District 9 New Blu-ray Steelbook and Expanded Soundtrack Vinyl Release

Sony is releasing 16 of their movies with new limited edition Blu-ray covers on steelbook.

This new District 9 artwork is by Dave Quiggle. It's available for pre-order on Best Buy and Future Shop. The steelbook will be released on November 23, 2014.

You can see the other Sony steelbook covers here.

District 9 soundtrack will be released on vinyl for the first time by SpaceLab9. The pre-sale was supposed to be today on October 28 but has been pushed to November 11. The release date is November 25, 2014.

This District 9 soundtrack will be the Deluxe Expanded Version on a Double LP.  I mostly want to buy these recent vinyl releases (including that Mondo GOTG vinyl) purely for their cover artwork. But I guess having bonus tracks makes this a more worthwhile purchase. I will likely have to buy a record player someday.

Here are more details about the release posted last week by SpaceLab9:

Upon its release in 2009, DISTRICT 9 transcended the confines of the science fiction/thriller film genre to become a certified mainstream phenomenon. From its sublime, droning rhythms to its frenetic tribal beats, the score by composer Clinton Shorter (2 Guns, Pompeii) provided the perfect backdrop to compliment to the on-screen drama, now cemented in time as a fan favorite and cult classic.

Released for the first time on vinyl, the deluxe expanded edition includes the eleven tracks from the original 30-minute album, plus, for the first time in any format, an additional eight bonus tracks comprising 25 minutes of previously unreleased original score. Deluxe Double LP package includes a full color gatefold jacket plus a double-sided 12” x 24” insert featuring numerous images from the film as well as exclusive liner notes from director Neill Blomkamp and composer Clinton Shorter. As a bonus, the first pressing also includes a reproduction of the original theatrical lobby card!

Additionally, for the early birds and the die-hard collectors, an edition of only 100 colored vinyl copies packaged in hand-screened jackets featuring unique artwork and an exclusive 18” x 24” insert will be made available during the pre-sale at SPACELAB9.COM on October 28th. Join the SL9 mailing list now for up-to-the-minute details and to be the first to find out when the sale begins!

Source: Modern Vinyl

Weta District 9 Christopher Johnson and Son Prawns Statue

Got my District 9 Christopher Johnson statue today. I missed out on this unique piece when it went up for sale in 2011 and it's been one of my holy grails ever since.

I am now so happy to finally have this in my collection and even more relieved that it arrived in one piece, without any damages due to customs.

The statue is 1:6 scale and measures 14.2 inches in height along with the base. It's numbered #291 of 600.

Update (April 27):

I had also uploaded my District 9 statue image on Instagram two weeks ago. And now I am little ecstatic knowing that director Neill Blomkamp also "liked" the image yesterday :D

http://instagram.com/p/mxgYAfKAh_/#

 

Elysium Comic-Con Video Interview with Matt Damon and Jodie Foster

Since the year 2013 began, whenever I am online catching up on movie updates, I keep hoping to see some news about the Elysium trailer or more so for the actual trailer to be online. The movie releases on August 9 and I'll be waiting another week until its India release on August 16. (Damn you Sony Pictures India).

So now in anticipation of the trailer I began going through the various comic-con videos which I had watched and saved from movie sites back in July 2012, but I forgot to share them online before.

If you enjoyed District 9 and if you're remotely excited about Elysium, you should consider watching these interview videos which are embedded below.

Matt Damon gets into more details as to how the movie took off and how he got the role, Neill Blomkamp's creative approach, importance of comic-con, among other things. Jodie Foster talks about comic-con, her movie Contact, her role in Elysium, themes explored in the film, the studio's involvement with Neill, her approach in acting, her directing projects.

There is a moment in the video where Matt Damon mentions, "there was a whole separate book on weaponry". And I couldn't stop smiling while thinking about the awesome weapons and props this movie is going to showcase.

You can now pre-order the book Elysium: The Art of the Film, which will also include inputs from designer Syd Mead.


Interview with Matt Damon by Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net (If video plays glitchy on Firefox, use Chrome)



Interview with Jodie Foster by Steven Weintraub of Collider.com





TEDxVancouver - Neill Blomkamp - November 21, 2009

While looking up on Elysium, I came across this TED talk given by Neill Blomkamp few months after District 9 got released. He talks about aliens and possible future Earth civilizations. The video is not exactly related to Elysium, still it's a great thought provoking talk by Neill on a fascinating subject.