Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has boldly appealed to President Obama to help put an end to illegal whaling, reports CBS.  Brosnan paid for and appears in an “Save the Whales Now” advertisement, in which he reminds the President of his promise, whilst a candidate for the White House, that he was going to stop illegal whaling.

The ”Save the Whales Now” campaign is a joint effort by the following organisations: Humane Society of the United States, The International Fund for Animal Welfare, The Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Ocean Alliance.   It encourages viewers to call the President personally, by providing a telephone number.  The Brosnan ad can be viewed here.

Halle Berry, Oscar-winning actress, and Oliver Martinez are currently in Cape Town, to shoot “Dark Tide” in Simonstown.  Berry plays the role of a diving instructor who comes face-to-face with sharks on a deserted island in the movie, reports the Sunday Times.   Local marine professionals have been retained by the producers, to provide support, whilst a local team of stunt co-ordinators has also been hired.   Filming has taken place in Simonstown harbour and at Seal Island.   The production company has set up its base at Seaforth Beach in Simonstown.

Commenting on the making of the movie, shark conservationist Alison Kock of Save Our Seas Foundation told the Sunday Times that they decided to not get involved and assist the producers, after they had seen the script, and it appeared to be a “shark attack” movie, a thriller in which the actors fight off a shark attack.  Her society’s mandate is to present the positive side of sharks, especially given shark attacks in False Bay generally, and specifically in Fish Hoek at the beginning of the year, when Lloyd Skinner died from being attacked by a Great White Shark.

A fascinating project is that of an Australian movie “Whale Like Me”,which film-maker Malcolm Wright is making.  Wright does not support the catching of whales by the Japanese, and came up with the idea of a documentary, in which the Japanese and the conservationists opposed to whaling swop roles, a “walk a mile in my shoes” type of movie, reports The Australian.  Wright will be living with a whaling family and join a whale hunt off the coast of Japan, while whalers will live with him in the Cook Islands and will swim with humpback whales in the area.

Wright says of his novel documentary: “The key to the film is reconciliation and the way we see reconciliation is walking a mile in each other’s shoes.  My standpoint is we have to now shift from a moratorium on sustainability grounds to a moratorium on ethical grounds, and at least have an international exchange of ideas and come to a conclusion of some sort”.   Hideki Fuji, a Japanese film-maker working on the project challenges the anti-whaling sentiment, asking how whaling and eating whales is different to “the harvesting of other animals for human consumption”.   Wright worked with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, and hopes to get his movie released in cinemas.  Filming is planned to start this month.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The new M-Net TV series “League of Glory’, which was written by scriptwriter Bruce Young and directed by respected filmmaker Darrel Roodt, will be a marketing boost for the university and wine town Stellenbosch.   The first of 13 episodes will be flighted today at 19h30.

The series tells the story of three young men Jonathan Grant (Charlie Keegan), Luke Jantjies (Marvin-Lee Beukes) and Kaiser Sigcau (Siv Ngesi), from different walks of life, who all love soccer, and share the goal of “glory through soccer”.   The three soccer fans play for a township soccer club and are assigned an ex-Bafana Bafana player as a coach to train them for a soccer competition.     The coach plays an important role in the lives of the soccer players.  The series tells the story of how the three stars triumph over adversity, and how each of them face their fears.   The series is a familiar drama with a modern twist, according to Roodt, with a strong emphasis on the world’s most popular sport, being soccer.   The series coincides with the World Cup.

Nook Eatery on Van Reyneveld Street in Stellenbosch, a favourite coffee shop and eatery, was lucky to be selected by the series producers as a location for some of the action.  Co-owner Luke Grant said he and his partner Jessie, the delectable chef of the restaurant, were happy to be involved and helped out with the shoot.   Multiple scenes were shot at Nook.   Stellenbosch’s beauty is captured in the series, and a wine farm is the location for the home of the parents of Jonathan Grant in the series.

