Irish filmmaker Ruairi Robinson owes an awful lot to the power of the Internet. His sci-fi short, The Leviathan, made its humble debut on Vimeo and YouTube last week with nary a studio or big name attached to it, but soon accumulated a staggering two million views across both video sharing platforms. Now, the project has garnered some real, A-lister attention in the form of Simon Kinberg along with District 9 and soon-to-be Alien helmer, Neill Blomkamp.
That’s according to a report published by Deadline, who bring word that the creative filmmaker expressed an interest in the intriguing, futuristic property shortly after it went viral. Such an agreement now means that Kinberg – who is honing his sci-fi chops through work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens – will assume first-look responsibilities should Robinson want to take The Leviathan to the silver screen with studio backing, which is a crucial factor given the project’s effects-heavy DNA.
Here is some news. Could not hope for a better team to do this movie with. http://t.co/BAtWIslNl5
— Ruairi Robinson (@RuairiRobinson) March 23, 2015
For the uninitiated, The Leviathan is situated in the 22nd century, a time when the remnants of humanity survive and expand by harvesting the rare, exotic resources found within the eggs of the largest creature that our humble species has ever locked eyes with – think Moby Dick, only airborne. But the titular behemoth is a force to be reckoned with, as the trailer above attests, and it’s only those doomed to take part in involuntary labor that encounter the beast face to face.
What’s so interesting about this partnership, though, is the similarities between Robinson and Blomkamp. Having started work in animation and effects, the latter filmmaker attempted to make his directorial debut with a large IP in the form of Halo, whereas Robinson tried to take the horns of the live-action Akira film. Neither panned out, though. Now, much like Blomkamp’s meteoric rise with District 9, Robinson is attempting to kickstart his own career with The Leviathan, and this agreement is certainly a step in the right direction.