‘Chappie’ Director: Film Is Missing That ‘Anti-Establishment’ Feel It Once Had

With a lot of movies being reboots or sequels these days, Neill Blomkamp’s Chappie is a reminder that there are some filmmakers who thrive on telling an original story. Chappie is not based on a series of novels or comic books or anything else. It comes solely from the minds of Blomkamp and his wife/co-writer, Terri Tatchell.

And while Chappie is getting a nationwide release this weekend, Blomkamp told Yahoo! Movies that it was a tough battle to get the film how he wanted it to be.

“I had to shed a lot of blood. It’s not easy to make a film like ‘Chappie.’ Everything has become more corporate — Wall Street has infected all of these different elements of life.”

The Chappie director also noted how the entertainment industry has changed over the years.

“In the 60s and 70s, music to some degree was the anti-establishment. It was the revolution. Music was where you would turn if you wanted to look away from the government and look away from corporate control. Now, you look at music today in the 21st century, it’s the same machine. It doesn’t talk about anything… And that anti-establishment, that needed thing, is gone in music, gone in film; it’s gone pretty much everywhere.”

But the Chappie director then clarified that he wasn’t knocking Sony or Media Rights Capital (MRC), the big studios responsible for the film’s release.

“On one hand, I feel very thankful to Sony and MRC, because the movie exists. But I also feel like it’s a tough day-to-day process to make a film. So it’s a difficult one to answer. I’m happy that things turned out the way that they turned out.”

Chappie marks the third feature film for Blomkamp after 2013’s Elysium and 2009’s Oscar-nominated District 9. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Blomkamp mentioned that he wasn’t too happy with the result of Elysium, and the only person he blamed for the way it turned out was himself.

“I feel like, ultimately, the story is not the right story. I just think the script wasn’t — I just didn’t make a good enough film is ultimately what it is.”

While he wasn’t too happy with the result of Elysium, Blomkamp said he is happy with Chappie, especially since he was able to tell the story the way in which he wanted.

“That’s why I think I like the movie so much: It feels quite honest. It’s hardly tampered with. It’s very, very honest to what I wanted to make.”

Chappie is one of three new films opening this weekend. The others are Unfinished Business and The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. As Variety reports, Chappie is predicted to be the top film this weekend, but it looks like not many people will go see the movie. Analysts are predicting the film will take the top spot, earning somewhere in the $15 million to $20 million range.

Will you be seeing Chappie?

[Image credit: Sony Pictures via IGN]