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District 9

Posted by Ryan Adams On May - 1 - 2009

Yikes, gorgeous production design. This is shaping up to be a platinum year for sci-fi. District 9 is in theaters August 19.

An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.

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    21 Responses for "District 9"

    1. Rob Y May 1st, 2009 at 11:52 am 1

      I love the pixelation of the alien’s face at the end

    2. Noah May 1st, 2009 at 3:47 pm 2

      Children of Men with aliens? Looks interesting.

    3. Ryan B May 1st, 2009 at 4:00 pm 3

      I think stuff like this is so much scarier than what’s usually sold to us as horror.

    4. Magaly Solier May 1st, 2009 at 4:23 pm 4

      Exactly, I so prefer cerebral sci-fi films such as Contact (I’m sure I just opened a can of worms) to explosion heavy, mind-numbing movies a la ‘Chronicles of Riddick’. This looks fascinating and unsettling, count me in.

    5. Magically Delicious May 1st, 2009 at 7:47 pm 5

      So why are they interviewing one of the Geonosians from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones?

    6. JK May 1st, 2009 at 8:00 pm 6

      I’m totally in for this film, hope it lives to its promise….

    7. parker May 2nd, 2009 at 7:18 am 7

      it’s got a truly great website as well

    8. bambi May 2nd, 2009 at 10:38 am 8

      Looked good until alien showed up. It just took me out of the momentum completely. Looks like a Cloverfield knock off (which was BWP knock off), except that aliens are victims here or something. And that doesn`t excite me because I trully hate alien design here. Too bad because the spaceship looked stellar.

    9. Watermelons May 2nd, 2009 at 2:43 pm 9

      I agree with BAMBI- this is shot to have a documentary feel, which makes it seem like nothing more than a big CLoverfield knock off! And what was cloverfield but just a nearly shot for shot ripoff of the blair witch project?

      Neil Blomkamp? I think Neil BOMBkamp might be a more appropriate name! Because his movie will BOMB.

    10. Proman May 2nd, 2009 at 7:49 pm 10

      It looks like it could go either way. On one hand I found the documentary part to be underwhelming (it all looked very obvious). On the other hand, it seems like this could have an interesting plot (although one that’s not all that original – we’ll see).

      Peter Jackson seems to believe in this Neill kid, so I’m interested in seeing what he’s made of.

      Right now, I’m more excited about ‘Moon’.

      P.S. I think ‘Cloverfield’ was a very effective film.

    11. S.T. Stevens May 2nd, 2009 at 9:02 pm 11

      To say it looks like a Cloverfield/Blair Witch knock off just because it uses a pseudo-documentary style is gross oversimplification and purely asinine. You’re basically saying an entire subgenre of film is a rip-off.

    12. Ryan B May 3rd, 2009 at 2:23 am 12

      “Shot for shot” is a pretty specific insult. I’m not sure it applies to Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project.

    13. bambi May 3rd, 2009 at 9:04 am 13

      I like it that the movie is set in Africa instead of New York/any landmark US city yet again. I get the allusion to apartheid since that`s what awaits poor aliens (segregation camps or something). So that`s all cool. But the alien design is just too goofy, How Your Averige Joe Super 8 Envisions Aliens. Just doesn`t work for me as of now. So I hope that it all comes together much better in actual movie and that the drector isn`t a hack like Eli Roth whose Cabin Fever (total piece of poo) Peter Jackson hyped up the wazoo. After that, I don`t trust his endorsments at all (and King Kong mess doesnt restore faith in his good judgement on anything anymore either).

    14. Jesus Alonso May 3rd, 2009 at 9:31 am 14

      Come on, Cloverfield, Rec / Quarantine, Blair Witch are “found tape” subgenre. This seems to be mockumentary, as “Forgotten Silver” or “This is Spinal Tap”…

      Plus, I like the film being set in South Africa.

    15. Tom May 3rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm 15

      This could be interesting. I’m hoping this is more cerebral than action. Other than Up and a few others, this is one of the few movies I am looking forward to before the fall season starts.

    16. Afrika May 3rd, 2009 at 5:29 pm 16

      WTF at the alien scene? is he/she/it an alien foetus abandoned on earth by the alien ship in the aliens vs. predator movie?

      I’m skpetical about it. Hollywood movies based in Africa usually have some hidden Euro-centric agenda. We’ll see.

    17. Tero Heikkinen May 3rd, 2009 at 5:41 pm 17

      Nine
      9
      9.99
      District 9

      —–

      2009 is so confusing.

    18. Friedl May 9th, 2009 at 10:39 am 18

      Tero,

      aha ha ha

    19. Friedl May 9th, 2009 at 10:41 am 19

      So even our Sci-Fi films are somehow about Apartheid…
      Can’t get away from it, but this is pretty ambitious for an SA film (well, for a film set in SA, with an SA cast).

      Very interested to see it.

    20. District 9 Trailer Kicks G.I. Joe Trailer’s Ass. Today in Film Bloggery 05/01/09 | The Movie Blog May 10th, 2009 at 4:36 am 20

      [...] has a such simpler, still mayhap more excited, reaction to the District 9 spot: Yikes, gorgeous creation design. This is manufacture up to be a platinum [...]

    21. Tim June 25th, 2009 at 2:50 pm 21

      This movie looks really cool. I’ll enjoy it even though a lot of people don’t seem to get it. And its not a ripoff of Cloverfield. It uses some of the same kinds of elements, but it’s not really like Cloverfield at all. People are too quick to talk and don’t think before they type.


