Elysium just opened
and director Neill Blomkamp is already thinking and working on his next movie,
Chappie, which “tells
the story of a robot imbued with artificial intelligence who is stolen by two
local gangsters who want to use him for their own nefarious purposes.”
Sharlto Copley will
voice Chappie, and Ninja and Yolandi Visser, from Die Antwoord are set to play
the two gangsters. Actor Dev Patel was reported to be in early talks for a role but he
isn’t mentioned in the press release, but Blomkamp revealed that there’s one
more role he is trying to fill, so maybe…
Chappie was
co-written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell and production is set to begin in
this fall.
Press Release
CULVER CITY, Calif.,
August 13, 2013 – Sony Pictures Entertainment and MRC have agreed to co-produce
and co-finance Chappie, the next film from writer-director Neill Blomkamp, it
was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures and Hannah
Minghella, president of Production for the studio, and MRC. The film will
be marketed and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures.
Blomkamp will direct
the film from a screenplay he has written with Terri Tatchell. He will
also produce the film with Simon Kinberg. Production is expected to begin
this fall.
Chappie tells the
story of a robot imbued with artificial intelligence who is stolen by two local
gangsters who want to use him for their own nefarious purposes. The film
will star Sharlto Copley as the voice of Chappie, with Ninja and Yolandi
Visser, voices of the South African Zef counter-culture movement and members of
rap-rave duo Die Antwoord, as the two gangsters.
Commenting on the
announcement, Belgrad said, “We’re huge fans of Neill Blomkamp – it’s a real
thrill to be continuing our relationship with such a visionary and important
filmmaker. Neill has proven that he is a true original voice and we
expect that Chappie will strike a chord with worldwide audiences in the same
way that District 9 and Elysium have. We love the script he and Terri
have written and we’re looking forward to working again with our friends at
MRC.”
“Neill is an
incredibly talented and bold artist and we are proud to continue to support his
work. We are looking forward to partnering with the team at Sony on
Chappie,” said Modi Wiczyk, co-CEO of MRC.
The announcement
comes as Sony Pictures and MRC released Elysium, Blomkamp’s second feature,
starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, which Blomkamp wrote and directed and
also produced with Bill Block and Simon Kinberg. Elysium opened at #1 in
the U.S. this weekend, and was also #1 in Russia, Sweden, Taiwan and Ukraine.
Sony Pictures also released Blomkamp’s first feature film,District 9, which
took in over $200 million worldwide and earned four Oscar® nominations,
including Best Picture.
Hannah Minghella and
Rachel O’Connor will oversee Chappie for Sony Pictures; Brye Adler will oversee
for Media Rights Capital.
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