Latest Snap

Filming in Ladysmith has been a challenge. Night shoots outside in bitter cold. But we're getting there slowly. Returning to Cape Town for studio work and then heading back to LA-LA. Yesterday I shot at Croc World in Scottburgh. Got to hold a baby, too, which was fantastic. Little (35lbs) guy didn't struggle much and proved more of a pro than some actors, hitting his mark every time. So he didn't have any lines and, hey - I carried him to his mark, but still... A pleasure to work with. Kept to himself, but not moody. Quiet and contemplative, focussed on his performance, and not craft service. Or maybe he was focussed on me and taking my face off. Hard to say, really. Like me, he's not the talkative type...

Crocodilia

I'm in sunny South Africa for 2 months to film croc movie Primeval. I play a croc expert called in to help capture a maneater in Africa. Great to be back home and meet fellow actors Dominic "Prison Break" Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton and veteran Jurgen Prochnow. The film's helmed by Michael Katleman, full of passion and an inspiration to make this project something special. More news to follow soon!

Would I were the T-shirt on that Chimp!

It's sad when the chimp gets an invite to the premiere and the human doesn't. It's incapacitatingly tragic when the same chimp shares an embrace with Natalie Portman.

Here's a snap of Portman at the Showest convention in Vegas. The chimp in Coke garb is obviously tied to the student AD I was in, "The Reel Monkey" (see earlier post, below). Damn! I can wear T-shirts too, you know. Even Coke ones. I mean, heck - I even wear a Coca-Cola cap most days, which, incredibly, I bought in Vegas at the Coke museum! And I speak English, just like Natalie. A coincidence? I think not.

I'm disappointed, people. Nat-Nat could've been picking fleas from MY scalp. But no, send a monkey to do a man's job. Well, mark my words. That chimp's gonna pay. Yeah, they'll have a little fling. It'll be all trees and berry bliss. But it won't last. They'll run out of things to talk about. He'll forget to put the seat back down. One day he'll reach out his hairy forearm for a banana, or lean in for a smelly kiss and BOOM! She'll dump him.

And when she does, I'll be waiting in the wings...

Tsotsi Makes Good

Congratulations to Gavin Hood and all involved in Tsotsi, for winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film! Well done for putting SA on the map. The last film to make such an impact was The Gods Must be Crazy, and that was decades ago. I was lucky to be at the Miramax party when the winner was announced. The room erupted in shouts, cries, laughter and tears. What a kick to be able to say I know an Oscar winner. Well done Gavin, Lance, Mark, Paul, Janine, Presley, Zola and everyone else who made it possible. Here's to more exciting projects from Gavin, and continued recognition of South Africans in the field. Mooi gedaan!

Tsotsi Opens in LA!

South African movie Tsotsi is released in LA today by Miramax. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, it follows a hardened streetkid, Tsotsi, who discovers humanity after stealing a car and finding a baby in the back seat. Local SA pals Gavin Hood and Paul Hepker directed and composed respectively. There's a taste of the soundtrack HERE.

I'm off to watch with a bunch of "locals" at The Arclight on Sunset - one of the few cinemas where you can actually reserve your seat in LA. The trailer blew me away when I saw it a few weeks ago. I got all weepy eyed and proud. Nice one Gavin! It'd be damn fine if SA got more than just a nod, and could take a statue home!

Monkey Business Pays Off

I found out today that Rosie Lambert's entry for Coke's Refreshing Filmmaker competition won the event. She called to inform me she'd just heard the good news herself. Damn fine. It's basically a Coca Cola commercial (as were all entries) and has a filmmaker (me) frustrated by the inertia and then mischief of 2 cheeky chimps.

"The Reel Monkey" can be seen online HERE, and (in late 2006) on around 21,000 screens nationwide, as part of Coke's prefeature programming.

I think I'll go reward myself with a banana...

The Fantasy Begins

Started work last week, voicing a character for the latest Final Fantasy video game. What a project! Great team of people and an extensive game environment, complete with multiple in-game movies. The animation is incredible. Will post more when I can. The game should be out in the US in May this year.