Meeting John Cleese

As you know, the reason I came to the Midlands was to interview John Cleese, for his role in the Spud movie. It is due for release in November, so my full interview has to wait a bit before it goes to air, and I have to save much of what he said during that time. But I can say this: I found Mr Cleese to be a polite, peculiar and humourous person. He did, however, call me a 'wuss' because I don't like bats. Just before the interview itself began he was telling me about how a bat had come into hi room the previous night and how his girlfriend Jenny had been petrified by it. Cleese, on the other hand, quite enjoyed the experience, saying he likes a bat's skin because it is silky and dark. He must have seen my face scrunch up because that's when he told me I was a wuss and would get on very well with Jenny. Luckily I didn't take it too personally.

With The Cleese - he sat down so that I could "tower over" him. How sweet!

Spud author John van der Ruit was at the guesthouse when I was waiting to do the interview. I commented to him that this all must be like a big Hollywood dream for him, and he said that it was, and the best part is that it's going so well. I bumped into him a little later while out to dinner at the best Italian restaurant in the Midlands - he was with his family. His mom was very quick to tell me she's not at all like the mother of John 'Spud' Milton in the book. I would probably also be quick to make that clear - especially when the first book in the series opens like this:

"Cursed with parents from well well beyond the lunatic fringe, a senile granny, and a dormitory full of strange characters, Spud has his hands full trying to adapt to his new home." 

I also met some of the youngsters playing the Crazy 8 - thanks to my friend Chris who is tutoring them. Sweet guys with good manners - nice to see. They said they were really liking working with Jason Cope (District 9's main Prawn) who plays Sparerib. Everyone also raves about Troye Sivan, who plays Spud, saying he is an excellent actor and a really nice guy. Not least of those raving about Troye is Cleese himself. He told me he enjoys acting with him - which makes for a change because he hasn't really enjoyed acting in a long time. Troye - who was born in South Africa but lives in Australia - played the young Wolverine in the movie that Gavin Hood directed, and it looks like his star is definitely on the rise...And I hope to make him my next Spud interview.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Location: OR Tambo

Destination: Michaelhouse, Midlands, Kwazulu Natal

Assignment: Interview John Cleese, aka The Guv in Spud

So this assignment is only a plane ride, a scenic car drive and a ‘funny walk’ away. I am looking forward to meeting one of the world’s most revered actors and funniest comedians. John Cleese gave us Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Basil (I can still hear his wife in the series calling his name in her shrill tone) in Fawlty Towers and Archie Leach in A Fish Called Wanda. Oh, and he also married Karen in Will&Grace!

It took a lot of planning and coercing to get this interview. I have 20 minutes with him – but I will make them count. I was in Cannes when I first heard John Cleese was being lined up as the big name attached to the movie in the making. I had to keep it under wraps until it was confirmed a few months later. The first reaction from most people – including the author of the best-selling series himself – was that Cleese was the perfect person for the role. A match made in heaven. I want to know if Cleese himself felt this as well – in fact, how did he come to be involved in the project?

A few little Did-You-Know facts about The Cleese that I Did-Not-Know:

-         his family’s surname was originally Cheese, but his dad changed that when he went to the army

-         he is 70 years old (I knew he was somewhere in that bracket) and is dating a woman who is almost half that (39)

-         he has always been tall – at school at the age of 13 he was well over 6ft

-         he studied as a scientist and taught the subject at his former prep school

-         he was a rector at the University of St Andrews

-         his voice can be downloaded for directional guidance purposes as a downloadable option on some personal GPS-navigation device models by company Tom-Tom

-         He is apparently working on a stage play of A Fish Called Wanda

Shout!

You'll most certainly by now have heard of this anti-crime campaign. I got a taste of this concept a few months ago - through an early screening of the music video for Shout. Although it was just a draft copy, it already impressed me: the calibre of artists involved, the message behind the concept and the passion driving the campaign.


It's the brainchild of Danny K and Kabelo. And funny thing, while Danny was launching the video, together with a host of local musicians like Tamara Dey, Slikour, Louise Carver and , Danny's ex, Leeann Liebenberg was announcing her engagement on Twitter at the same time. Oh, darling! One paper even chose to run with this story as a bigger feature than the Shout campaign. Different strokes, I guess...