FIFA’s strict rules, forbidding ambush marketing, meant that some scenes had to be re-shot when it was discovered that a FIFA soccer ball was used in some of the shots for the series.  This affected Nook too.   “Upon reviewing Fifa’s regulations around licensing for the World Cup during this time, M-Net and Waterfront Television realised that showing the scenes with the official Fifa ball would be against the regulations” said M-Net, according to the Cape Times.  About 9 minutes of the drama had to be re-shot, and thus delayed the start date of the series by a week, to today.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Oscar ‘Best Documentary’ nominated ”Food Inc.” blames the fast food industry for having created a sick food production industry in the United States of America, which exploits poor workers, treats its animals inhumanely, causes global warming, and makes its consumers sick or kills them!  The movie makers say they are “hungry for change”!   (’The Cove’ won the Oscar in this category)

Food Inc. is not for the squeamish, and is likely to make one vow to never buy any products from a standard supermarket (other than Woolworths, and even then one is not sure how their suppliers produce their foods) again, to only buy organic foods, where possible, to pay more for good quality food, and to NEVER go near a fast food outlet again.

Robert Renner is the movie director and co-writer of the script, and used the work of investigative ‘Fast Food Nation’ reporter Eric Schlosser, and Michael Pollan, author of ‘Omnivore’s Dilemma’, to highlight the problems in the USA food industry.

The movie starts with the supermarket shelves overflowing with brands that give the farm-like feel in their logo’s and pack designs (the “Farmer Brown”-type treatment), but this seems to be a fraudulent depiction of the production of meat products, 80 % of which is in the hands of 4 or 5 production and packaging companies slaughtering 10 billion animals annually.   Chicken production has been altered over time, and a chicken is ready for slaughter in 45 days, compared to double that time in the past, and has bigger breasts to meet market demands.  The big meat producers buy up the farmer’s production, and encourage the farmers to expand the size of their operation all the time, thereby pushing the farmers to get into debt with their banks.  This gives the meat companies power over their supplier farms, to dictate to them how to grow their chickens, and how they are slaughtered.  So, for example, chickens are raised in overpopulated windowless chicken houses, which means that the chickens can barely walk, and do not resist when they are put into containers to be taken to the food factories.   Similarly, pigs and cows are on top of each other on farms, are raised on corn instead of grass, and their skin is covered in faeces.  This leads to undesirable e.Coli and semonella which can contaminate the meat, which is then sold in supermarkets or processed into hamburger patties.

The mother of young Kevin, whose son died from E.coli which was in her son’s hamburger at a fast food outlet, becomes a food “advocate”, lobbying the USA government that food producers who are regularly having to recall their food products from supermarkets or fast food outlets should be closed down.  This is in the face of economic pressure on American politicians to permit such producers to continue producing cheap food.

The corn production industry appears equally corrupt and 45 % of corn produced is genetically engineered.  Corn is purchased below production cost by meat-producing farmers, to keep the cost of meat low.   Corn is a surprise ingredient in numerous supermarket products such as ketchup, chips and other snacks, cola drinks, canned soup and more.   Tomatoes have been genetically engineered to not go bad so quickly, says the movie.   Up to 75 % of the processed supermarket foods one eats in the USA contain genetically engineered ingredients, which can lead to cancer, allergies and problems with toxins.

The fast food industry in the USA has grown dramatically since the drive-ins were started in the 1950’s, and thereafter the McDonalds were started and expanded internationally.   For many families, the low cost of fast food is a more affordable means of feeding a family than is buying healthy fruit and vegetables.  One family is interviewed, and the husband’s diabetes medication takes a big chunk of the family’s disposable money for their food purchases, forcing them to find the cheapest food to feed the family.   A group of scholars is shown, and each of them know more than one person with diabetes.

The result is that more and more Americans are becoming sick, and even die, as did young Kevin, and Americans are becoming more obese.   76 million Americans have become sick from eating contaminated meat, 32 500 have been hospitalised, and 5 000 have died.    Food labelling regulations in the USA do not demand that genetically engineered products are specified on food labels.   The FDA and USDA are criticised for being weak in not protecting the lives and health of the American population.

The documentary spends quite some time on Monsanto, a powerful company which has produced genetically engineered soya beans.  The company does not allow farmers to clean their beans to replant them, forcing all farmers to buy them from Monsanto.   The company sends investigators to farms, and sues farmers who do not follow this directive. The farmers have no protection from the company, and most farmers cannot stand up to its financial and legal power.

The movie shows how much pressure is placed on farmers to tow the food producers’ line, in that filming in chicken houses was not allowed, and all the food companies declined to be interviewed for the movie.  Cameras were smuggled into some of the production sites via staff, to provide footage for the movie.

