Sony's much-anticipated thriller "Elysium" comes out in theaters this weekend.
Set in the year 2154, the plot revolves around the conflict existing between the wealthy people of man-made space station, Elysium and the poor left to live on overpopulated Earth.
Director Neill Blomkamp ("District 9") has said the perfect world on Elysium was inspired by the Stanford Torus, a design considered by NASA in 1975 in part with Stanford University to house 10,000 to 140,000 residents in space.
"Back in the '70s, people were actually discussing the idea of leaving Earth and building space stations for us to potentially live on one day," says Blomkamp. "One of the top answers to that challenge was the Stanford Torus. I like the idea of taking this well-known concept and caking it with wealth, diamonds, and Bel Air-style mansions."
Sony Pictures released a ton of new promotional stills for the film in the past week highlighting a multinational cast led by Matt Damon and featuring Mexican star Diego Luna along with Brazilian talent Alice Braga and Wagner Moura.
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.
Matt Damon looks nearly unrecognizable as tattoo-heavy, ex-con man Max DeCosta.
In 2154, he lives in overpopulated, destitute, and crime-ridden Los Angeles, portrayed by Mexico City in the film.
(Source: "Elysium" production notes)
The wealthy live here, in space station Elysium.
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