Twitpic @NadiaNeophytou

I'll admit, when I heard Danny and Kabelo talking about what they want the campaign to do, I thought to myself, "how is a song really going to help address the crime issue in our country?" An issue that has affected everyone of us. I'm all for the power of music and its ability to change lives and change society and affect social change. But this situation here seems to have reached a dire point - one where it all just seems hopeless - even for someone that loves their country with all their heart.

But the music video played - and I felt the emotion of it well up inside me. I don't want to be cynical about this. If this truly has the power to mobilize us as a country, as a community, to truly work together to do something, then I'll be singing "Shout" for as long as I need to.


Sure the money from downloading the track and the video (R20 a pop) goes to fighting crime efforts, like buying bullet-proof vests and training policemen. But there's another aspect to it - the emotion the video conveys. It says we can rely on each other to stop moaning and actually do something. If you know of a crime taking place, or know of someone involved in a crime to speak up. If you've been affected to speak up. As Danny K says, join a forum, start a community safety group, sms a tip-off to Crimeline (33-22-11).

This is how I hope SHOUT will truly make the difference.

 

Post-Oscars Blues

Just in case you missed it - here is a snippet of some of the Oscar stories I covered while in Los Angeles:

A Prawn Goes to Hollywood - Part 2

“It’s like Bafana Bafana making it to the finals of the World Cup. You know the odds are very much against you, but that’s not going to stop you from cheering for your team,” District 9’s Sharlto Copley had always been very matter-of-fact about the South African Sci-Fi’s chances at this year’s Oscars. He knew even before The Hurt Locker swept the board to win six golden statues, including two of the ones District 9 was up for, that the chances of the low-budget SA movie winning best Picture were not that great. But that doesn’t seem to matter that much. Win or lose, it really has been about how the game has been played.

I meet Copley at the Beverly Hills Wilshire where Pretty Woman was filmed, and where both Elvis and Warren Beaty lived at different times in their lives. Guests who’ve stayed there have included the likes of Al Pacino, Beyonce, Dustin Hoffman, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Douglas. And now the prestigious hotel can add another name to that list – a Prawn called Wikus van der Merwe. And Copley, dressed in a Springboks jersey, his hair recently cut short, can now add to his list of growing admirers one of those hotel guests.

“At the BAFTAs in London, Dustin Hoffman was talking to me for about five minutes, telling me how amazing the film was, how he loved it,” says Copley. “That’s been the most bizarre thing – meeting people in Hollywood who are congratulating me. I was taken aback with Dustin. I mean, I’ve done one film. He’s one of my greatest all-time living actors. It was very unexpected. I didn’t ever expect that people who were in the business would be so complimentary.”

Complimentary is not the word. Everywhere I go in LA, people start talking about District 9 when they hear I am from South Africa. Indeed, in an interview with Morgan Freeman and co-producer Lori McCreary, Freeman says he liked the allegory of the film, and McCreary tells me the movie made her cry (no mean feat, this seasoned Hollywood businesswoman tells me). Has all this settled in for Copley? “Yes, I suppose since last year’s publicity tour – when it really took off and the surreal-ness of it all was happening it hadn’t. But now I feel more prepared – the publicity tour, the hotels, the travels.”

And the parties? After all, before, during and after the Oscars, partying is a key part of it all. “There are parties all over the place – people are always having one for some or over thing. But I am not really a party person,” Copley reveals. “I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, I have had a girlfriend for the past 10 years, so there are very few reasons for me to go to the parties. I used to go to them to schmooze people and luckily, I don’t really have to do that anymore.” Indeed with his latest turn in The A Team coming out in June, Copley’s star power is certainly on the rise, and should see more people approaching him for roles.

Whatever happens, Copley seems to be enjoying the ride. “Neill (Blomkamp, District 9’s director and screenwriter) and me and the other guys who worked on the film are close friends. We don’t take this kind of stuff very seriously. It’s more just a kind of fun, and we’re here to see how it all works.”

