District 9

District 9 is a 2009 science fiction thriller movie directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. The movie stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James. The movie won the 2010 Saturn Award for Best International movie, which is awarded by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films,^[6] and was nominated for four Academy Awards in 2010, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing.^[7]

District 9
Directed by	Neill Blomkamp
Written by	Neill Blomkamp Terri Tatchell
Based on	Alive in Joburg[lower-alpha 1] by Neill Blomkamp
Produced by	Peter Jackson Carolynne Cunningham
Starring	Sharlto Copley Jason Cope David James Vanessa Haywood Mandla Gaduka Kenneth Nkosi Eugene Khumbanyiwa Louis Minnaar William Allen Young
Cinematography	Trent Opaloch
Edited by	Julian Clarke
Music by	Clinton Shorter[1][2]
Production companies	QED International WingNut Films TriStar Pictures
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release dates	13 August 2009 (2009-08-13) (New Zealand) 14 August 2009 (2009-08-14) (United States) 28 August 2009 (2009-08-28) (South Africa)
Running time	112 minutes[3]
Countries	New Zealand[4] United States[4] South Africa[4]
Language	English
Budget	US$30 million[5]
Box office	US$210.8 million[5]

The plot is based on a 2005 short movie, Alive in Joburg, also directed by Blomkamp and produced by Sharlto Copley and Simon Hansen, pivots on the themes of xenophobia and social segregation. The title and plot of District 9 were based on real-life events that took happened in District Six, Cape Town during the apartheid era. The movie was produced for $30 million and shot on location in Chiawelo, Soweto, showing fictional interviews, new stories, and videos from surveillance cameras in a part-mock documentary style format. A viral marketing campaign began in 2008, at the San Diego Comic-Con, while the theatrical trailer appeared in July 2009. Released by TriStar Pictures, the movie opened to critical acclaim on August 14, 2009, in North America and made $37 million in its first weekend. Lots of people thought that the movie was a sleeper hit for its not very famous cast and modest-budget production, while having success and being popular while it was in theaters.

References

1. "The Expanse: Interview: Composer Clinton Shorter". SciFi Bulletin, interview by Paul Simpson
2. "CD Review: District 9". Film Music Magazine. By Daniel Schweiger • 14 September 2009
3. "District 9". British Board of Film Classification. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
4. "District 9 (2009)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
5. "District 9 (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
6. Awards for District 9 on IMDb
7. "The 82nd Annual Oscar Nominations". The New York Times. 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2010-05-01.

Notes

1. Despite the film being based on the short film, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizing the film as an adaptation of said short, the film itself never mentions being based on it.