Neill Blomkamp
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The 'Gran Turismo' movie can't help but be cringe
Gran Turismo is a decent sports movie, but Sony's marketing machine makes it feel too much like an ad.
Neill Blomkamp's Gran Turismo film certainly looks and sounds like Gran Turismo
The first Gran Turismo teaser shows off sleek cars and angles ripped straight out of the game franchise, all from the lens of District 9 director Neill Blomkamp.
A Gran Turismo movie will arrive in 2023
Neill Blomkamp of 'District 9' fame is directing the film, which is based on a true story.
'District 9' director Neill Blomkamp is helping make a new 'AAA' game
The 'Chappie' helmer is working with Gunzilla Games on a multiplayer shooter.
Watch the 'Anthem' prequel from the director of 'District 9'
A short film set in the world of BioWare's online shooter Anthem, which highlights some of the universe's lore, dropped on Thursday morning. Conviction is directed by Neill Blomkamp, a name you might recognize from District 9, Chappie, the ill-fated Halo movie or an upcoming RoboCop reboot.
‘District 9’ director to debut his new sci-fi flick on Steam
After taking a lengthy absence from sci-fi, South African film director Neill Blomkamp has decided to pit the human race against extraterrestrial forces once again. Created by his new science fiction studio, Oats Studios, his latest project is a short film called Volume 1 -- and surprisingly, it could make its debut on PC gaming platform, Steam.
Neill Blomkamp would still like to do that Halo movie
Even though Neill Blomkamp already put five months of work into the stalled Halo film project, he's not bitter. In fact, he's still down to work on the film – that is, if he's in control."I still really love the world and the universe and the mythology of Halo. If I was given control, I would really like to do that film," Blomkamp told IGN. "But that's the problem. When something pre-exists, there's this idea of my own interpretation versus 150 other people involved with the film's interpretation of the same intellectual property. Then the entire filmgoing audience has their interpretation. You can really live up to or fail in their eyes. That part isn't appealing to me, but the original pieces are appealing."Blomkamp went on record back in 2009 to say that he wouldn't do the Halo film, even if it was offered to him. Blomkamp drew attention for his trio of Halo 3 short films, eventually all collected in Halo 3: Landfall. The Halo movie was officially postponed in late 2006 after Fox and Universal both pulled out of the project.
O'Connor: Halo movie will happen 'when the time is right'
During last week's MI6 conference, Bungie alum (now 343 Industries head) Frank O'Connor spoke candidly about the possibility of a Halo movie now that relations between Peter Jackson / Neill Blomkamp and Microsoft have fallen apart (as reported by IGN). "We're going to make a movie when the time is right," O'Connor told attendees of a session he was part of, titled "Extending Your Game Beyond the Package." He continued, frankly stating "We own the IP." Being head of Microsoft's Halo product house (that includes everything from Master Chief plushies, to the development of games after Halo: Reach, to a possible film) though, O'Connor worries about the implications of a film on the franchise. "If we want to make a movie, the scale of all the other stuff that we do changes dramatically. We make tens of millions of dollars on ancillary stuff, toys, apparel, music and publishing. If we do a movie all of that will grow exponentially." So while that's not exactly confirmation of a movie adaptation for the Chief at some point in the future, the possibility of exponentially growing an already multi-million dollar business sounds like a pretty good excuse to us for doing one.
Neill Blomkamp put 5 months into canceled Halo film
Speaking to MTV, District 9 director Neill Blomkamp discussed his role in the ill-fated Halo film before it was unceremoniously canned. According to Blomkamp, he poured five months into the movie. He says he worked on the film "24 hours a day," adding that he feels that the "the whole [Halo] universe is incredibly compelling." Still, he reiterates his belief that he probably wouldn't return to Halo, saying, "When you spend five months working on something like that, and then you just get the rug pulled out from underneath you, it's not easy to kind of go back to that."While he says that he loves the creative part of the process, and adds that District 9 "got born" out of the ordeal, it would be "difficult" to return to Halo. "I wish I could," says Blomkamp, "but I'm not sure that I would be able to."
