'District 9' Oscar Nominee Hovers With Pride

Sometimes filmmakers just have to accept that everything happens for a reason -- even when it's as drastic as the plug being pulled on your dream project.

If you don't believe that, ask married filmmakers Terri Tatchell and Neill Blomkamp what they found out in 2008, when they moved to New Zealand to do a film based on a popular video game series under the auspices of husband and wife filmmaking team Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.

"We moved to New Zealand because Neill was directing 'Halo,' and we were only there four months before the film went away," said Tatchell in an @ The Movies interview Monday. "But Peter and Fran said that they felt badly that we moved there and we put (daughter) Cassidy in school, so they said, 'Why don't you just stay and do a different film?' Fran had seen Neill's short film "Alive in Joburg," and said, 'Why don't you just develop that instead and see what happens?'"

Fleshed out into a feature-length film and retitled "District 9," the project happened, all right. And not only did the socially conscious sci-fi action drama become a hit in theaters, but it also earned four Oscar nominations this year, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, for Tatchell and Blomkamp.

Also directed by Blomkamp, "District 9" tells the tale of an alien race whose mothership breaks down while hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa. Labeled "prawns" for their shrimplike appearance, the aliens are forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth with seemingly no hope of returning home -- until a pair of them find an ally in Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a government agent exposed to the race's biotechnology.

"District 9" is somewhat personal for Blomkamp in that he was born in Johannesburg and lived there until he moved to Canada at 18. The interesting thing is that his portrait of the South African capital is unflinching in its criticism, as the aliens are targeted by corrupt government officials, extorted by slumlords and hated by average citizens. But despite the portrayal of the country (chronicled at the beginning of the film in a satirical documentary format), Tatchell said South Africans have for the most part embraced the film.

"We actually had the premiere there, and I for one was a little bit nervous. I didn't know how people were going to take it when we were writing it," Tatchell said. "Satire is dangerous. People can take it very, very literally. But it was the most amazing thing to see South Africa take the movie with a sense of pride. They were proud that the film was made there and that it represented their world in a way that is never seen."

Tatchell, who is from Vancouver, said that it's interesting to see how dramatically different audiences here and abroad react to the film.

"When you sit with North Americans watching the film, they laugh at the parts I want them to laugh at, and I'm really happy about that," Tatchell said. "But when you sit with an audience in South Africa, they laugh at completely different parts -- the parts that I think Neill wanted them to laugh at. It's usually during the documentary part that South Africans just absolutely die laughing because the nuances in it are so true to them."

Because her husband co-wrote and directed "District 9," Tatchell said she was spared the pain screenwriters often go through when they hand the script over to directors. But that doesn't mean there isn't room for disagreement time and again.

"Neill definitely has a mind of his own and there were things that he was doing that I thought were horrific and I'd scream and yell, 'Don't do it!' and he wouldn't listen to me – and then in the end he was right," Tatchell said, laughing. "But I'm incredibly lucky. Usually you write something and you hand it off and just hope for the best. But I was able to be a part of it every step of the way and I learned so much. During shooting, I could rewrite something on set and make it a little bit better. Or in the editing room, I could give him notes and tweak things there. It was just amazing to be a part of it every step of the way."

For those who haven't seen the film, a cliffhanger situation leaves plenty of room for a "District 10" film to continue Wikus' story after a three-year period. The funny thing is Tatchell said that she and Blomkamp didn't write the film with a sequel in mind.

"I really like those kinds of endings in films, where you're left to imagine a little bit on your own -- but we didn't think anyone would even want a sequel," Tatchell said, laughing. "I love it when little old ladies come up to us and say, 'But he'll be back in three years.' The pressure is on."

For now, Tatchell said she'll just enjoy the happy pressure that goes with being an Oscar nominee and having your film nominated for Best Picture.

"I'm so happy for the Best Picture nomination because that's everybody's victory," Tatchell said. "It's something that I never thought would happen -- not in a million years."

And then there are things in a zillion years she never would have expected: For one of the dinner courses at the Motion Picture Academy's New York Oscar party, a "District 9"-themed dish features Alaska Spot Prawns.

"That's almost a better compliment than a Best Picture nomination," Tatchell said, chuckling. "That's hilarious."