Neill Blomkamp has never been known as a conventional filmmaker, and his latest venture is going a long way toward cementing that legacy.
The District 9 director launched an independent film studio called Oats, and it’s unlike anything the industry has seen before. See, Oats produces an array of high-quality short films, often of the thrilling sci-fi variety, and releases them free to the public. This system is basically the antithesis of the rest of a film industry that focuses on making the most money possible, regardless of quality.
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For Blomkamp, he wanted to be sure that creativity and fan experience stayed at the center of his work. Oats certainly does just that.
We had a chance to speak with the director about the studio, as well as its latest film – a short about a man-molding creature called Zygote. Blomkamp laid out exactly what his vision is with this project and why it’s vital to keep the creativity of Hollywood intact.
So, why Oats Studios?
There’s an established system in place that’s 100 years old that makes two-hour films. Studios are built around that system. It’s a very regimented and controlled way that you do things and the end product fits into a very expected box. I was just aware of the fact that I wanted to play around more.
I always use the reference of either painters authors or musicians just being able to be expressive in the mediums they work in. It’s just the cost of a typewriter or guitar to do the artwork that they do. The irritating thing about film is it takes millions of dollars to do it. It means that it’s way more controlled and way more over-thought and un-passionate. I wanted to make these smaller pieces that would feel like songs on an album or sketches instead of finished paintings.
What’s the biggest challenge with this strategy?
We just thought, ‘How could you do that?’ First, you’d have to build the studio that could execute those pieces. Second, you’d have figure out economically a way you could sell those or do something with them that would financially keep the building alive.
We haven’t exactly figured out the second part, though I do have ideas as to what I want to do. Part of it was just giving it away to the audience for free because everything is so regimented and expected by the audience. People expect a two-hour movie or a one-hour Game of Thrones episode. You can’t just suddenly give the audience a 23-minute short that no beginning, middle or end and expect them to pay for it, it just feels wrong. But, if they become familiar with the idea, they may be open to paying for it in the future.
What’s the plan for Oats going forward? Do the fans watching these films have any sway as to what happens next?
I’m interested in finding out things like, ‘Does Firebase feel like something people want to see more than they want to see Zygote?’ Because That may influence what I do next. I’m kind of marrying that up with what I feel like I personally want to do next. That’s the philosophy.
What I may do, if it feels like there’s enough support behind what we’re attempting, is try to crowd fund our first two-hour feature film and base it on one of the ideas we’ve done. That feels like a very one-on-one direct way to make stuff for the audience.
Your latest short, Zygote, is a concept all its own. Where did that idea come from?
I knew that I wanted to do this claustrophobic horror piece at Oats, that featured two characters. I was on a flight between Vancouver and Toronto and I came up with this creature that was stitched together parts of different humans. That kind of bound everything together.
We were going to scout locations for a BMW commercial I was directing and Dakota [Fanning] was in that piece. I loved working with her and I felt that she was a very talented professional. I felt she clicked with the character of Barklay really well.
I think that character really resonated with her and she was into it.
You can head over to OatsStudios.com to check out all of the shorts, and to learn more about the project.
