Neill Blomkamp | |
|---|---|
 Blomkamp in 2009 | |
| Born | (1979-05-16)16 May 1979 (age 46) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Citizenship | Canada |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | Terri Tatchell |
Neill Blomkamp (Afrikaans:[ˈnilˈblɔmkamp]; born 16 May 1979) is a South African-born Canadian film director and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-writer and director of the science fiction action filmDistrict 9 (2009), for which he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also directed the dystopian science fiction action filmElysium (2013), the science fiction action filmChappie (2015), and the sports drama filmGran Turismo (2023). He is known for his collaborations with actorSharlto Copley, who played the lead inDistrict 9.
Neill Blomkamp was born on 16 May 1979 inJohannesburg, then inTransvaal province of South Africa,[1][2] and grew up under theapartheid regime, which affected his world view and creative vision.[2] His parents gave him a computer when he was 14, which led to experimentation withspecial effects.[2]
At the age of 16, he metSharlto Copley, who provided Blomkamp with the use of computers at his production company, Deadtime, for Blomkamp to pursue his passion and talent for3D animation and design.[2] In return, Blomkamp assisted Copley in creating 3D work for pitches on various projects.[3]
Blomkamp was 18 when he moved toVancouver, Canada, with his family, where he studied film at theVancouver Film School.[2]
In the late 1990s, he started working in the film industry as a visual effects artist and 3D animator. His animation credits includeStargate SG-1 (1998),First Wave (1998),Mercy Point (1998) andAftershock: Earthquake in New York (1999). In 2000, he garnered his first role of lead animator for theDark Angel (2000). He was the lead 3D animator for3000 Miles to Graceland (2001).
In 2003, he was hired to illustrate photo-realistic future aircraft forPopular Science's "Next Century in Aviation". In 2004, he illustrated "The Future of the Automobile".[4] Blomkamp worked as a visual effects artist atThe Embassy Visual Effects in Vancouver as well as atRainmaker Digital Effects, and was signed by Toronto commercial house Spy Films.[5] In 2007, to promote the release ofHalo 3, Blomkamp directed a trilogy of live-action short films set in theHalo universe, known collectively asLandfall.
Blomkamp was then slated to direct his first feature-length film, an adaptation of theHalo series of video games, produced byPeter Jackson. Jackson came to know of Blomkamp after viewing a reel of his commercial work and shorts, shot in his off time. The four shorts that got him noticed included:Tetra Vaal, a faux advertisement for a third-world police robot that established Blomkamp's signature style of mixing lo-fi production with seamless CGI;Alive in Joburg, a grittymockumentary about extraterrestrials marooned in Johannesburg;Tempbot, anOffice Space-esque spoof; andYellow, a short film based on the colour yellow for Adidas' "Adicolor" campaign by digital studio IDEALOGUE, which portrays a globe-trotting android gone rogue. Blomkamp has admitted since that theHalo pre-production was a nightmare, and relations between 20th Century Fox and him severely disintegrated before the project's end.[6]
When funding for theHalo film collapsed,[7]Peter Jackson decided to produceDistrict 9 instead, an adaptation of Blomkamp's earlier short filmAlive in Joburg, which had been produced by Hansen and Copley. The film, directed by Blomkamp, starring Copley, and co-written with Blomkamp's wife and production partnerTerri Tatchell, was released in mid-August 2009 byTriStar Pictures to widespread critical acclaim and became a box office success, earning $210 million worldwide.[8]District 9 was later nominated for the 2010Academy Award for Best Picture, along with nominations for Best Visual Effects, Editing, and Adapted Screenplay.
In October 2010, a video released on theiPad version ofWired Magazine was credited to Neill Blomkamp. It shows an amateur recording of two young men who find a dead mutated creature in a puddle of mud while driving down a countryside road. The creature, a dog-sized mix between a pig and a lizard, presents a tattooed seal on its side that reads "18.12 AGM Heartland Pat. Pend. USA".[9] "AGM Heartland" was trademarked for its use in an entertainment-oriented website.[citation needed] On 20 February 2012, a 23-second video clip titled "IS IT DEAD?" appeared on YouTube, featuringYolandi Visser, of the South African groupDie Antwoord, crouching over the creature.[10] Blomkamp admitted that he was still interested in making aHalo film in April 2013.[11]
AfterElysium, he started work on his next sci-fi film,Chappie, in April 2013. The film was based on his own short,Tetra Vaal.[12][13] Blomkamp directed andSony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia Pictures) andMedia Rights Capital co-produced and co-financed the film, which was released March 2015.[14]
Сollectively,District 9, Elysium, andChappie are sometimes referred to as afilm trilogy that shares distinctive aesthetics and social themes.[15][16]
In early 2015, Blomkamp posted several pictures to his Instagram page that showed concept art for anAlien film he might have been working on.[17] Included in the art is Ripley and Hicks, a ship bearing resemblance toThe Derelict from the 1979Alien, and a concept Xenomorph.[18] In a February 2015 interview withCollider, he stated that he planned theAlien sequel withSigourney Weaver in the lead role asEllen Ripley.[19] On 18 February 2015, Blomkamp himself confirmed that theAlien film will be his next project.[20] In March 2015, he confirmed that he planned more than one sequel to theAlien franchise.[21] The project was shelved in October 2015, pending the outcome ofRidley Scott's second prequel installment,Alien: Covenant.[22] In January 2017, a fan on Twitter asked Blomkamp about the outlook of the film going into production, he responded by saying they were "slim".[23] On 1 May 2017, its title had been revealed to beAlien: Awakening. Ridley Scott confirmed Blomkamp's film had been officially canceled.[24] Fans of the franchise started a petition to help save Blomkamp's cancelled film.[25] Since then, there have been no further developments.
