Neill+Blomkamp


 * Neill Blomkamp**

Neill Blomkamp was born on September 17, 1979 in Johannesburg, South Africa. When he was 16 he met actor Sharlto Copley. Copley gave Neill access to computers at his production company, so that Neill could pursue his dream of 3D animation and design. However, in return, Neill would help Copley on 3D work for various project pitches.

When Neill was 18, he moved to Vancouver with his family. Once there, he enrolled into the Vancouver Film School. In 2003, he was in change of creating photo-real illustrations for future aircraft in Popular Science's "Next Century of Aviation." Then, in 2004, he illustrated "The Future of the Automobile." Neill worked as a visual effects artist for The Embassy Visual Effects and Rainmaker Digital Effects.

In 2007, Neill produced a trilogy of live-action films called //Landfall//. These games were set in the //Halo// universe and were used to promote //Halo 3//. Then, Neill was set to create his first feature-length film. He was noticed by producer Peter Jackson when Jackson got his hands on four short films Neill had created; //Tetra Vaal//, //Alive in Joburg, Tempbot//, and //Yellow.// Neill admitted that //Halo// pre-production was hectic, and his ties with him and 20th Century Fox broke. When funding for //Halo// was cut, Jackson decided to produce //District 9// instead. The movie was released in August 2009 to critical acclaim. //District 9// was later nominated for the 2009 Academy award for Best Picture. It was also nominated for Best Visual Effects, Editing, and Adapted Screen Play.