Matt Damon In Talks For "Elysium"

Last summer when "District 9" hit theaters I had no idea what to expect. That was something rare for this day in age, with constant movie spoilers and news coming 24 hours a day, but all I honestly knew about the film was that it had to do with aliens and took place in South Africa. That was it.

After sitting through the film I was completely blown away. I thought it was easily one of the best movies of the year, and I was absolutely enamored by Neill Blomkamp's directing job and Sharlto Copley's performance.

After the film blew up to such high proportions, I knew that Blomkamp's follow up would be something to follow closely. I was hoping he would be able to harness the same type of feel for his next film, and so far things seem to be headed in the right direction, especially when it comes to casting.

According to Deadline Matt Damon is in talks for a role in Blomkamp's next sci-fi thriller, "Elysium".

Not much is known about the director's next film in regard to plot, but one thing that is certain is that "District 9" star Sharlto Copley is re-teaming with Blomkamp's on this project. The thought of Damon and Copley working together is fantastic, although details on story or roles are scarce other than the action being set on a distant planet.

Once this project starts to come together it will easily be the one I am most looking forward to seeing (except for "The Dark Knight Rises" obviously). Matt Damon has established himself as one of the most versatile and talented actors in Hollywood and the fact that such a big star is attached to the film should only make it easier to sell once Blomkamp starts looking for financing.

The director did a pretty fantastic job in my opinion with "District 9", a film that had no name actors in it, so he should be thrilled to have someone with the star power of Damon on the project.

Blomkamp will helm from his own script and will present the project to financiers next year when further cast members are locked down.

Trailergasm of the Day

Say what you will about all the alien invasion movies coming out these days, but this one looks to be amazing. The combination of "Black Hawk Down"-realism with "District 9"-documentary style shooting looks to be working perfectly. Aaron Eckhart is still an underrated actor, and this movie looks to be one of the dopest of 2011.



The invasion begins March 11, 2011.

Producers' Guild Gives Sci-Fi A Chance at an Oscar

For fans hoping that 2009’s science- fiction blockbusters will score Oscar success in 2010, the Producer’s Guild of America just gave them a boost. The Guild announced that among its 10 nominees for Producer of the Year are "Avatar," "District 9" and "Star Trek."

The other seven nominees joining the sci-fi trio are "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," " Inglourious Basterds," "Invictus," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Up" and "Up in the Air."

This year, the PGA has followed in the footsteps of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision to expand the best-film nomination list from five to 10 movies.

The PGA's Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year film award can be a reliable barometer for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Last year's PGA winner, "Slumdog Millionaire," went on to capture Oscar's top prize. In fact, 13 PGA winners over the last two decades have gone on to win the Academy Award for best picture.

Although the nominations are a step in the right direction for the aforementioned science-fiction films, Cinematical says that “over the last decade, the PGA is only sporting a 69% success rate with its nominees.” They also added that just 36 of the last 52 Producer's Guild nominees were in contention for the big prize and only twice in their history did they produce an exact match (1993 & 1994).

Notable movies that failed to make the cut include female-driven pictures "Julie & Julia" and "It's Complicated," the musical "Nine" and specialty films like "A Serious Man," "A Single Man" and "Crazy Heart."

I’m thrilled that the three science-fiction films were nominated. In my opinion, “Star Trek” and “District 9” were two of the best films of the year and I’m happy that they finally are getting some awards love. Even if neither of them wins the award, their chances at scoring an Oscar nomination just got a little better.

The awards will be handed out January 24, 2010 during a ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium.