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Elysium descended upon Westwood’s Regency Village Theater on Thursday as Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and filmmaker Neill Blomkamp stepped out for the premiere of Sony‘s sci-fi thriller.
“If you see a great movie, it can’t be made by accident,” Damon told The Hollywood Reporter on the gray carpet as he made his way into the theater. “When I saw District 9, I just knew there was a great director behind it with an original voice, so I just put him at the head of the list of people I wanted to work with.”
The feeling was mutual for Blomkamp, who said he was always hoping to cast Damon in the role of Max, a poor citizen of Earth who fights his way up to Elysium — a man-made space station created to house wealthy and privileged humans.
PHOTOS: ‘Elysium’ Premiere: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster Celebrate Neill Blomkamp’s Sci-Fi Thriller
“I was looking for Matt,” Blomkamp said of casting the project. “There wasn’t really anyone else. All I wanted to do was meet him and make sure he wasn’t going to be a Hollywood diva, but he wasn’t, so he’s perfect.”
In an age where budgets are scrutinized by the media — which has recently been blamed for dooming projects before they are even released — producer Simon Kinberg praises Blomkamp’s ability to deliver a low-budget, high-quality film.
“This film is a lot cheaper than a lot of the other summer tentpoles, largely because Neill has such a clear vision for what the film is, so there’s not a lot of reimaging while you’re shooting,” Kinberg told THR. “This film was made probably for half of what it would have been made for with a different filmmaker in a different situation at another studio.”
Blomkamp puts it in simpler terms: “[I’m] just a dirty, cheap filmmaker,” he said. “My style is hand-held cameras and dirty, natural light. It’s not overly slick.”
Elysium opens nationwide on Aug. 9. The film was reportedly made on a $90 million budget and is projected to bring in a $35 million-plus debut in its opening weekend.
The film is a sophomore effort for Blomkamp, whose Peter Jackson-produced debut, District 9, opened in 2009 and has earned more than $210 million to date worldwide.
“It was as close to a perfect film as I could imagine,” said Foster of District 9. “I wanted to be a part of whatever his next movie was. He could make a film that is so entertaining and has great structure to it, but still has this real heart and drive.”
With Elysium, Blomkamp drew on a frightening real-life experience in Mexico.
“I got arrested in Tijuana in 2005, and I was on the other side of the border where the police dropped us off,” he said of his inspiration. “We had to walk back for about an hour, and I could see the U.S. border floodlights — this movie is basically that.”
But to hear actress Alice Braga tell it, Elysium should be an all-encompassing crowd pleaser. “It’s the perfect combination of an action, sci-fi, futuristic film with a message.”
E-mail: Sophie.Schillaci@THR.com
Twitter: @SophieSchillaci
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