Neill Blomkamp's Next Movie CHAPPIE gets a Greenlight

Neill Blomkamp’s ELYSIUM opened in Number 1 in the US Box Office, and is still yet to open on September 4 here in the Philippines. Blomkamp seems to be on a roll, as this week, it was reported that Sony and MRC has agreed to finance the director's next film CHAPPIE. This sci-fi film 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. The script for CHAPPIE was written by Blomkamp along with co-writer Teri Tatchell (with whom he co-wrote District 9 with). [hit the jump to continue]

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 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 produce the film with Simon Kinberg.  Production is expected to begin this fall.

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.