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| News and Highlights - 2011 | |
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July 2011 Feast & Famine?
This page has been static for many months - since November 2010 in
fact. There are several reasons. Firstly, the beginning of 2011 was the
quietest in at least a decade. Perhaps it was the shadow of the 2010
Soccer World cup "hole" in local productions, perhaps it was the
spectre of WEM (World Economic Meltdown) that made producers hesitant
to commit to production. Currency fluctuations can buckle the most
tightly budgeted production and noticeably tighter budgets meant that
producers could not even afford to look for Cast outside Cape Town,
where most foreign companies are based when shooting in South
Africa. Several productions went on "hold."The other reason was that Christa was working "in house" on satellite channel M-Net's "groundbreaking new daily television show" and they didn't want us to talk about it. For several months our studio was visited by an eclectic mix of "wannabes" and a who's who of South African Soapie stars. The waiting area was probably a hotbed of rumour and devious answers as people still on a soapie bumped into other people also still on a soapie, wondering why each was auditioning for a part on "Landmark" as the production was then called.  Eventually the in house audition venue became available, the wraps came off The Wild,
and casting moved to "the fishbowl" as the rather cramped and basic glass-walled space became known. Since our
studio was effectively dark and Ben Tjibe had gone with Christa as her
cameraman / technical assistant, yours truly took a "real job" in the
Cape in order to get some work done on a little piece of land we have
there.That didn't last... The technical job I'd signed up for turned out to be a sales job in a vast economically depressed region, leaving me no time to achieve the personal goals I'd set myself. As the international industry revived, I also found myself working into the night, doing my technical job via the wonders of the Internet. I must say, there is something sublime about sitting in a bare wooden cabin in the Cape mountains, using a laptop to send a Johannesburg actor's audition to Hollywood via a cell-phone hanging from a nail! April and May saw Christa and me almost commuting between Johannesburg and Cape Town for auditions, call -backs and meetings with producers about work in the pipeline. Johannesburg TV companies also seem to have re-invented themselves in the face of a dearth of new commissions from the dysfunctional national broadcaster. Several have forged partnerships with foreign producers and have lined up a slate of low-budget feature films. Whether as a result of acclimatising to the new economic realities, or a feeling of "now or never", several productions went from hold to green light during June and July, so the rest of 2011 promises to be very busy. Yes please! |
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Nothing but the Best Producers Scott & David Hillenbrand and Prof Mathabane are determined that the making of the movie will provide some benefit to
the youth of Alexandra township.
 As part of their plan they have engaged Fiona Ramsay, the best dialogue and acting coach in the country.. Ms. Ramsay has coached numerous international actors working in South Africa, including Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard for their roles in Winnie, Sam Neill., Sophie Okenedo & Alice Krige for Skin, Hillary Swank & Chewitel Eyifor for Red Dust to mention just a few. Fiona has been flown to Hollywood to supervise ADR recording on several films and has been invited to deliver papers to specialist conferences in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Coaching takes place in Alexandra township, at our studio, and during trips backstage at the Market Theatre, internationally renowned as the home of Protest Theatre during the Apartheid era. The boys have also attended several plays at The Market, which Ms. Ramsay feels is essential to giving them a window on the wider world beyond their township. |
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Boetie and The Beast Who would possibly think of mining
corrupt politicians, the reality TV craze, a national obsession
with racism, big game poaching and schoolboy humour to come up
with a script littered with social comment - when you can stop yourself
laughing in spite of yourself? Only South Africa's highest grossing
film personality, Leon Schuster, for his latest film, Boetie and The Beast. Casting has just started, and shooting will begin during September.
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Vehicle 19  Casting often feels like looking for a needle in a haystack - when you're not sure there is
a needle in the haystack. Sometimes however, one is faced with
half-a-dozen very good choices, a challenging mix of experience and new
talent. Which way to go? Then yet another candidate appears and complicates the process even further. A little experience on TV, but none on the big screen. Will she survive the pressure of the Call Backs, let alone cope with being the female lead opposite an American actor with almost cult status? Your Casting Director's intuition is shouting "YES!!" - but will the Director agree?  Local writer and director Mukunda Michael Dewil's script for Vehicle 19 made it onto Hollywood’s 2010 Hit List for the years’ best original screenplay. The thriller follows Paul Walker (Fast and Furious, Takers) as an innocent bystander who becomes entangled in a world of deadly Police corruption when he picks up the wrong rental car. The role of his unwilling passenger is a demanding one, mixing action with the challenge of giving depth to the character of a committed young prosecutor. After a gruelling call back session against three other contenders, Mukunda agreed - the role should go to relative newcomer Naima McLean, whose charm, poise and responsiveness never faltered under pressure.   Although new to the big screen, Naima has had a guest role in the long running UK television series "Wild At Heart". This accomplished young woman is also a well-travelled performance poet and singer who has appeared on stage in the UK, Europe and several African cities, including the 2011 Cape Town International Jazz Festival in March this year. |
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