The filming of Hansie — based on the life of the late South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje — has been completed, its producer said on Tuesday.
“The movie is looking beautiful and we are very happy with the quality of the scenes we have shot,” producer Frans Cronje, the brother of the cricketer, said in a statement.
The movie was shot in cities and towns in Africa, the United Kingdom and India.
Hansie Cronje was killed in a plane crash near George on June 1 2002.
On April 7 2000, Delhi police said they had a recording of a conversation between Cronje and Sanjay Chawla, a representative of an Indian betting syndicate, over match-fixing allegations, according to Wikipedia.
Three other players, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Strydom, were also implicated. On April 8 2000 the United Cricket Board of South Africa denied that any of its players were involved in match-fixing.
However, Cronje was sacked on April 11 as captain after confessing that he had not been “entirely honest”. He admitted accepting between $10 000 and $15 000 from a London-based bookmaker, for “forecasting” results.
Landmark movie
“Aspects of the film have gone exceptionally well. We are very proud that Hansie has been a landmark movie in South Africa for its innovative use of technology,” said Cronje.
Some of the film was shot using a Phantom high-speed camera, which can produce detailed slow-motion footage. According to Cronje, it was the first time the camera had been used to shoot a film in Africa.
The producers are also going to be using a computer programme called Massive, which was designed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
“With the computer programme Massive, a crowd of 500 extras can be expanded into a stadium of 33 000 cheering people,” added Cronje.
Marketing manager Peter Morgan said the crew had been warmly received in India.
Hansie is still very much a loved public figure there. “The publicity alone while the cast and crew were shooting in India shows the extent of the public’s affection.”
Morgan said there had been challenges in shooting the film in India.
“One of those was getting the camera into India. It took a long time to clear the camera through customs. In fact, the crew had to rent a camera for the first day of shooting there.”
The film — which is expected to be released in September next year — will be sold and distributed through Nu-Metro Film Distribution. – Sapa
On the net
Hansie film website