a heavier, artier film. But, if so, he should have done it and not kow-towed to the studios. Kow-towing does not a maverick make.
Bit harsh on himself there. I felt Elysium was a very enjoyable and watchable film. I\’d say beget than District 9 myself
It was a brilliant film – I’ve watched it several times!
Yes, the concept dominated, because it is actually such a great concept. Neil critical? An artist is always critical of their own work, even minutes after you lock it down you are already thinking \’what if I just did such and such a little differently\’. Action and entertainment: it was a riot! But it should also be hailed for the wake up call that it is. If you\’re paying attention at all you’ll be savvy to the unfolding demise of our species and this planet, and you\’ll be very much aware that we rocketing toward the Elysium story.
This film is captivating and original entertainment, but it is also brilliant because it encapsulates exactly the current trajectory our species is headed. Massive species loss and ecosystem breakdown, wide scale unemployment, civil unrest and advanced social degradation, the rise of robotics and technology being exploited by the rich at the expense of the poor. It\’s already started. But what are most of us doing? Snoring, mostly. Shut up or wake up please, you\’re giving me a headache you docile apes.
Well done Neil, your film was a gift, both meaningful and entertaining which is what a film should be. I can still see that gun spraying the bad guy across the corridor – what a deliciously f-ked up sound it made, but also I thoroughly enjoyed the medical ships landing at the film’s conclusion, what a delight! And you\’ll only get better with each step if you keep following your gut instincts. Let your imagination guide you, believe in yourself and f-k the critics. They are either envious or simply don\’t want to think.
He should go back, then and remake all his films based on the second act failings of District 9, Elysium and word on the street regarding Chappie.
\’Concepts are just as interesting to me as stories are. Where, to normal people, stories are more interesting\’ – No Neill, stories are important to people going to see this film and paying $15 to watch essentially a bunch of beautiful half formed ideas. If you like concepts then be a concept designer but if you want to be a director then tell a f#cking story!