7. Viral awareness

Back in July 2008, very few people outside of the inner circle had heard of District 9 beyond a tiny press release that Sony had picked up the film with Blomkamp helming and Jackson producing.

Which was going to be a problem if it were to arrive the following year and make any impact at the box office.

But modelled on Warner Bros’ viral campaign for The Dark Knight (albeit on a much smaller scale), plans were already afoot to raise awareness.

At Comic-Con last year, the first signs began to crop up – literally. Banners at the event warned that certain areas were “For Humans Only” and toilets were littered with the signs.

In the Internet age, of course, nothing stays just on the page, and the studio’s marketing bods has already built several websites (with one including an alien language) to begin the trickle of information.

There was some thought at the time that it might all be a big ruse; that District 9 was actually a code name for a secretly-shot Halo film itself.

More posters, signs, websites and videos followed, which Blomkamp and his producer heartily supported.



“It's definitely Sony whose come up with the whole presentation of the show,” says the director.

I think we both just liked that and it really touched on the essence of the film which is about segregation and it felt like something, like for me that I would respond to well if I saw that on a bus stop it would really interest me, I'd want to know what that was about.

“So yeah, I think it's their creative mind and us signing off on ideas that are cool and us giving input in certain places, but it's mostly them.”

“We didn't make any effort to promote the film, we just did it quietly and so when the viral campaign began and the first teaser came out, I think there was a really nice sense of surprise, which is fun,” laughs Jackson.

“I think it's always neat when it happens when it was a film that wasn't really in anybody's mind and suddenly you've got a trailer and everyone is going, ‘What the hell is this thing?’

“And there was a lovely sense of surprise about it, which doesn't happen very much in the film industry because everyone seems to be so aware of what's happening, somehow we'd fallen through the cracks a little bit, which I think it's made it a fun process.”

Talking of the trailer…
 

Next: Trailer time