Elysium
Short description
Set in the year 2159, Elysium depicts a divided future in which wealthy elites reside on a pristine space station orbiting Earth, while the remaining population endures life on an overcrowded, ruined planet. The station's officials defend its borders with harsh anti-immigration measures, determined to keep their luxurious way of life intact. Among those on the ground is Max, an ordinary factory worker who is left with little time to live after an industrial accident exposes him to lethal radiation. His only chance of survival lies in reaching Elysium, where advanced medical technology can cure him, and that requires accepting a dangerous assignment.
Neill Blomkamp directed and wrote the film, which followed District 9 in his filmography and was produced with Simon Kinberg and Bill Block. Matt Damon leads the cast as Max, with Jodie Foster as the official Delacourt, Sharlto Copley as the mercenary Kruger, and Diego Luna, Wagner Moura and Alice Braga in supporting roles. The production carried a budget of 115 million US dollars and returned 286 million US dollars worldwide. Audience responses were moderate: on IMDb it holds 6.6/10 from 490,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.5/10 from 9,827 votes. A critics' rating of 6.4/10 from 262 reviews places professional assessments close to those of viewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- It took 8 months of research to create the HULC suit, and before the final design was approved, it underwent 75 revisions.
- According to the film's director, the first candidate for the lead role was rapper Ninja, a member of the South African group Die Antwoord. However, after lengthy negotiations, the rapper declined the offer. He explained his decision by saying that his big-screen debut should not be in a film aimed at a mass audience. After Ninja's refusal, the director made the same offer to Eminem. The latter agreed to participate in the filming, but stipulated one mandatory condition – the film must be shot in his hometown of Detroit, which the director could not agree to. Ultimately, the lead role in the film went to actor Matt Damon.
- Neill Blomkamp based the ideas of an ideal world existing separately from the ruined Earth on real sources: “In the 1970s, people seriously discussed the idea of building space stations and leaving Earth if necessary. One of the best solutions to this issue was the Stanford Torus project. I liked the idea of combining this well-known concept with big money, diamonds, and mansions in the Bel Air style. The very concept – placing all these absurd, luxurious homes on a space station in the shape of a donut – amused me greatly and ultimately became the idea that I wanted to make a film about.”
- In ancient Greek mythology, Elysium means the abode of blessed souls.
- A well-known Italian fashion designer and owner of his own fashion house, Giorgio Armani, collaborated with costume designer April Ferry on the creation of the costumes.
- Filming began on July 25, 2011.
- Before starting to write the script, Neill Blomkamp drew a short comic showing the world of "Elysium" in broad strokes.
- Syd Mead, a designer who worked on "Blade Runner" (1982), "Tron" (1982), and "Aliens" (1986), built several Elysium sets and helped the artists with illustrations.
- Notably, in the film, representatives of the lower class, the Earthlings, primarily communicate with each other in Spanish. Residents of Elysium, meanwhile, mostly speak French.
- The space station is rebooted using code taken directly from the Intel Architecture Software Developer’s Manual Volume 3: System Development.
- The Bugatti-branded Elysium shuttle has the distinctive features of a Bugatti Veyron.
- In the film, set in 2154, the characters of Diego Luna and Matt Damon get into a modified Nissan GT-R, which in reality has been in production since 2007.
- Max uses a Kalashnikov rifle and special shotgun cartridges with the inscription in Russian '12 gauge E-fitil'.
- The film was shot primarily in two locations: Mexico City, which depicted Los Angeles in 2154 (the same year in which the events of "Avatar" take place), and Vancouver, which represented Elysium.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
