EURweb |
MORGAN FREEMAN ADDS CO-STAR TO MANDELA PIC: Matt Damon joins Clint Eastwood's 'Human Factor.'
*Matt Damon has been added to the cast of the Clint Eastwood-directed "Human Factor," a film based on the true story of a rugby event that gave whites and blacks in South Africa a common cause as the country was recovering from apartheid.
As previously reported, Morgan Freeman stars as former South African president Nelson Mandela in the Warner Bros. project. Damon will play rugby star Francois Pienaar, who teamed with Mandela to create the rugby event.
In the film, Mandela, freed from 27 years in prison and elected president, decided to get behind South Africa's Springboks team when the country was selected as host for the 1985 Rugby World Cup. The Springboks had been banned from international competition because of the country's apartheid practices.
The majority of blacks viewed the team as a symbol of exclusion, but they rooted along with white countrymen as the Springboks won in overtime against New Zealand to capture the Cup. Pienaar was the Springboks captain who developed a relationship with Mandela during the team's run.
Freeman got Mandela's blessing to produce the picture under his Revelations banner. He brought the project to his friend Eastwood and also to Warner Bros, where both Revelations and Eastwood's Malpaso production company have their overall deals.
Shooting will begin early next year in South Africa.
Share and Bookmark |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
