VIRAL NEWS
Mysterious Neill Blomkamp Viral Video Found in 'Wired' for iPad
by Alex Billington
November 23, 2010
Source: SlashFilm
That new Apollo 18 poster isn't the only mysterious thing out there today. Last night, Peter from SlashFilm called me and told me he found an odd video randomly linked in-between pages of the latest issue of Wired magazine on the iPad (the digital app version of it). The page plays a video (embedded below from YouTube) that has no description or title. Our only hint is a "Video By: Neill Blomkamp" tag in the magazine. So this is some new video by Blomkamp, director of District 9, involving a creepy mutated creature? Is it a viral for a new movie or some other web project? Watch the video below and read on for hints at what this might be.
The video shows two guys finding some weird, disgusting mutated creature in a puddle. If you look closely, you'll see it has a stamp on it: "18.12 AGM Heartland." Well, SlashFilm did some research and found out that AGM Heartland was filed as a trademark for an "online website with video, audio and textual content and images featuring characters and storylines about a fictional genetic engineering company that produces genetically engineered and altered organisms." So, as I first thought, it looks like it's just a disgusting start to an online web series that Blomkamp is behind called "AGM Heartland" about weird creatures like this.
We're not really sure what this weird creature and video mean yet, but it definitely has caught the interest of the movie community online, mostly because of the name involved. Blomkamp hasn't officially announced a follow-up to District 9, but has been working on another sci-fi project called Elysium, but that seems like it's a long ways out. Based on all the evidence, I have a feeling the video is just a very odd way to start some viral buzz for a new web series that Blomkamp is behind. Either way, bravo, as this definitely has me interested!
34 Comments
1
Wait...what!?
Micah on Nov 23, 2010
2
Thats how the Navi looks like in real life 3d
Jeff Spicoli on Nov 23, 2010
3
kept waiting for that things eyes to open 🙂
Nick on Nov 23, 2010
4
ITS NOT A TUMOR!
DoomCanoe on Nov 23, 2010
5
6
it's female cos it has shit loads of nipples on it lol before all those little legs creepy vid
crangy on Nov 23, 2010
7
There's a full page photo of the creature in the print version too. It has no caption or explanation as to why it is there.
coregeek on Nov 23, 2010
8
ewwww. that is all.
lego on Nov 23, 2010
9
Just looked at it again. There's a very small credit on the bottom left of the page that reads: "video still by: Neill Blomkamp."
coregeek on Nov 23, 2010
11
Nice. Doubt the series will be called AGM Heartland.
LINKFX on Nov 23, 2010
12
Isn't this all a bit tired now? As a friend of mine said, another term for viral marketing is 'marketing'.
sleepykid on Nov 23, 2010
13
sleepykid, exactly, they marketed something to you, and now you are talking about it...it did its job
AC on Nov 23, 2010
14
WHY WOULD YOU TOUCH IT WITH YOUR BARE HANDS!
Shelby on Nov 23, 2010
15
Makes me think of 'Oryx and Crake' for some reason. I think it's the combination of mutated animals with a cheery agribusiness brand. Though that book takes place in a distant future, whereas this feels more present day.
chris r on Nov 23, 2010
16
17
My mind is still blown at the randomness of this!
Micah on Nov 23, 2010
18
@11 or just ... HEARTLAND dun duunn duuunnnn.
f on Nov 24, 2010
19
maybe he's doing the long rumored movie conversion of the book - "freaks of the heartland"? i can't believe i'm the only one who has heard of this.
beavis on Nov 24, 2010
20
alex - check out the book i mention above - if this IS the movie of that book, then you aren't far off.
beavis on Nov 24, 2010
21
Them actually touching the creature freaks me out! This is genius.
Robbie on Nov 24, 2010
22
thanks for Firstshowing.net for this diamond material.this is amazing to see another movie from Neill.he is a genius. cant wait ...
bob on Nov 24, 2010
23
I hope it's about a food company that use genetically mutated animals to cheapen their production costs and things start going wrong. It's never been done before, right?
Lesley on Nov 24, 2010
24
I think we can all assume that the "GM" in "AGM" stands for Genetically Modified, no?
Louis on Nov 24, 2010
25
#23 - that'd sounds awesome!
beavis on Nov 24, 2010
26
@ Beavis. Freaks of the Heartland is a graphic novel too? I read it and it was pretty weird and very slow story wise, the script has already been written for 'Freaks of the Heartland apparently: http://www.slashfilm.com/david-gordon-green-to-direct-steve-niles-freaks-of-the-heartland/ I just hope this film, whatever it turns out to be, isn't filmed on a mobile phone.
Crapola on Nov 25, 2010
28
#26 - not sure about it being a graphic novel. over the past year, i've read stories on several sites saying that a movie adaptation for the book would start production late this year or early next. but i've never gotten any more info than that. however - what do you think about #23s idea? i think that sounds like an interesting idea for a movie.
beavis on Nov 25, 2010
29
Hey Beavis, was the story about these mutant kids that were kind of hidden away? Then one normal kid a brother of giant mutant boy decides to set him free? Here's a link to the first issue synopsis: http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/12-747/Freaks-of-the-Heartland-1 I like the sound of lesley(23's) story, we eat so much GM food already,some which isn't even labelled, I really hope my burgers didn't start out like that! Although to be honest if it tasted okay I'd eat it. There must be quite a few things like that weird pigfish out there in labs already, just hopefully not on the slaughterhouse floor. Alan Partridge has a similar theory on farming here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtURTBLuNtg Wait til 1.52 til the chicken talk, it's pretty funny.
Crapola on Nov 25, 2010
30
crapola - yea, that was the short synopsis i had heard. except i didn't hear the brother set them free - only that they got loose. that sounds kind of creepy to me.............thanks for the link. yea - we COULD be eating stuff everyday that is one wrong genetic strain away from zombifying us! LOL and i will check out the chicken talking!
beavis on Nov 26, 2010
31
Wouldn't it be funny if Neill was doing the US remake of The Host and this was just a sample of what the giant creature would look like?lol
jah p on Nov 26, 2010
32
I saw an ad on the back of a comic for some movie called Monsters just the other day... it doesn't appear to have much to do with District 9, but they mentioned it in the ad?
Maggie on Nov 26, 2010
33
Okayyyyyy. I'm not sure where Blomkamp is going with this. It has to be a prelude to something bigger because otherwise what would be the point. Hopefully some light will be shed on this some time in the near future. In the mean time though, as a short, I think it definitely has flaws. Their reaction to the creature is a bit unrealistic. I'm pretty sure even the most stoned alcoholic would be spooked by something like that. Anything that is unexplained and that we don't understand tends to freak us out. The part where they are playing with it's mouth like a puppet is especially over the top. Poking it with a stick would have been more realistic. I don't think they would want to touch it.
filmguy on Nov 26, 2010
34
To clarify on my earlier post - The ad I saw was for a movie that has absolutely nothing to do with District 9, except for D9 being mentioned in the advertisement. So disregard any comparison between the two movies... they're absolutely different.
Maggie on Nov 26, 2010
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