Neill Blomkamp’s “Elysium” Gets Jodie Foster

Neill Blomkamp’s “Elysium” Gets Jodie Foster

Movie News

By our guest blogger, Joe Oliveto

Although it was overshadowed by the spectacle (and budget) of “Avatar,” 2009’s “District 9” was a fantastic science-fiction film that blended compelling action with social commentary. Writer/director Neill Blomkamp deserves credit for starting out strong with an excellent feature directorial debut, and we’re looking forward to what he has in store for audiences next.

Sadly, although we know the title of his next project—“Elysium”—the plot has yet to be revealed. However, it has at least attracted some major star power.

Deadline reports that Jodie Foster has signed on to star in the film, joining a cast that already features Matt Damon and Sharlto Copley, who stole the show in “District 9.” As development moves forward, it’s likely that these stars will be promoting the film and giving us a little more information to go on.

Although, then again, if he’s concerned about keeping his story a secret, maybe Blomkamp has something truly interesting in store for audiences. Sometimes, as in the case of “Cloverfield,” the secrecy surrounding a film just adds unnecessary hype. That movie looked like it was going to be a monster flick shot “Blair With” style, and that’s exactly what it was. Entertaining? Yeah, absolutely, but we probably could have gone without the year-long fanboy theorizing when the plot of the film turned out to be nothing special.

Maybe “Elysium” will be a film truly worth keeping quiet on. We already know that Blomkamp can deliver an effective genre film with serious undertones, so if there’s a chance that he’s got another intriguing plot up his sleeve, let’s let him keep it there for a while.