In November 2015, it was announced that Blomkamp would be working on adapting the forthcomingTom Sweterlitsch novelThe Gone World, described as a "sci-fi time travel" concept, but the film was either subsequently scrapped or stuck in "development hell," with production never going forward.[26][27]
In 2017, Blomkamp announced the creation of his own film production company,Oats Studios, and confirmed a series of experimental short films and other content titledOats Studios Volume 1 to be released viaSteam. The films will also be available for free streaming on YouTube. These films are distributed to gauge interest in a certain theme, with the intention to expand them into a feature film if deemed viable. The first short, an alien invasion-themed film co-written with Sweterlitsch, is titledRakka.[28]
In July 2018, Blomkamp announced that he would be directing a new entry in theRoboCop film series forMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[29] The film was to be adapted from a previously unproducedspec script written in the late 1980s byEdward Neumeier and Michael Miner, the writers of thefirst film, who were slated to executive produce the film.[30] Tentatively titledRoboCop Returns, the film was to serve as a direct sequel to the first film, ignoring 1990'sRoboCop 2 and 1993'sRoboCop 3, as well as the2014 remake.[31][32] On 15 August 2019, Blomkamp announced on Twitter that he is no longer directingRoboCop Returns as he is focusing on directing a horror movie instead.[33]
In December 2020, it was revealed that Blomkamp had secretly shot a supernatural horror film,Demonic, in British Columbia during the summer of 2020 amidst theCOVID-19 pandemic.[34]
In August 2021, it was confirmed that the sequel toDistrict 9 was in the works but that the script was still under development. In 2022, it was announced that he would direct the sports filmGran Turismo based onthe video game series and the true story ofJann Mardenborough, a teenageGran Turismo player that later would become an actual racing driver.[35]
In March 2025, Columbia Pictures tapped Blomkamp to write and direct an adaptation ofRobert A. Heinlein's military science fiction novelStarship Troopers.[36] He is also reportedly working on an adaptation ofPeter Watts's novelBlindsight.[37]
Blomkamp employs a documentary-style,hand-held,cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realisticcomputer-generatedvisual effects, and his films often deal with themes ofxenophobia andsocial segregation.[31][23]
In 2020, Blomkamp joined Gunzilla Games as co-founder and Chief Creative Officer.[38] He began work onOFF THE GRID and the game went into early access on October 8, 2024. His company acquiredGame Informer fromGameStop, restarting its publication after seven months.
Blomkamp is anaturalised Canadian citizen.[39]
He married screenwriterTerri Tatchell.[40][41]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | District 9 | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2013 | Elysium | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2015 | Chappie | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2021 | Demonic | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2023 | Gran Turismo | Yes | No | No |
| Year | Title | Brand |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Crab | Nike |
| 2004 | Alive with Technology | CitroënC4 |
| 2006 | Rain | Gatorade |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Tetra Vaal | Yes | No | Also editor and producer |
| 2005 | Alive in Joburg | Yes | Uncredited | Also visual effects |
| 2006 | Tempbot | Yes | No | |
| Yellow | Yes | No | Also visual effects | |
| 2007 | Halo: Landfall | Yes | No | |
| 2016 | The Escape | Yes | Yes | |
| 2017 | Rakka | Yes | Yes | |
| Firebase | Yes | Yes | ||
| God: Serengeti | Yes | Yes | ||
| God: City | Yes | Yes | ||
| Cooking with Bill: Damasu 950 | Yes | No | Also producer | |
| Cooking with Bill: Sushi | Yes | Yes | ||
| Cooking with Bill: PrestoVeg | Yes | No | ||
| Cooking with Bill: Smoothie | Yes | No | ||
| Zygote | Yes | Yes | ||
| Kapture: Fluke | Yes | Yes | ||
| ADAM: The Mirror | Yes | Yes | ||
| Praetoria | Yes | Yes | ||
| Gdansk | Yes | Yes | ||
| Lima | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2022 | Off the Grid - Switcher Part 1 | Yes | No |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Stargate SG-1 | 3D animator | |
| First Wave | |||
| Mercy Point | |||
| 1999 | Aftershock: Earthquake in New York | Uncredited | |
| 2000 | Dark Angel | Lead animator | |
| 2001 | 3000 Miles to Graceland | Lead 3D animator | |
| 2008 | Crossing the Line | Additional director | |
| 2025 | Ash | Executive producer |
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Critical, public, and commercial reception to films Blomkamp has directed:
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes[45] | Metacritic[46] | CinemaScore[47] | Budget | Box office[48][failed verification] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 9 | 90% | 81 | B | $30 million | $210.8 million |
| Elysium | 65% | 61 | B | $115 million | $286.1 million |
| Chappie | 32% | 41 | B | $49 million | $102.1 million |
| Demonic | 15% | 34 | — | $1.5 million | $136,069 |
| Gran Turismo | 65% | 48 | A | $60 million | $122.1 million |
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