We attended the press day today for Miss Bala, Mexico’s official Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, which tells the story of Laura (Stephanie Sigman), a young woman whose aspirations of becoming a beauty queen turn against her, delivering her into the hands of a gang that’s terrorizing northern Mexico. Although Laura succeeds in winning the beauty queen crown, her experiences as an unwilling participant in Mexico’s violent war leave her shaken and transformed. In an exclusive interview, we sat down with the film’s executive producer, Diego Luna, to talk about the film which opens January 20th. We’ll post the full interview shortly, but in the meantime, we wanted to share what Luna had to say about his upcoming projects including Contraband, Will Ferrell‘s Casa de mi Padre, and Neill Blomkamp‘s Elysium. Hit the jump to read more:

The first set photos from Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium have gone online and they could potentially be spoiler-ific (that’s why I’ve minimized the image above).  There’s not much we know about the film so it’s tough to know the context of these photos.  All we know about the film is that it takes place on an alien planet 100 years in the future.  Jodie Foster plays the head of the planet, and Wagner Moura (Elite Squad) is the villain.  Matt Damon is starring in the sci-fi flick and all I’ll say about these photos is that it looks like his character is in a bad way.  I won’t say any more than that for people who want to avoid spoilers.  There are also some set photos of a mansion but I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to tell you there’s a mansion in the movie.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film also stars Sharlto Copley, Sonia Braga, Diego Luna, and William Fichtner.  Elysium opens March 1, 2013.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories for you this evening. First up, Variety reports that Diego Luna is in talks to join director Neill Blomkamp’s (District 9) highly anticipated upcoming sci-fi flick Elysium. The cast now includes Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, William Fichtner, Wagner Moura, Sharlto Copley and Alice Braga. Plot details are under wraps, but Foster recently stated that she plays the head of an alien planet, and we know that the story is set 100 years in the future on a distant planet. Blomkamp wrote and will direct the film which is set to begin filming this summer. Elysium hits theaters on March 1^st, 2013.

Additionally, the perpetually crazy-haired Cyndi Lauper has joined the cast of Robert Saitzyk’s music-centered flick The Last Beat. Written and directed by Saitzyk, the film centers on “a rock star who goes to Paris in a search for a more artistic existence  as a poet and writer.” THR reports that the original soundtrack will feature songs inspired by 70’s music (from Rock to French Pop), and filming is set to commence in Paris this summer. The cast includes Shawn Andrews (Dazed and Confused), French actress Virginie Ledoyen, Cameron Richardson (Hard Breakers) and Seymour Cassel (The Royal Tenenbaums).

In the eyes of casting directors, there is something very science-fictional about Alice Braga: I Am Legend.  Blindness.  Repo Men.  Predators.  Falling in line, writer/director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) will employ Braga to bring his vision of the future to life in Elysium.  (Initially there was some Braga confusion.  Deadline first reported that it was Sonia Braga who joined the film — the post has since been updated to reflect that it is in fact Sonia’s niece Alice who signed on.)

Braga joins Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, William Fichtner, Wagner Moura, and Sharlto Copley in Elysium, scheduled for release on March 1, 2013.  The plot is a mystery for now, by the “unabashedly big movie” is said to take place 100 years in the future on another planet.  Foster recently confirmed she will play “the head of an alien planet,” if that offers a clue about what you’re in for.

Sony has moved the release date for District 9 director Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium one week to March 1^st, 2013, per Box Office Mojo. The film was originally set to open on the 8^th, the same day as Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful directed by Sam Raimi. This seems like a smart move, as the burgeoning cast of Raimi’s fantasy prequel to The Wizard of Oz will most likely do some serious business. Elysium stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, William Fichtner, Wagner Moura, and Sharlto Copley. Details on the plot are very much under wraps, but it’s said to take place in the future on another planet, and will be in the social allegory vein much like District 9. Foster plays the head of the alien planet.

At the press day for the independent drama The Beaver, directed by Jodie Foster, Collider was able to briefly talk to the multi-talented artist about her upcoming role in Neill Blomkamp’s next sci-fi alien film, the highly anticipated Elysium, which is starring Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley and William Fichtner. While we’ll run the portion of the interview about The Beaver closer to that film’s May 6^th release date, we wanted to post the little bits she did hint at, as the film has been so closely guarded, having only revealed previously that it will involve a battle between an alien race and the human race. Check out what she had to say after the jump. You can catch up on all of our Elysium coverage here.

I like to dream of an alternate universe where Drive Angry did well at the box office and stardom finally comes to terrific character actor William Fichtner.  Sadly, I don’t live in that universe, but that doesn’t mean Fichtner’s disappearing into obscurity.  Variety reports that Fichtner is in talks to join Contact co-star Jodie Foster as well as Matt Damon, Wagner Moura, and Sharlto Copley in Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium.  Details on the plot remain under wraps, but the story takes place in the distant future on another planet.  The film will also feature the kind of social allegory of Blomkamp’s breakthrough film District 9 but on a much larger scale.

Elysium is due out March 8, 2013.

Wagner Moura, best known for his work in the Brazilian action films Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2, has joined Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Sharlto Copley in Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium.  Latino Review broke the story and Heat Vision adds that Moura’s character has “a crazy sense of humor.”  HV also says that Damon will play an ex-con and that social class figures into the story, which is set 100 years in the future and on another planet.  Blomkamp says that the film is also “violent, very violent, and very unique, hopefully.”  Sony picked up Elysium in January to the tune of $120 million and plans to release the film in late 2012.