Check out Weta's Halo Warthog this weekend in Sydney Harbor
For those within the vicinity of Sydney, Australia, the land down under, it might be fun to check out the Halo Warthog on display this weekend on Cockatoo Island. The car is the same one from Neill Blomkamp's Halo short Landfall created by special effects studio Weta. Although for many the idea of putting on their best Master Chief uniform and spending a couple grand to fly to Sydney isn't exactly a viable option, with any luck, a version of the car will make the rounds in the States for the Halo 3: ODST launch. No guarantee, but keep the dream alive, trooper. [Via Kotaku]
That's a wrap: Comic-Con 2009
Last week's San Diego Comic-Con was one crazy ride. The Joystiq representatives in attendance were trained in advanced interrogation tactics and managed to extract information on a variety of subjects. We've got an update from Peter Jackson himself on the Halo happenings, first footage of South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! and a new game mode for Uncharted 2! Friend, you missed one heck of a week.But, that's okay! You can get caught up right here, right now. Simply head past the break for a complete summary of all the headlines. [image] %Gallery-68768%
Blomkamp: 'I probably wouldn't do Halo if it was offered to me'
In case the news – straight out of Peter Jackson's mouth to your earholes – that the episodic Halo Chronicles project was "no longer happening" wasn't enough to confirm the wreckage of Microsoft's (impossibly?) ambitious plan, here comes word from the other half of the Halo movie project, Neill Blomkamp, who tells Slashfilm, "I probably wouldn't do Halo if it was offered to me."It's not that Mr. Blomkamp has had a change of heart when it comes to the subject matter – "Creatively, it's very compelling. I love it," he says – but having poured "a lot of ... sweat and blood into Halo" only to have it "bottom out and collapse" is sure to leave one jaded. On the other hand, the collapse of the Halo project paved the way for District 9 – the feature adaptation of his short film "Alive in Joburg" – which the South African-born director calls "more of a personal film." (More personal than a story about cyborg super soldiers on a ring-shaped planet?) For what it's worth, most video game adaptations haven't been stellar, and if early buzz on District 9 is to be believed, Blomkamp may have lucked out.Oh, by the way, now's your big chance, Stuart Beattie!
Peter Jackson tells Joystiq about the Halo movie, video game project
We caught up with Peter Jackson himself last night, after a screening of District 9 – the feature-length debut of director Neill Blomkamp who had previously been attached to helm the Halo movie that fizzled out. Jackson explained that they felt like they had an amazing director in Blomkamp and they didn't want to lose the opportunity to work with him so, instead of bringing Halo to the big screen, they created an entire film based on his Alive in Joburg short. (See the rest of Blomkamp's work here, in our roundup). District 9 – which Jackson produced and is coming to theaters on August 14 – is seriously amazing. There's a wide array of alien weapons that would make Ratchet & Clank jealous, CGI aliens that look better than Avatar, walking mech suits, and a really amazing performance from lead actor Sharlto Copley. Clear your calendars and make plans to see this one. But back to the Halo movie that never was: After the screening, we got to sit down with Jackson to ask him about just that. Read on to find out where the Halo movies stands, and if we'll ever see the long-rumored Halo Chronicles video game project.
E308: Halo 3, Bungie speculation continues
As we patiently await the Microsoft Press Conference a big question looms over the show, will Bungie showcase something new. Gamers and game sites everywhere are speculating on the company's recent activity and have some theories as to what they have in store for Xbox 360 owners. The most popular theory is that Bungie will announce a new third-person shooter set in the Halo universe where players take on the role of ODSTs (Orbital Drop-Shock Troopers) during a Covenant attack on Earth. Two possible storylines include a game based on the events between Halo 2 and Halo 3, also seen in the Neill Blomkamp short film Halo Landfall, or showcasing the initial attack on Earth. Both theories ultimately end the game with an epic battle reminiscent of the famous Halo 3 diorama. According to a reliable source, GameSpot says a tactical shooter is likely and considering former Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter creative director Christian Allen is the lead of Bungie's next project it makes sense. Another theory after the jump.
Master Chief would have had supporting role in Halo movie
Though the many deaths of a Halo-based film were pretty hard for us to swallow, there have been several events since that have helped to cushion the blow. First were director Neil Blomkamp's live-action short films which were, frankly, not particularly Halo-esque. Now, courtesy of Level Up, we learn that Master Chief would have played a supporting role in the story, driving the film right past Relevantville and into Pointless Gorge.So we don't put words in Bungie's Joseph Staten's mouth, we'll give it to you straight from him. "Over time," he said, "I think everybody around the table agreed that the Master Chief is best left as the most important supporting cast member." The thing is, when you read his full response, you realize he's kind of got a point. We're still not sure if that means we want a Halo movie with the Chief as the wacky neighbor, or if we want the film to just stay dead. What do you think?