Viewers are asked to get involved, to lobby for better controls over the food production industry, to eat at home (and therefore not buy fast food), to eat together as a family, to lobby for fair conditions for workers in food production companies (many are illegal workers from Mexico, who are arrested regularly, while their employers are not), to grow one’s own vegetables and fruit, to eat only seasonal foods, to not drink sweetened beverages, to pressurise restaurants to specify the calorie count of each dish, to lobby for schools to not sell junk food or sweetened beverages, to support farmers’ markets, and to do “meatless Mondays”.  The movie ends off on a positive note, interviewing a farmer who supplies an organic yoghurt to Wal-Mart.  Initially he was opposed to supplying a national food chain, but realised that Wal-Mart is bowing to customer pressure, and they flag organic products in the store, which the farmer says is a good thing.

Food, Inc, Cinema Nouveau, V&A Waterfront and Cavendish, Cape Town. www.foodincmovie.com

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

A movie called “Ein Sommer in Kapstadt” (A Summer in Cape Town), flighted by one of the largest German TV stations ZDF on Sunday, has been the most wonderful PR exercise for Cape Town, the city having been presented from its most beautiful side.

The movie tells the story of a scorned wife, whose husband comes to Cape Town on a business trip.  She follows her husband to Cape Town when she finds him having an affair with a young Capetonian.  While the drama evolves, the main character drives across Cape Town, and the city’s magnificent beauty is captured through the magnificent filming: an opening shot from Bakoven in Camps Bay, onto the Twelve Apostles mountain range, some cute penguins running from the beach into the ocean, two lunches from a Blouberg restaurant right alongside the sea with the waves crashing while they eat, lots of driving along Victoria Road between Camps Bay and Hout Bay in an exotic blue sports car, Bo-Kaap, Signal Hill, lunch at the V&A Waterfront, Long Street, the winelands, and the top of Table Mountain.   The movie ends when the husband and wife reunite in a ”happy ever after” ending.

One hopes that the movie will encourage German TV viewers to book their next holiday in Cape Town, given the beautiful impression of the city it must have made upon them.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Whales and dolphins are an emotive topic, and Oscar-winning Best Documentary “The Cove” pulls out all the stops in appealing to the hearts of viewers of its documentary about the dolphin capture and slaughter in Taija in Japan.

The story starts with Ric O’Barry, who was an actor in the ‘Flipper’ TV series many years ago.   When the beloved dolphin ’star’ of the series dies in his arms, in a suicide he says, he saw the light, and realised that it is cruel to keep dolphins in captivity.  Dolphins are particularly sound-sensitive, and any noise in a captive environment will make dolphins kill themselves.   Since he became aware of this, O’Barry became a dolphin activist, and was arrested on many occasions, being caught whilst releasing dolphins kept in captivity.  

When he heard about the bottle-nose dolphins that are cornered into a cove in Taiji by means of a banging sound from fishing boats, and then captured for resale to dolphinariums and aquariums around the world, at an income of $ 150 000 each, or killed for the sale of their meat, he decides that he must get involved, despite the danger this entails.   He connects with the Ocean Preservation Society, which takes on his cause, and he and its leader Louie Psihoyos, a previous National Geographic photographer who becomes the executive director of the movie, assemble a team of dedicated activists that believe in protecting dolphins.  Jointly the team installs underwater cameras and sound equipment in the cove, as well as on the hillside overlooking it, in a dangeous operation, so that the torrid actions of the Japanese fishermen can be documented for the world to see.  The red sea water after each killing is enough to get every cinema-goer involved.

Two further themes run through the movie.  Firstly, much footage comes from the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) 2006 meeting in St Kitts, which reflects the Japanese registering new members they pay to vote in favour of their whaling activities.  Many of them are islands in the Bahamas.   In the Commission meeting many of these are filmed sleeping during the proceedings, and not knowing which whale types pass by their countries!   It shows the IWC to be an ineffective organisation, which does not concern itself with the preservation of dolphins and porpoises, even though they are defined as whale species.  It also documents the abuse of the Japanese in being allowed whaling for “scientific research” purposes.   This is what the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is fighting in the Antarctic, south of Australia, actively attacking Japanese whaling boats in this whale sanctuary, to prevent them from killing whales.  The Society’s founder and leader Captain Paul Watson is as determined to stop the slaughter of whales as is Ric O’Barry in stopping the slaughter of dolphins.

Secondly, the documentary presents information that the 23 000 dolphins that are killed in Japan annually are sold as whale meat, unbeknown to the Japanese population, that would not touch dolphin meat as food.   Despite this, a school feeding programme had intended to serve dolphin meat to children at Japanese schools, until the results of the research initiated by the Ocean Preservation Society proved that dolphin meat contains poisonous levels of mercury.  The dolphin meat school feeding programme was stopped as a result.

