There's no question that how Johannesburg operates is what made me interested in the idea of wealth discrepancy. 'Elysium' could be a metaphor for ju….

There's a lot of evidence in evolutionary sciences that show that altruism and acting in ways that are empathetic to others are actually beneficial o….

If something is as smart as you, do you treat it differently if it isn't a human?.

I think the world of 'District 9' has a lot of race and oppression-based ideas that I would still like to explore in that world..

I am a firm believer that the pull for human beings is towards the good, generally outweighing the bad..

I grew up as an artist. Science fiction allows for design and creatures and guns and all the stuff that I like as well. So I think most of the films ….

I actually think Johannesburg represents the future. My version of what I think the world is going to become looks like Johannesburg..

I think that in the realm of commercial, popcorn cinema, the amount of message or smuggling of ideas you can get in there is quite limited. Like, if ….

I think that people who make films and think they're changing the world are sorely mistaken. If that really is your goal, there are far better ways t….

I think that 'Elysium' the movie is unrealistic, with the space station and everything. I think 'Elysium' the metaphor is completely realistic: it's ….

I do think that it's always okay to show too little. People will still be interested. So why show too much?.

When I was in my early 20s, I was quite into Japanese animation. It's like the same thing that I end up always saying which is, imagery based stuff i….

There are loads of sociopolitical, racial, class and future-planet situations that really interest me, but I'm not really interested in making a film….

'District 9' was a singular anti-Apartheid metaphor, and 'Elysium' is a more general metaphor about immigration and how the First World and Third Wor….

I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be accurate..

When any young director gets hired by a studio to do a $125 million film based on a preexisting piece of intellectual property, they're climbing into….

There has to be the popcorn genre element, or I don't engage the same way. I like action and vehicle design and guns and computer graphics as much as….

If you look at the most meaningful science fiction, it didn't come from watching other films. We seem to be in a place now where filmmakers make film….

I think naturally I'm a very visual kind of person. If I wasn't in filmmaking, I'd be in something related to visuals. And I used to actually work as….

I think a lot of the inspirations for me are very instinctual and subconscious. I don't over intellectualize stuff much. It's a very instinctual thin….

Obviously I don't want to make a film that offends people, but the whole world is so politically correct - I'm not going to not do something because ….