Video: Neill Blomkamp's Halo 3: Landfall
Available since last week on Xbox Live Marketplace, Halo 3: Landfall is now on the web for all to see. Lest you're unfamiliar with the video, it's all three of Neill Blomkamp's Halo 3 short films edited into one. We have to admit, seeing them all together makes us pine for the Halo movie that could have been. The film takes place just prior to the events of Halo 3 and tells the story of a pair of orbital drop shock troopers (ODST) on a mission critical to Earth's success in the Human / Covenant war: they have to confirm Master Chief's coordinates as he rockets through the atmosphere (see the ending of Halo 2). Sounds easy enough, right? Watch and see for yourself.
Halo film NOT still in production at WETA
Update: The source article cited by 1UP is outdated and concerns the studios' now dashed prospects at the time the Halo film was originally canned. Joystiq regrets the error.The Halo film is not "entirely dead" as director Neill Blomkamp said earlier this month. In fact, preparation for the movie continues at Peter Jackson's WETA Studios while Microsoft pursues new distribution partners, according to a report in Variety (via 1UP).Concerning the previous deal that went sour, Ken Kamins, a representative for Jackson and partner Fran Walsh, told Variety that Universal had a meeting on behalf of both studios with the filmmakers just prior to a significant payment due date."Basically, [the studios] said that in order to move forward with the film, the filmmakers had to significantly reduce their deals," said Kamins. "They waited until the last minute to have this conversation. Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungie, respectfully declined.""We're very confident this film will move forward with the creative partners intact, who will take the film to production," said Kamins, who also noted that everyone involved is still confident with Blomkamp as the director.
Latest Halo 3 live action short is on XBLM in HD
We're not sure how long this has been on the XBLM or which countries it's available to, but we just discovered the video while taking a gander through the Marketplace and got excited. Available for download in full HD goodness is the latest Neill Blomkamp Halo 3 short Last One Standing that we mentioned back in September. To get the video, head onto the Marketplace and go to Media and Entertainment > TV Shows > Clips. Here you'll find the Halo Short - Full Version download in both SD and HD flavors. Remember, this is the same video from a few weeks back, but now in juicy HD glory and on your 360. Again, sorry if this is old news, but it's new news to us and after watching it in HD we wet ourselves. And anything that makes us wet ourselves (even if it's old) we feel obligated to share.
Halo movie is pretty much dead for now
In an interview with Creativity Online, Halo director and overall good guy Neill Blomkamp commented on the status of and his involvement in the Halo movie and pretty much confirmed our worst fears, that the movie is indeed dead in its tracks. Blomkamp told Creativity Online that, in its current configuration, the Halo movie has been killed off since late last year when Universal, Fox and Microsoft couldn't agree on the movie's specifics. "It's a fragile industry" Blomkamp said, and if the movie ever gets made it "will be a totally different configuration". Sorry Halo fanboys, it has been nothing but icky news as of late.[Thanks, Dobbs]
Neill Blomkamp talks Halo promos, film's demise
Would-be director of the now thoroughly deceased Halo movie, Neill Blomkamp, recently spoke to Creativity Online about his work on the trio of live-action videos that preceded the launch of the third game in the series -- and really, did we even have to hyperlink that? Blomkamp made it clear that the clips are completely separate entities and shouldn't be seen as replacement nor attempted resurrection for the film. "In essence, those pieces have zero to do with the film," he said. "Like less than zero."Not even forgotten movie props made it into the viral videos, as Blomkamp explains that "the design and everything that we'd made for the film is just locked up in some locker somewhere." Of course, "locker" is likely a euphemism for the coffin that now holds the "entirely dead" film. "Whatever happens with that movie, assuming that movie gets made, will be a totally different configuration. It's not so much me as the entire vessel sank." Despite the lack of optimism, the South African born director admits he's still curious as to what might happen in the future. You'd think a guy involved in Halo's marketing would, you know, "believe."[Thanks, Vlad]
