Neill Blomkamp to Fans – No ‘Star Wars’ or Super Heroes for Him

Neill Blomkamp, in his few short years in the industry, has managed to distinguish himself as a top-notch writer, director and visual effects artist. He's a particular favorite among science fiction fans, having turned out the acclaimed District 9 and the almost released Elysium. Naturally, being a guru in the sci-fi world means that his opportunities are growing, especially where it comes to getting a shot at some big-name (and big-dollar) productions. Blomkamp was even a fan favorite when it came to choosing the director for the new Star Wars flick. But despite the prestige that heading a Star Wars or super hero film could bring, Blomkamp has no desire to join the crowd.

In an interview with Collider, he had this to say:

...I just want to be an artist that's just left alone. That's really what I want. I want to make stuff that just...films are the only art form that require commerce so desperately. Any other artist needs a few dollars for a paint brush, really if you think about it, like musicians or authors. They can be as free as they want. This is the one thing that just needs copious amounts of money. If you imagine a filmmaker trying to just be left alone as much as possible and make Star Wars how does that work? Exactly, it kind of doesn't, but...

But, you may be asking yourself, wasn't Blomkamp attached to a Halo flick a while back? And isn't that a big-money number that would have had the dollars-and-cents overlords breathing down his neck the entire production? Well, he had something to say about that as well:

I cannot imagine the s-t that would've gone down if that production had actually been made. But Peter (Jackson) may have been able to shield me from it...possibly. The world of Halo and the mythology of Halo, though is still something that I find- it's like Star Wars, it's so appealing to me because it's cool and it's there and I can imagine it. But you have to do it in a way you can do it yourself.

It sounds like this guy will be sticking to his own creations, thank you very much, and that's fine by me. Why take a creative writing talent out of circulation just so you can attach him to some recycled material? Yeah, we might get an awesome Star Wars or super hero flick, but it's just as likely that all the oversight would kill it and lead to something less than what Blomkamp is capable of.

Thanks to Blastr for the heads-up.