Neill Blomkamp Ends ‘Firebase’ Crowdfunding After Failing to Raise Enough Money
More bad news from the world of Neill Blomkamp: The South African-born filmmaker has called it quits on his latest effort, a crowdfunding campaign to turn his Oats Studios short “Firebase” into a feature-length film. According to a tweet from the official account of the experimental indie film studio, they simply failed to raise enough money to “do something truley [sic] awesome.”
In a tweet addressed to contributors late this morning, the studio explained that they “would rather over deliver than create an average film.” Although neither Blomkamp nor Oats Studio revealed how much money they raised through the crowdfunding effort, it apparently wasn’t enough to turn Blomkamp’s Vietnam-era short into a full-length feature.
Keeping with the company’s independent mission, Oats Studio was soliciting donations from fans through its own website instead of using a popular platform like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Blomkamp’s Oats Studios shorts include some of his best work since making his directorial debut with District 9 — a low-budget and inventive South African sci-fi feature starring Sharlto Copley.
“Firebase,” which Blomkamp co-wrote with Thomas Sweterlitsch, takes place in an alternate reality version of the Vietnam War, in which soldiers from both sides are confronted with inexplicable horrors. It was the second short film to come out of the Vancouver-based Oats Studios, where Blomkamp has been cranking out “experimental” projects with a team of collaborators. You can watch the full, original short below:
The Oats Studios shorts are reminiscent of Channel Zero, Syfy’s horror serial based on Creepypasta stories from Reddit. (Maybe Blomkamp would make for a good director on that series.)
Ending his crowdfunding effort for “Firebase” is the latest disappointment for Blomkamp, whose long-gestating Alien sequel plans were canceled when Ridley Scott began plotting multiple sequels of his own. Blomkamp’s sequel, based on his own concept art, would have revived the franchise and starred Sigourney Weaver.