District 9 Movie in August 2008

District 9 is an upcoming science fiction movie directed by first-timer Neill Blomkamp, a South African filmmaker who is known primarily for his short films, especially the series Halo: Arms Race, and commercials that blend hand-held camera footage with photo-realistic computer-generated imagery. The movie is based on 'Alive in Joburg', a short film previously produced by Neill Blomkamp.

The story of District 9 is set in a world in which aliens have landed on earth 28 years before: those aliens are like refugees, contained in a huge camp called District 9. The film is starring Jason Cope, Robert Hobbs and Sharlto Copley. It is scheduled for a release on August 14, 2009.

Here below a first look at Sharlto Copley as Wikus, a Multi-National United agent who's been infected by alien goo:
(Click on the picture to enlarge it.)
Plot:
"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.
The aliens are called the 'Non-Humans' and are forced to work the Multi National United company (MNU for short). A kind of apartheid discriminating the non-humans has been enforced. Throughout the film, the Non-Humans will try to free themselves from MNU's grasp."

There is currently a viral marketing campaign for District 9 (check the site here): it feels like what was done for Cloverfield: it's hyper realist!

Neill Blomkamp did a quite impressive job with his previous Halo short films and I believe that he will his new creation will be an amazing sci-fi thriller with impressive. I expect the movie District 9 to be the big surprise of this Summer.
:)