Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver is an American actress. Weaver is considered to be a pioneer of action heroines in science fiction films. She is known for playing Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise, which earned her an Academy Award nomination in 1986 and is often regarded as one of the most significant female protagonists in cinema history.
Ellen Louise Ripley, often referred to simply as Ripley, is a fictional character and protagonist of the Alien film series, played by American actress Sigourney Weaver. The character earned Weaver world recognition, and the role remains her most famous to date. Ridley Scott, director of the first film in the series, Alien, made the decision early in production to switch Ripley from a standard male action hero to a heroine.
Alien vs. Predator is a 2004 science fiction action film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and starring Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen and Ewen Bremner. It is the first film installment of the Alien vs. Predator franchise, adapting a crossover bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series, a concept which originated in a 1989 comic book. Anderson wrote the story together with the creators of the Alien franchise, Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and Anderson and Shane Salerno adapted the story into a screenplay. Their writing was influenced by Aztec mythology, the comic book series, and the writings of Erich von Däniken. In the film, scientists are caught in the crossfire of an ancient battle between Aliens and Predators as they attempt to escape a bygone pyramid.
The cinema of South Africa refers to the films and film industry of the nation of South Africa. Many foreign films have been produced about South Africa.
Neill Blomkamp is a South African-Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. Blomkamp employs a documentary-style, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated effects, and his films often deal with themes of xenophobia and social segregation. He is best known as the co-writer and director of the critically acclaimed and financially successful science fiction action film District 9, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He directed another dystopian science fiction action film Elysium, which garnered moderately positive reviews and a good box office return. He is known for his collaborations with South African actor Sharlto Copley. He is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The A-Team is a 2010 American action thriller film based on the 1980s television series of the same name created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell. Directed by Joe Carnahan and written by Carnahan, Brian Bloom, and Skip Woods, the film stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson and Yul Vazquez. The film tells the story of a Special Forces team who, imprisoned for a crime they did not commit, escapes and sets out to clear their names. The film was produced by Cannell, Tony Scott, and his brother Ridley Scott.
District 9 is a 2009 science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand, the United States and South Africa. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James, and was adapted from Blomkamp's 2006 short film Alive in Joburg.
Jason Cope is a South African actor. He starred and played multiple roles in the 2009 Academy Award-nominated science fiction film District 9.
Sharlto Copley is a South African actor. He has played Wikus van der Merwe in the Academy Award-nominated science fiction film District 9, Howling Mad Murdock in the 2010 adaptation of The A-Team, Agent C. M. Kruger in the science fiction film Elysium, James Corrigan in the science fiction horror film Europa Report and King Stefan in the dark fantasy adventure film Maleficent. He also played the title character in the science fiction film Chappie, as Jimmy in Hardcore Henry, and starred in two seasons as Christian Walker of the TV series Powers. Sharlto is married to fellow South African actress and fashion model Tanit Phoenix.
Yellow or Adicolor Yellow is a 2006 futuristic short film by director Neill Blomkamp, written by Terri Tatchell and Blomkamp. It was produced at the request of sportswear maker Adidas as a part of its "Adicolor" viral ads campaign, in which advertising agency IDEALOGUE gathered seven directors, assigning a different color to each of them, and asked them to produce a feature based on their emotional and creative response to the given color, later to be distributed in the form of podcasts.
The 13th Online Film Critics Society Awards, honoring the best in film for 2009, were announced on 5 January 2010.
Simon Hansen is a South African born film maker. Hansen has been working in the Film and entertainment industry since 1992. He is best known for producing Alive in Joburg, the film on which District 9 is based.
The Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films, hosted and sponsored by Spike. The show was created by executive producers Michael Levitt, Cindy Levitt, and Casey Patterson. The performer on the show was M.I.A..
David James is a South African film, theatre, and television actor known mainly for playing the villainous Koobus Venter in the 2009 Oscar-nominated science fiction film District 9. He is also known to South African audiences for his 2004-2006 appearance as "Mad Dog" on the long-running soap opera Isidingo, for his portrayal as Joel Joffe in the large-scale and well-received 2010 and 2011 stage productions of Rivonia Trial, and for his role as radio station manager Hermanus Meyer on the soap opera Rhythm City.
Elysium is a 2013 American science fiction action film written, produced and directed by Neill Blomkamp. It stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Alice Braga, and Sharlto Copley. The film takes place on both a ravaged Earth and a luxurious artificial world called Elysium. The film itself offers deliberate social commentary that explores political and sociological themes such as immigration, overpopulation, transhumanism, health care, worker exploitation, the justice system, and social class issues.
Chappie is a 2015 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp and written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell. It stars Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Ninja, Yolandi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Sigourney Weaver. The film, set and shot in Johannesburg, is about an artificial general intelligence law enforcement robot captured and taught by gangsters, who nickname it Chappie.
The following is a list of unproduced Ridley Scott projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, English film director and producer Ridley Scott has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell into development hell or are officially canceled.
Oats Studios is an independent film studio started in 2017 by Oscar-nominated South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp. The studio was created with the goal of distributing experimental short films via YouTube and Steam in order to gauge the community for interest and feedback as to which of them are viable for expansion into feature films. Actors featured in the films include Sigourney Weaver, Carly Pope, Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Kellan Lutz, Michael Rogers, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Dakota Fanning.
Clinton Shorter is a Canadian film and television composer. He is particularly known for his score for Neill Blomkamp's film District 9. He has also composed the music for over 300 television episodes.
Eugene Khumbanyiwa is a Malawian South-Africa-based stage, television, film and voice actor, popularly known for playing the role of Obesandjo in the 2009 Oscar nominated sci-fi hit District 9.