The Elite Squad films have been a massive success in Brazil and Elite Squad 2 holds the box office record in the country over Hollywood fare.  Their director, Jose Padilha, recently entered talks to direct MGM’s remake of Robocop. [Update: Heat Vision reports that Elysium has been set for a March 8th, 2013 release date].

I’ve been a fan of Matt Damon’s since Good Will Hunting.  In the thirteen years since that film got released, Damon has starred in countless films and even though he is known the world over, every time that I’ve been fortunate enough to talk to him, he’s always been beyond cool and willing to answer any question.  So when I sat down to talk about his new film The Adjustment Bureau for our partners at Omelete, I figured I was in for a good conversation.  However, no matter what I was thinking when I walked in, I left the room even more impressed with Damon.  That’s because when I first walked in he told me how much he loved my Goodfellas t-shirt and then we spent a few minutes talking about Martin Scorsese and Goodfellas.  He was going to tell me a Godfather Part 2 story when I actually forced him to switch gears.  However, after telling me some great stories about making The Adjustment Bureau, Damon gave me updates on Cameron Crowe’s We Built a Zoo and Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium.

But I’ve left out the best part.

At the end of the interview, I told him I’d love to hear his Godfather Part 2 story and then he smiled and proceeded to tell me an awesome story about the making of The Godfather Part 2 which he must have heard from either Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola.  I’m a huge fan of the Godfather films and had never heard what he told me.  If you’re a fan of Damon’s, or just want to hear an awesome actor geek out like the film nerd that he is, you definitely want to hit the jump:

There was a point not too long ago when Nell Blomkamp was best known as the director chewed up and spit out by the would-be Halo movie.  One surprise hit later, and Hollywood is clamoring to get into business with the District 9 filmmaker.  Media Rights Capital agreed to finance his next film, Elysium, an original and “unabashedly big” sci-fi project is set in 100 years in the future on another planet that stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Sharlto Copley.  Sony acquired the distribution rights yesterday for a reported pricetag of $120 million with plans for a late 2012 release.

Deadline updated their report on the deal with the news that MRC has already greenlit Blomkamp’s next film, Chappie, as part of an overall deal with the director.  The report suggests Chappie will go into production immediately after Elysium wraps.  We barely know anything about Elysium, so obviously the relevant parties aren’t ready to reveal plot details for Chappie.  Well I don’t know about you, but this thing looks like a “Chappie” if I ever saw one.

Elysium, the upcoming film from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, is continuing to gain heat.  After casting Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Sharlto Copley, the film is currently being pitched to various studios (with the exception of Disney, which won’t make expensive R-rated movies).  Deadline reports that Blomkamp is going from studio to studio with a storyboard presentation.  Also, while we knew the story (which is still being kept under wraps) would take place in the distant future and on another plantet, Deadline is reporting that the film takes place 100 years into the future, is “an unabashedly big movie”, and has the same social allegory of District 9.

Hit the jump for more details on Elysium including the hiring of Blade Runner production designer Syd Mead.

[Update: Sony has reportedly picked up the film for $120 million. Details below.]

Jodie Foster has joined Matt Damon and Sharlto Copley in Elysium, the new film from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp.  Deadline reports that although the project hasn’t been shopped to the studios yet, Foster is now on board.  Plot details, however, remain under wraps and all we know about the film is that it takes place in the distant future and on another planet.

Foster recently wrapped her third directing effort, The Beaver, where she co-stars with Mel Gibson and Anton Yelchin.  She’s also attached to star in Roman Polanski’s God of Carnage with Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, Matt Dillon, and John C. Reilly, as well as Park Chan-Wook’s U.S. debut, Stoker.

Matt Damon is in early negotiations to join Sharlto Copley in Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium.  Not much is known about the film other than it takes place on another planet and is set in the distant future.  Because the project is shrouded in secrecy, it’s unknown what role Damon or Copley would play.  Deadline reports that production company Media Rights Capital won’t start shopping the project until next year when it has its major cast lined up.

Hit the jump for a refresher on the other projects Damon has on his plate.  He’ll next be seen in theaters on December 22nd in the Coen Brothers’ western True Grit.

Neill Blomkamp is reteaming with his District 9 star Sharlto Copley for a new sci-fi action film entitled Elysium. According to Deadline, Blomkamp is reportedly shopping the film to several interested studios with a graphic novel for the film in tow. Not much is known about Elysium other than it takes place on another planet and is set in the distant future. Blomkamp recently released a strange viral video for Wired Magazine, but it is still not clear what (if any) connection this video has with the film in question. For those wondering, “Elysium” is actually a term used in Greek mythology for a section of the Underworld designated to heroes and other laudatory figures. The term has gone on to have connotations with “Paradise”.

Copley, who was last seen this past summer in Joe Carnahan’s The A-Team, joined Men in Black III this past October.

Collider reader “Vradst” sent us a link to an interesting video this morning.  Vradst tells us that he/she bought the latest issue of Wired Magazine for the iPad and that in place of the usual digital animation that accompanies the issue, there was a mysterious video shot by District 9 director Neill Blomkamp.  The video shows a couple of guys with a handheld camera discovering a dead, strange-looking creature on the side of the road.  The creature has been marked with a stamp that reads “18.12 AGM Heartland Pat Pend USA” with the outer-circle reading “US Inspected and Approved”.

Hit the jump to check out the video and a refresher on Blomkamp’s potential follow-up, Elysium.