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The science fiction movie takes place in the year 2154 and features class struggle on a cosmic scale, with the wealthiest citizens living on a highly secured space station named Elysium, and the rest stuck on the dilapidated remains of Earth. The event debuted the "Elysium" trailer, along with a screening-exclusive 10-minute reel expanding on the film's basic concept.
"Elysium" is writer and director Neill Blomkamp's follow-up to 2009's "District 9," a surprise commercial hit and best picture nominee. The footage shown at the event displayed a similarly inventive visual flair, along with a palpable interest in using sci-fi allegories as a means of exploring real-life issues.
"In this film, and to a certain degree in 'District 9,' both times proper science was thrown out the window a little bit, to make the mechanics of what the theme is work," the director said. "Building a space station with marble and slate is not really something that you want to do, but the metaphor of Bel Air in space is correct, you just kind of work towards that. My approach is always, start off with something ridiculous, and then try to use the most realistic portrayal of the ridiculous as you can."
In the footage shown, he was equipped with a cybernetic implant to help him achieve his goals, and pursues a character played by William Fichtner in an attempt to retrieve the data he needs to break into Elysium. Sharlto Copley, who starred in "District 9," plays antagonist Kruger in the new film, and also appeared in Los Angeles.
Producer Simon Kinberg was in attendance in LA and downplayed any thematic connection between "Elysium" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past," which he's writing and producing, and at least in its original comic book form also involves a dystopian future Earth.
"They're such different movies," Kinberg said. "The things that ["Elysium"] touches on, like immigration, and health care, and class issues, aren't really issues that this superhero movie is going to dive into in the same way. And the aesthetic is very different."
The past year has been such an amazing time for RPGs that I had almost forgotten about No Truce With The Furies, a surreal 'procedural cop RPG' that claims Planescape: Torment and Kentucky Route Zero as equal inspirations.
Studio ZA/UM reckon that the title - weird as it was - didn't stand out quite enough, so they've officially rebranded the game as 'Disco Elysium'. I am baffled, but I can't help but like the sound of it. It's a satisfying title to say, and a lot easier to type.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited. Torment: Tides of Numenera gave me a renewed taste for combat-light but systems-heavy RPG gameplay, and the distinct world, aesthetic and concepts behind Disco Elysium are an intoxicating and exciting mix. It's also interesting seeing violence used in the trailer to dramatic effect, rather than something that just plays out on a combat grid over a series of turns.
The game was originally due out around the end of 2017, but with a suite of amazing ideas as dense as what Alice reported on here, it's no surprise that it slipped to an undetermined point in 2018. The official press materials mention that on top of rearranging your own character's internal mental makeup, your choice of clothing will have effects on how the world reacts to you. I've not seen that used in an RPG to any real degree outside of the venerable old Arcanum, so it's nice to see the concept returning.
I haven't seen the film yet but I've watched the trailer several times. I was immediately struck by similarities in the depiction of Elysium - both inside and from the outside - to designs associated with Gerard O'Neill's concepts for space colonies in the 1970s. In a draft of The Visioneers, I wrote about artists' conceptualizations of O'Neill's ideas but I ended up having to cut a lot of this material to meet the word count specified in my book contract. The release of Elysium spurred me to go back to this material and re-think it some. So, let's take a look...
The original first look photos from Elysium, the new sci-fi, sophomore effort from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, already introduced us to Matt Damon with some sort of biotech on his body, not to mention seeing our first look at Sharlto Copley and Alice Braga in the film. Now promotion for the release this August is in full swing as the first poster has arrived. It's simple and just gives us a different angle on Damon in his weird sci-fi gear, like some kind of crazy, futuristic Jason Bourne. Stay tuned for our reaction to footage from the film shown around the world today and see the first trailer out now. Full poster below!
The first full-length trailer for Elysium is in the wild. And by the looks of the robotic exoskeleton the actor's sporting in this highly anticipated sci-fi adventure, fans of director Neill Blomkamp can rest assured he's going to deliver a worthy second film following 2009's critically acclaimed District 9.
