From time to time, there are people in the film industry who appear on the horizon with a unique vision. South African director Neill Blomkamp is one of those rare people.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
It's so hard to find a director who, when you look at their body of work, you like everything.
It's really rare for film directors to be that interested in things other than themselves.
Working with David Cronenberg or Darren Aronofsky or even Steven Soderbergh isn't really like a typical Hollywood movie. These are true artists, and have a certain amount of freedom when they work, and they're more like independent filmmakers making their way through big studios.
A good director has to be a captain - he has to work with a lot of people every day.
I'm the first Icelandic director who started working on U.S. movies. There are others behind me now, but it's like when Bjork opened the door for Icelandic musicians to work abroad. We're such a closed-off country, but Bjork broke the spell. And I'm glad it was a woman who did it. She showed us we could break this barrier.
As a filmmaker, you realize that places have character based on their history as much as a face does or an actor does.
I really think the mind of someone who hasn't been welded into place by their work or studios or actors or this whole society is a wonderful mind to work with, so I'd like to do a big picture with an unknown director.
Phillip Harrison was the production designer, though, I think he's uncredited. He's done most of my films like Blue Thunder. Lots and lots over the years.
But I always see myself as the filmmaker. I wonder if everybody else sees me more as an actor.
The director is the only person on the set who has seen the film. Your job as a director is to show up every day and know where everything will fit into the film.