Like he says, win or lose it truly was about the fact that South Africa had a presence at this year’s Oscars. “It’s a great experience, and a great time. To have two films in the running, that’s a big deal. Since Tsotsi, when the country won Best Foreign Language, the film’s have become more mainstream – and that’s where the real competition is. It’s fantastic that we are there as a country.”
E! Entertainment’s resident movie guru is just one of many industry insiders to echo this. “It shines a spotlight on South Africa – for films to be set there, for films to be cast there and for local crews to be used there. The country doesn’t only have the Oscars in which to shine, but also the 2010 World Cup. But the Oscars is a pretty great way to kick it all off.”

Closing Credits

"I'd like to thank my mom, my dad and my dog Jeff ..."

From one adventure to the next. I know that back in South Africa, I'll move straight onto another story. Before that happens, allow me a "closing credits" of sort to this chapter. Imagine, if you will, the theme from Crazy Heart, by T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham, The Weary Kind, playing overhead. Not because it's a fitting song (although, after all the running around I am a little 'weary', haha!) but because it won the Oscar for Best Song and I also loved the music in the movie. Thanks to the fabulous folks at L'Atelje in Hyde Park, who helped get me over to Los Angeles, Hip Hop, for the gorgeous dress, as well as the fantastic people at Grey Goose, my first trip to the Oscars has been a memorable one!

It's all Hollywood, baby!

After the Party

Catt Sadler and Sal Masekela from E! at the E! Afterparty

[Insert picture of Taboo from Black Eyed Peas here]

The Drais at the W in Hollywood hasn't officially opened yet, but it was the site of the E! Oscars Afterparty. On the decks, Good Charlotte's Joel Madden. In the crowd, his lady Nicole Richie, The Hills' Audrina, Russells Simmons and the Black Eyed Peas' Taboo. As I mentioned in my report, he told me the group is definitely coming for the World Cup Kickoff concert. We had suspected that, so this was just the confirmation we needed. He is the epitome of cool - pulling out the moves to the group's hit Imma Be. There's just no competing with that kind of a dancer out there on the floor - especially if said dancer has helped create the track you are dancing to.

With the E!'s Mark and Sandy

What a gorgeous venue! On a rooftop in the heart of Hollywood, with the city below. A great view on a great night!

Post-Oscar Shine

It’s been a crazy couple of days – as I knew it would be. I still feel the need to say that though. I also still can’t believe the Oscars have come and gone. I know by now you would know the winners – and I don’t have to list them here – so I will instead reflect on my time in Hollywood.

Proudly SA - Hip Hop all the way!

The Oscars themselves are a creation of dedication, attention to detail and glorious star-power. So many big names come out – even if they themselves are not nominated (hello, Zac Effron?) I loved seeing how things are behind the scenes: the hours of preparation, the stressing on the part of the producers (I like being reminded that it’s not just me who over-worries almost everything!) and the last-minute wardrobe malfunctions (apparently Mo’Nique and Amanda Seyfried both had one). 

Thousands of journalists come to this Oscar stage – and that’s not just counting those who live in LA (and there are a great deal of them here!). As a lone journo, I kept getting asked “where’s your crew?” and I’d point to my huge bag and say with glee: “here!” But what you soon learn is that you need to find your place and find your own story among all the others. The South African presence at this year’s Oscars for me, was greater than the three-hour (and a bit more) ceremony itself. It went beyond that – before, and after.

 

That said, I loved the genuine moments at the Oscars. The tears Sandra Bullock cried. The child-like cheers Jeff Bridges gave. The outlandishness of Mo’Nique backstage when she told the press officer just how she wanted to do the Question-and-Answer-session. Oh, and Sarah Jessica Parker’s dress – it was my best (Charlize’s was my worst).     

 

I hope that this is only the beginning – or I should say, the middle because Tsotsi and indeed, Yesterday, first got the ball rolling with their nominations, as did Charlize with her win – and that South Africa’s presence at the Oscars only grows and grows. And I hope that we can soon have another good reason to shout: Viva South Africa, viva!  

 Kathryn Bigelow: Best Director, Best Picture: The Hurt Locker  

 Sandra Bullock, Best Actress: The Blind Side

 Best Actor, Jeff Bridges: Crazy Heart  

 Best Supporting Actress, Mo'Nique: Precious  

Best Supporting Actor, Christoph Waltz: Inglourious Basterds