Andrew Worsdale Interview: John Landis Last month I was very privileged to have a phone interview with one of my favourite comedy directors of all time John Landis. Youve got to love the man who made Kentucky Fried Movie, An American Werewolf in London and The Blues Brothers. His follow-up to that car-smashing, head- banging,rhythmnblues […]

Phillip Kakaza Puffing cigarettes, gulping tots of whisky and uttering words of wisdom in preparation for some smooth, mellow music to be rendered by a four-piece band called Basadi was the order of a chilly evening at Kippies. But the waiting was rather too long in a gloomy venue that breathes cold air up your […]

Alex Dodd Despite the fact that we finally had an official presence at the Cannes Film Festival this year, there still didnt seem to have been the films to back it up not a single South African film was selected for the official competition. Meanwhile, with little pomp or ceremony, two local films have been […]

Charl Blignaut On show in Johannesburg Should you happen to walk all the way to the back of the large, depressingly cold main entrance level of the Civic Theatre in Johannesburg; and then should you stumble down a couple of stairs and take a turn to the right; there you will come upon a tiny […]

Christine Gordon With Angola’s peace process at breaking point, the government in Luanda is mobilising its army to block any further advances by opposition movement Unita. No direct fighting has been reported, but the government is preparing for war. Unofficial estimates put Unita’s military capacity at 30 000 armed troops, a militia of 60 000 […]

Fashion fiend turned house hunk Jeremy Healy is the latest big name DJ to tour the country. Charl Blignaut calls him up in London on the eve of his visit Theres a measure of reassurance in that little peep that sounds just as the call connects Johannesburg to London. Multinational fingertips. A cheery Hello? crosses […]

Suzy Bell On show in Durban IF there are at least two reasons for deciding not to emigrate to New Zealand, they are Durban actors Bheki Mkhwane and Ellis Pearson. But while us fickle Durbanites flocked to see the Americans (Jim Rose Circus) in their hundreds at the Playhouse Opera last week, this smaller, less […]

Chris McGreal Nigeria’s new military leader, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, appears close to releasing the imprisoned presidential election winner, Moshood Abiola, after the two men held talks ostensibly aimed at agreeing on conditions for the restoration of civilian rule. But opposition sources say the army is pressing Abiola to renounce his claim to the presidency and […]

If all goes to plan, controversial Aids drug Virodene could soon get the go-ahead, reports Andy Duffy A team of top medical experts, funded from the public purse, has been helping prepare the controversial Aids drug Virodene for clearance for human trials. The group, established by the Medicines Control Council (MCC), is working closely with […]

Cheap long-distance calls, and no special kit. Telkom should be worried, write Kevin Wilson and David Shapshak It sounds too good to be true. From a normal telephone you can place a long- distance call over the Internet and pay a fraction of the standard rate. The mechanics of how the Internet carries phone calls […]