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