Each of the activists that participated in the dangerous mission, and the documentary producers and cameramen deserve an Oscar for their brave actions, which could have led to their arrest.  O’Barry, the initiator of the dolphin rescue action, has expressed his regret for ever making dolphin petting and dolphin training popular via the “Flipper” TV series.

Actress and singer Hayden Panettiere and her boxing champion boyfriend Vladimir Klitschko recently visited Taiji, Osaka and Tokyo to focus attention on her ‘Save the Whales Again!’ campaign, on the strength of the outrage that ‘The Cove’ has created, and to encourage the fishermen of Taiji to make their money from other means.

Recently producer Louie Psihoyos took on a sushi restaurant, called Hump, in Santa Monica, and exposed that it serves whale meat.  It has since closed its doors.

The documentary encourages viewers to take part in the campaign to save dolphins.  Its website www.takepart.com invites viewers to write to their leaders and to spread the word about what the Japanese are doing in Taiji; to learn more about the effect on dolphins of being kept in captivity; to calculate one’s own mercury exposure; to assist ‘Save Japan Dolphins’; and to send donations to the filmmakers.   More information about the movie can be read at www.thecovemovie.com.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

John Cleese, master comedian, has signed to play a lead role in the movie of the South African-written book ‘Spud’ by John van de Ruit, reports The Times.  Local teenage actor Troye Sivan, who starred in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, plays the other lead role in the movie.

The movie will be financed privately and produced in South Africa, a rarity in South African film production.   This means that the movie producers will make all creative decisions, rather than have them made by financiers and studio executives.

The book and movie are set at the elite private school Michaelhouse in KwaZulu-Natal, and John “Spud’ Milton is the principal character of the book.  Van de Ruit went to school at Michaelhouse.  The story is set in 1990, the year that the ANC was unbanned and Nelson Mandela was released.  The book won numerous prizes, including the Bestsellers Choice Award.

The movie will be a novel means of marketing South Africa.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

South Africa features strongly on the Oscar nominee list, which was announced in Hollywood last week, reports the Cape Argus, and will be good for the marketing of the country.

South African film ‘District 9′, a movie which is set in a township in Johannesburg, has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Visual Effects awards.    ‘District 9′ is up against ‘Avatar’, which has won all the major movie awards to date, specifically as far as special effects are concerned, a strength of “District 9′ too. 

‘Invictus’ has been enjoyed by many South Africans, living in the country and abroad, who nostalgically  relived the World Cup Rugby championship, which was played in South Africa in 1995.   Then-President Nelson Mandela wore the number 6 jersey when he went on the field before the final match between South Africa and New Zealand was played, to help the South African team face the power and strength of the New Zealand team.  South Africa won against all odds.   Matt Damon successfully plays Springbok rugby captain Francois Pienaar, at least as far as his South African accent goes, while Morgan Freeman is less successful with Nelson Mandela’s accent.   See the review of Invictus here.   Invictus has been nominated for Best Actor (Morgan Freeman) and Best Supporting Actor (Matt Damon).

The Oscars take place on 7 March.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

A novel relationship between Hilton Hotels and the producers of the (Oscar nominated) “Up in the Air” has led to a most successful marketing campaign for the American hotel chain at little cost.

The fast-paced movie stars George Clooney in the lead role, and his love for being on the move around the USA, utilising his credit and loyalty cards to travel efficiently and cost-effectively.   When his boss threatens to ground him, his world collapses, especially as he is on the brink of reaching his one and only goal of 10 million frequent flyer miles.

The movie was shot at various Hilton Hotels, and “signature” Hilton products and amenities were used in the filming, reports the Weekend Argus.   The movie director Jason Reitman was a ‘Hilton HHonors frequent traveller scheme’ member before making the movie, and was familiar with the HIlton brand.   Most of the filming took place at the hotel group’s St Louis branches.  No payment changed hands, but the hotel group made accommodation and filming space available, and launched its own marketing campaign in conjunction with the movie.

Whilst the Hilton branding was visible, it never dominated, nor alienated the viewer of the movie.  In reading the article, the subtle Hilton branding became more evident.   Some of the Hilton products shown in the movie include the HHonors Diamond VIP card, MP3 alarm clock radio, room service menu, phones, uniforms, and name badges.   Services such as the Hilton HHonors check-in service, the shuttle service, the restaurants, and the hotel bathrobes, are shown.

