Have you heard of DISTRICT 9? Probably not, but today Arrow In The Head received the heads up that Sony Pictures will be handling the domestic and major foreign territories distribution of the film.
You may be asking yourself, “Well why the hell does PJ Germain think I care about this movie? What the f*** is this? Oh great is it another useless film that we don’t care about?” and other things that I can only imagine. But I only have one answer for you. It’s Peter Jackson’s (LOTR, THE FRIGHTENERS, BRAIN DEAD) secret science fiction project! Yes, while fighting studios to get the HALO movie off the ground, Jackson offered HALO director Neil Blomkamp a chance to bring another film to the big screen.
Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights as well as distribution rights in a significant number of foreign territories, including all English speaking territories, to the Peter Jackson produced sci-fi motion picture “District 9” from QED International. The announcement was jointly made today by Peter Schlessel, President of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group, and QED International CEO Bill Block.
“We have seen some of Neil’s enormously creative work launching Halo 3 and he is a true talent who understands how to use visual effects in full service of the story. With Peter Jackson and his team at WETA workshop working with Neil, we believe District 9 can be a true event tentpole on our release slate,” said Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
As of now, details on the script/story are a guarded secret and will be released when the time is right. I can only imagine what these two men have in store for us when the film finally kicks into gear. I’ve been a die hard Jackson fan since the ol’ days of BAD TASTE and Blomkamps HALO 3 short film campaign has really got me looking forward to see what this man can do with something bigger and better. Currently, Peter Jackson is busy directing THE LOVELY BONES, based on a novel by Alice Sebold about a murdered young girl who’s watching her family and her killer from heaven. Anyways, stay tuned for more about DISTRICT 9 as it spews from the corporate machine.