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    • Contender Tracker

      Best Picture
      Up in the Air
      Nine
      The Hurt Locker
      An Education
      Precious: Based on the Novel
      Push by Sapphire

      A Serious Man
      Inglourious Basterds
      Up

      Julie & Julia
      Star Trek
      District 9
      Bright Star
      Where the Wild Things Are
      A Single Man

      Best Actor
      Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
      Colin Firth, A Single Man
      George Clooney, Up in the Air
      Matt Damon, The Informant!
      Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
      Viggo Mortensen, The Road
      Ben Foster, The Messenger
      Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
      Michael Sheen, The Damned United

      Best Actress
      Gabby Sidibe, Precious
      Carey Mulligan, An Education
      Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
      Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
      Helen Mirren, The Last Station
      Michelle Monaghan, Trucker

      Best Supporting Actor
      Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
      Alfred Molina, An Education
      Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia
      Peter Sarsgaard, An Education
      Robert Duvall, Crazy Heart
      Peter Capaldi, In the Loop
      Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover
      Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
      Brian Geraghty, The Hurt Locker

      Best Supporting Actress
      Mo'Nique,Precious
      Anna Kendrick,Up in the Air
      Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
      Julianne Moore, A Single Man
      Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
      Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
      Samantha Morton, The Messenger
      Emma Thompson, An Education
      Cara Seymour, An Education

      Best Director
      Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
      Lee Daniels, Precious
      Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
      Lone Scherfig, An Education
      Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
      Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
      Neill Blomkamp, District 9
      Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
      Tom Ford, A Single Man
      Jane Campion, Bright Star

      Best Original Screenplay
      Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
      Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
      Jane Campion, Bright Star
      Quentin Tarantino,Inglourious Basterds
      Michael Haneke,White Ribbon
      Bob Peterson, Pete Docter,Up
      Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, 500 Days of Summer

      Best Adapted Screenplay
      Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
      Nick Hornby, An Education
      Spike Jonze, Dave Eggars, Where the Wild Things Are
      Peter Morgan, The Damned United
      Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
      Scott Burns, The Informant!
      Tom Ford, A Single Man

      Best Editing

      Chris Innis, Bob Murawski, The Hurt Locker
      Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds
      Dana E. Glauberman,, Up in the Air
      Joel and Ethan Coen,, A Serious Man

      Best Cinematography
      Greig Fraser,Bright Star
      Robert Richardson,Inglourious Basterds
      Roger Deakins, A Serious Man
      Christian Berger, White Ribbon
      Bruno Delbonnel,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker

      Best Art Direction

      Where the Wild Things Are
      Julie & Julia
      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Bright Star
      Inglourious Basterds
      White Ribbon
      District 9
      A Serious Man

      Best Sound Mixing

      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      District 9
      Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
      The Hurt Locker
      Star Trek

      Best Sound Editing

      District 9
      Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
      Star Trek
      Up

      Best Costume Design
      Janet Patterson, Bright Star
      Jany Temime,Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
      Anna B. Sheppard,Inglourious Basterds
      Mary Zophre, A Serious Man
      Colleen Atwood, Public Enemies
      Consolata Boyle,Cheri

      Best Original Score
      Carter Burwell, Karen O,Where the Wild Things Are
      Carter Burwell,A Serious Man
      Michael Giacchino,Up
      Alexandre Desplat, Cheri
      Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies

      Best Foreign Language Film (submissions)

      Letters from Father Jacob, Finland
      White Wedding, South Africa
      A Prophet, France
      Dawson, Isla 10, Chile
      Nobody to Watch Over Me, Japan
      Prince of Tears, Hong Kong
      No puedo vivir sin ti, Taiwan
      Kelin, Kazakhstan
      Mother, Korea
      The White Ribbon, Germany
      Silent Army, The Netherlands


      Best Documentary Feature

      The Beaches of Agnes
      Burma VJ
      The Cove
      Every Little Step
      Facing Ali
      Food, Inc.
      Garbage Dreams
      Living in Emergency
      The Most Dangerous Man in America
      Mugabe and the White African
      Sergio
      Soundtrack for a Revolution
      Under Our Skin
      Valentino
      Which Way Home


      Best Animated Feature
      Up
      The Princess and the Frog
      Coraline
      The Fantastic Mr. Fox
      A Christmas Carol
      Mary and Max
      Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
      Ponyo


      Best Visual Effects
      Star Trek
      District 9
      A Christmas Carol
      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      Transformers


      Best Makeup

      Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
      District 9

      Best Song

      Best Live Action Short

      Best Animated Short

      Best Documentary Short

      China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
      The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
      The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
      Lt. Watada
      Music by Prudence
      Rabbit a la Berlin
      Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak
      Woman Rebel

    • Ampas Breakdown

      Actors-1,222
      Producers-462
      Executives-436
      Sound-411
      Writers-388
      Art Directors-373
      Directors-375
      Public Relations-370
      Members at Large-254
      Shorts/Feature Ani-335
      Visual Effects-272
      Music-233
      Editors-227
      Cinematographers-197
      Documentary-145
      Makeup-115
      Total Voting Members -approx 6,000
    • Tuesday, December 1, 2009: Official Screen Credits forms due

      Monday, December 28, 2009: Nominations ballots mailed

      Saturday, January 23, 2010: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT

      Tuesday, February 2, 2010: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater

      Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Final ballots mailed

      Monday, February 15, 2010: Nominees Luncheon

      Saturday, February 20, 2010: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation

      Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT

      Sunday, March 7, 2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards presentation