John Cleese is in talks to play the role of The Guv in the film version of John Van Der Ruit’s best-selling novel, Spud, which starts shooting in 2010.
Castings for the schoolboys and girls parts began in August and right now hundreds of aspiring Daniel Radcliffes are practicing their falsettos, prepping to win a role in South Africa’s answer to Harry Potter.
Not that (Charlize Theron aside) South Africa is noted for the number of international stars and icons to which it has given birth. Compare, for instance, the fate of South African Idols winners to that of their counterparts in the US or UK to see the truth of that. Heinz who?
Yet the Spud series (comprising three books, with a fourth on its way) has been an unexpected hit with South African readers, each one a bestseller, each one greeted with anticipation most unusual in a country that tends to shun its own literature (and cinema) in favour of Hollywood exports.
Another thing counting in Spud’s favour is the reflected glory of Neil Blomkamp’s District 9, which has been so ebulliently praised that it is currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
With John Cleese adding credibility and impeccable comic timing as the wine soaked, Shakespeare-spouting Guv, the film may fare better both locally and internationally than might otherwise be expected. I may even go see it myself…
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