Eastwood's Invictus based on Nelson Mandela's life
News
oi-Staff
Directed
by
four-time
Oscar
winner
Clint
Eastwood
(Million
Dollar
Baby,
Unforgiven),
Invictus
tells
the
inspiring
true
story
of
how
Nelson
Mandela
(Morgan
Freeman)
joined
forces
with
the
captain
of
South
Africa"s
rugby
team,
Francois
Pienaar
(Matt
Damon),
to
help
unite
their
country.
Newly
elected
President
Mandela
knows
his
nation
remains
racially
and
economically
divided
in
the
wake
of
apartheid.
Believing
he
can
bring
his
people
together
through
the
universal
language
of
sport,
Mandela
rallies
South
Africa"s
underdog
rugby
team
as
they
make
an
unlikely
run
to
the
1995
World
Cup
Championship
match.
Warner
Bros.
Pictures
presents,
in
association
with
Spyglass
Entertainment,
a
Revelations
Entertainment/Mace
Neufeld
production,
a
Malpaso
production,
Invictus.
The
film
is
produced
by
Eastwood;
Lori
McCreary,
under
her
and
Freeman"s
Revelations
Entertainment
banner;
Eastwood"s
longtime
producing
partner
Robert
Lorenz,
for
Malpaso
Productions;
and
Mace
Neufeld
for
Mace
Neufeld
Productions.
The
film
stars
Oscar
winners
Morgan
Freeman
(Million
Dollar
Baby,
The
Dark
Knight)
and
Matt
Damon
(Good
Will
Hunting,
the
Bourne
franchise).
The
screenplay
is
by
native
South
African
writer
Anthony
Peckham,
based
upon
the
book
Playing
the
Enemy,
by
John
Carlin.
Freeman,
Tim
Moore,
and
Spyglass
Entertainment"s
Gary
Barber
and
Roger
Birnbaum
are
the
executive
producers.
Re-teaming
with
Eastwood,
the
behind-the-scenes
creative
team
is
led
by
director
of
photography
Tom
Stern,
production
designer
James
J.
Murakami,
editors
Joel
Cox
and
Gary
D.
Roach,
and
costume
designer
Deborah
Hopper,
all
of
whom
most
recently
worked
with
the
director
on
Gran
Torino.
Filming
on
Invictus
was
accomplished
entirely
on
location
in
and
around
the
cities
of
Johannesburg
and
Cape
Town,
South
Africa.
Opening
nationwide
on
December
11,
2009,
Invictus
will
be
distributed
by
Warner
Bros.
Pictures,
a
Warner
Bros.
Entertainment
Company.