A website www.hilton.com/UpintheAir has been created, to show how Hilton staff have helped frequent travellers and provided service by walking the extra mile.

“‘Up in the Air’ is set within the world of travel and Hilton is the most recognised name in hospitality, so our involvement provides additional credibility and authenticity.  Hilton links to the messages in the film in a seamless and subtle manner” said a Hilton spokesperson.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

When leaving the cinema after seeing ‘Invictus’, I could not come to a conclusion about my feelings about the movie.   While it has a star cast of international actors (Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon) and a star director in Clint Eastwood, and is set in Cape Town and Johannesburg, which bodes well for the country’s awareness and visibility, there was a nagging question as to which movie-goers around the world would be interested in a movie about South Africa’s transformation into a democracy almost 20 years ago, and more particularly, the country winning the Rugby World Cup in 1995 against all odds.   

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and one of their adopted sons were at the premiere of the movie in Los Angeles a week ago, and one wonders what would have made them see the movie, other than respect for their fellow-actors and the producer.

The filming is mainly concentrated on the rugby field and in Madiba’s official residences and offices.  Cape Town features in the scenic shots, one being a magnificent shot of a SAA aeroplane flying in front of Table Mountain; various shots of the V&A Waterfront, including a trip to Robben Island on the ferry, and a number of rugby match celebrations at Ferrymans; and a run on Beach Road in Mouille Point, the lighthouse forming a dominant backdrop.

While most would say that Morgan Freeman was the star of the movie, playing the role of the magnificent Nelson Mandela, who sees the Rugby World Cup as a way in which to unite 42 million South Africans, it is Matt Damon who is the real star.   Matt Damon IS Francois Pienaar, and speaks with a most believable South African accent; Morgan Freeman is Morgan Freeman in voice, and is Nelson Mandela in looks only.

Nostalgically, the movie was interesting to see, in observing how much and yet how little has changed in South Africa in 20 years.    Long-forgotten brand names, such as Volkskas, Xerox and Iscor, and old logos such as those of SAA and Coca Cola, were visible around the rugby fields.

One error was that Madiba was seen to be reading the Cape Argus for breakfast!   Some characters had too pronounced an (unrealistic) South African accent, including Pienaar’s mother, and the white security men.   Pienaar’s wife Nerine, played by local actress Marguerite Wheatley, was very real in acting and speaking.  Both Freeman and Damon have been nominated for the Screen Actors’ Guild awards, as best actor and best supporting actor, respectively.

The name of the movie comes from the Invictus poem by William Ernest Henley, which Mandela had in his prison cell on Robben Island, and was the mantra by which he survived:

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishment the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

Given the 2010 World Cup, and a similar scenario of only a particular section of the South African population enjoying soccer,  ’Invictus’ may hold clues as to how President Zuma and FIFA will get all South Africans behind the spirit of the world’s biggest soccer event.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The movie ‘Disgrace’, which is based on Nobel prize winner JM Coetzee’s Booker Prize winning book by the same title, is a beautifully shot movie, depicting South Africa’s beauty, as well as its social complexity, and should stimulate tourism to this country, if the viewers can look past the shocking depiction of the crime stereotype associated with South Africa.  The movie is set in Cape Town, Grahamstown and on a farm in the Eastern Cape.  It has just started screening locally.

Starring John Malkovitch as UCT Professor David Lurie, fortunately without any attempt to speak with a South African accent, all other actors are South African, and make one feel that one knows characters such as those depicted in the movie, and that one can empathise with them.   At all times the Malkovitch character feels to be the odd one out.

A Cape Argus review summarises the book and the movie as follows: “Like the book, there’s a definite sense that the person who created this piece of art loves the country and doesn’t understand the people.”  Local actress  and radio presenter Natalie Becker also stars in the film, as does South African actress Jessica Haines.  DO Productions in Cape Town co-produced the movie.

The book originally caused an outcry, being criticised for reinforcing racial stereotypes, despite the new South Africa.    Coetzee left for Australia soon after writing the book, and now lives there.   The director and screenwriter are an Australian couple, yet seem to have an excellent grip in representing life in South Africa.

The movie is showing at the Cinema Nouveau movie houses at Cavendish Square and the V&A Waterfront, as well as at Canal Walk, and was a winner at the Toronto and Middle East Film Festivals.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com