Acclaimed commercial and shorts director Neill Blomkamp will make his feature debut with HALO, to be produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh under their WingNut Films banner for Universal Pictures (domestically) and Twentieth Century Fox (internationally). Visual effects, miniatures and creature design and creation will all be handled by Weta Digital Ltd. and Weta Workshop Ltd.
Blomkamp is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and original artists currently working in short films and commercial advertising. A native of South Africa, Blomkamp directed the acclaimed 2005 short film, ALIVE IN JOBURG, that depicted a future in which extraterrestrials have become refugees. Last year, Blomkamp also received three Clio Awards and a Visual Effects Society Award for his television commercial CITROEN-ALIVE WITH TECHNOLOGY.
In 2004, Blomkamp was recognized as "One of the Top Five Directors to Watch" at the First Boards Awards and was a featured artist at the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase at Cannes. He has also been nominated for an Emmy award for his work on an episode of James Cameron's DARK ANGEL.
Mary Parent, Scott Stuber and Peter Schlessel will produce HALO. The film is currently targeted for a summer 2008 worldwide release. HALO will be shot in Wellington, New Zealand, and will make use of the full range of Jackson's state-of-the-art production and post-production facilities there, including Weta, Stone Street Studios and Park Road Post.
"As a gaming fan, I'm excited to bring HALO'S premise, action and settings to the screen with all the specificity and reality today's technology can provide," said Jackson. "Fran and I are intrigued by the unique challenges this project offers, and we're delighted to be working again with our friends at Universal, and with our new ones at Fox and Microsoft. With Neill on board, I'm even more excited by the potential of this project."
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
