Schuster lands Disney movie deal

Johannesburg - "It is the biggest breakthrough of my career," said Leon Schuster, whose new movie will be partly financed by the Walt Disney Company. Disney will also be handling the distribution and marketing of the movie.

The as-yet-untitled movie was inspired by the Jamie Uys movie Hans en die Rooinek, and filming started this week.

"I didn't think they would get involved with a local movie," said Schuster on Thursday on set.

Disney indicated through its publicity company in South Africa that its involvement in Schuster's movie is a way to confirm the company's support of the South African entertainment industry.

"We are sure others will agree that if Disney were to become involved with a local movie, a Leon Schuster movie would be the obvious choice," Jared Stokes of Taryn Fritz Public Relations said.

Long negotiations

Stokes said Schuster's movie will have the full support of Disney's marketing and distribution infrastructure to ensure its success.

According to Schuster, former CEO of Ster Kinekor Ferdi Gazendam, suggested that he submit the movie to Disney for consideration.

"I thought it was ridiculous. Why would they want to invest in a local movie? But we did it and they asked for the records of the ticket sales of my last movie, Schuks-Tshabalalas-Survival-Guide-to-South-Africa-20100515">Shucks Tshabalala's Survival Guide to South Africa. We supplied it. After that they asked for my last four films and the script for the new movie.

"After considering everything, they decided to get involved in the financing and marketing of the movie. They said they liked the style of the comedy and believe it will sell."

According to Schuster, there were long negotiations over the contract.

"It puts a lot of pressure on me to make a good movie, and that's what we're busy doing.

"We are especially excited about Disney's marketing machine, because they will naturally do everything to get their money back. I hope I will have the privilege to see my movie with the Disney logo in front."

Brilliant team

Although Disney indicated that they can't guarantee sales of the movie overseas, Schuster is hopeful that the company will try hard to achieve this.

"I do not want to put the cart before the horse and say we're going to make a worldwide hit, but we hope the movie will go further. This is what we all strive for."

The movie will mainly be shot in KwaZulu-Natal and the surrounding areas of Johannesburg. "Visually, it's going to look very beautiful, we've never put so much into a movie like this one. Things are progressing slowly, because we are putting a lot of effort into it."

Schuster said he and director Gray Hofmeyr worked on the script for over three years.

"I'm very happy with it and the feedback we get from all over, is that it's a very strong script. It's difficult to make a bad movie from a strong script, especially if you have a brilliant team like with this movie."

Kenneth Nkosi, who also featured in films like White Wedding and District 9, stars opposite Schuster. Alfred Ntombela and Tanit Phoenix will also be featured in the movie.