District 9 set Neill Blomkamp up. I’m sure he was taking meetings all over Hollywood and that he’s been getting all sorts of offers from studios. But his follow up film won’t be the sequel we’ve all been excited about and it won’t be for one of the studios; instead Blomkamp has closed a deal with indie financier/producer Media Rights Capital to make a film.

The title and the plot are being kept under wraps, but it’s a science fiction film set on an alien planet. Says Blomkamp: “I’m not particularly interested in massive budget films, or creating
huge spectacles that some young directors might be attracted to,” he
said. “Hopefully, this will be a bit unique, very much a reflection of
me. It is absolutely another science fiction film, quite different from
`District 9,’ but some of the blending of genres and the tone might be
within the same realm.”

While he’s not interested in a massive budget film, Variety is guessing that the budget on this movie will be bigger than District 9‘s $30 million.

What strikes me about this deal is how good it is for Blomkamp. He’s got complete creative freedom and the start of production isn’t dependent on the film getting a US distributor. MRC makes movies and sells them to studios, but this time they’re focusing on just making the movie. Further, Blomkamp’s getting an ownership stake in the film.

You should check out the full article, which calls into question MRC’s general sanity – they’ve made a bunch of movies that haven’t really scored as high as they hoped, like Bruno and The Invention of Lying. And their upcoming slate, which includes The Box (which I am almost certain will bomb and which WB is barely screening) doesn’t look super promising either.