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Neill BlomkampCanadian film and advertising director
Date of Birth: 17.09.1979
Country:  Canada |
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Biography of Neill Blomkamp
Neill Blomkamp (born on September 17, 1979) is a Canadian film and advertising director. Born in South Africa, he is known for his documentary-style filmmaking, often using handheld cameras and a blend of natural and photorealistic computer effects. His most famous work is the critically acclaimed film "District 9," which remains his only feature-length artistic production to date. In 2009, Blomkamp was included in Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People."
Early Life and Career
Blomkamp was born in Blomkamp, South Africa. At the age of 16, he began working as an animator on "Deadtime" under the guidance of Simon Hansen and Sharlto Copley. When he was 18, Blomkamp and his family moved to Vancouver, where he enrolled in film school. In 2003, he was hired to illustrate the photorealistic compilation "The Next Century of Aviation," and in 2004, he worked on the next installment of the series, "The Future of Cars." Additionally, Blomkamp worked as a visual effects specialist at both The Embassy Visual Effects and Rainmaker Digital Effects.
Success with "District 9" and Other Projects
In 2007, Blomkamp released three short films set in the universe of the video game "Halo," which served as a prelude to the upcoming release of "Halo 3." The first of these films, "Halo: Combat Evolved," won the Grand Prix at the 2008 Cannes Lions advertising festival. Following this, Blomkamp began working on his first feature-length film, an adaptation of one of his short films. Unfortunately, the project was shelved, and his producer, Peter Jackson, decided to pursue another of Blomkamp's short films, "Alive in Joburg," which eventually became "District 9."
More recently, Blomkamp was given permission to shoot a new science fiction film called "Elysium," which will be sponsored by Media Rights Capital and is set for release in 2011. Despite rumors, the film is not a sequel to "District 9" and will take place on a different planet in the distant future. Similar to his previous work, Blomkamp plans to present important ideas wrapped in a Hollywood action film package. Jackson will not be involved in the project, making "Elysium" Blomkamp's first solo endeavor. Filming is set to begin in mid-2010.
There were also rumors for some time that Blomkamp would direct the highly anticipated film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," but these rumors were later debunked.
