Elysium , Neill Blomkamp's return to sci-fi after District 9 , has kick-started its viral campaign with a new pamphlet distributed at Comic-Con , leading to a brand new website promoting the upper-class colony from which the film takes its name.
Elysium is set in a society in which the rich live in a cushy, luxurious space-station, while the poor languish below on a ruined, post-apocalyptic Earth. Matt Damon stars as Max, part of a dangerous mission that could redress the balance of society forever, a situation the hard-line Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster) would rather didn't come to pass.
"Welcome to the Elysium Citizenship Initiative" reads the pamphlet. "Elysium has been offering a luxury alternative to life on Earth since the year 2097. Elysium continues to maintain strict border control in order to preserve its exceptional standard of living. However, thanks to the Elysium Citizenship Initiative, you now have the opportunity to apply for travel to Elysium"
The flyer then links to a website entitled itsbetterupthere.com , where a creepy "border agent" assesses your suitability to become a citizen of Elysium. The viral demands you "like" the site via Facebook, and gets rather stroppy the longer you dally over it!
The original viral site Armadyne.net has also been updated with a wealth of new material, available once you register with a username and password. Elysium will open in the UK on 1 March 2013, so expect plenty more viral updates over the coming weeks and months...