1. Occupy Takes Sci-Fi! The Occupy movement that took Wall Street by storm in 2011 and pointed out the growing inequality among the classes is actually a long and storied theme in cinematic science fiction dating as far back as Fritz Lang's Metropolis. In this case, the "1 percent" are those privileged few living out leisurely and healthy lives on the space habitat Elysium, while the 99 percent are stuck in a decaying, crime-ridden, poverty-stricken Earth.
3. Cyborg Alert! As the Inception-aping teaser shows, before he sets out on his dangerous mission to "break into the most heavily guarded place in the universe," as Max puts it, he's given a powerful weapon, metal armor that assimilates with his body. "Whoever has this, has the power to override their whole system," says one of Coburn's cohorts. Move over, Jason Bourne. Meet the new Six Million Dollar Man.
4. Robot Wars: Before he can get to Elysium, Coburn and his supersuit must contend with a host of robotic baddies. But looking at the fire power Damon deploys here, we don't think he'll have too much of a problem.
5. She's Not Retiring, Just Gunning for Mayor: The villain in all of this is Elysium's mayor, Secretary Jessica Delacourt, played with hardened resolve by Jodie Foster, who throws everything she's got at Coburn in order to stop him from destroying the status quo. Let's just hope her character gives a speech as exciting as the one Foster gave at this year's Golden Globes!
Just so cool! That exoskeleton must be allowing Damon to be super strong to dismantle a combat robot. I cannot wait to see what else the tech can do. Does anyone else feel a connection between the alien films androids and the robots in this film, specifically from the way fluids are spraying from the head as it is removed reminiscent of Bishop or Ash as they died or broke?
This is a beautiful shot on its own but also demonstrates what Elysium really is. Here you can see Elysium as a large circular space station orbiting the earth. You can see the curve in the station and where the people actually live separated into triangular strips of land with controlled atmosphere and landscapes. You can also see the earth looking pretty small.
He looks fierce in this scene, rough beard, fully armoured, big knife etc. I really hope this is a finale battle with Matt Damon where they fight with the super tech exo suits, the stuff of nerd dreams. Fight! Fight! Fight!
That could be a reason but with all of the help he is getting I think it would be more to help others than just himself. However they did put emphasis on that cancer removing machine, so you maybe on to something.
Awesome break down of the trailer. I think Kruger is going to be my favourite villain ever! I also loved the music playing over the trailer, I hope the rest of the soundtrack will be as amazing!
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Elysium is the second feature-length film written and directed by Neil Blomkamp (District 9) - featuring a cast that includes Matt Damon (The Bourne Ultimatum), Oscar-winner Jodie Foster (The Beaver), Sharlto Copley (District 9), Alice Braga (Predators), Wagner Moura (Elite Squad) and William Fichtner (Prison Break), all playing humans in the year 2154: a time when the wealthy upper-class resides comfortably on a space station orbiting the Earth, while the poor and destitute live on the ruined planet's surface below.
Blomkamp has been developing his new opera of intense (re: very violent) sci-fi action and allegorical drama since District 9 opened four years ago, with the film generating advanced buzz through an impressive showing at Comic-Con 2012 and steady drip-dropping of images and plot/character information over the past nine months or so.
Of course, everyone know there's no better way to really get any film conversation going than with a trailer - and that's what we have to offer today, following hot on the heels of preview footage screenings in select cities around the U.S. (read our breakdown of the event HERE).
The Elysium trailer is an intriguing compilation of sci-fi action and genre influences, be it the Halo-esque robotics and armor (a carryover from when Blomkamp was adapting the video game to film), shades of WALLE and the Apartheid-inspired District 9 in the post-apocalyptc metropolitan settings on Earth - not to mention, the political subtext and social themes of the film - and the glimpses at elaborate advancements in healthcare technology that fuels the plot; or, rather, motivates Damon's character to rage against his pre-destined (and premature) demise.
Overall, the trailer makes Blomkamp's sophomore feature seem promising enough to stand up as a worthwhile piece of science fiction - essentially one that is both thought-provoking and entertaining to watch - even coming not so long after this year's two other dystopian futuristic tales (Oblivion and After Earth) that have, to a degree, related visual styles and story content.
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