By freeing Mandela, Carlin writes, de Klerk helped South Africa take a first step into becoming a place where “respect has replaced hatred”. He was at Mandela’s first post-imprisonment press conference:
FW de Klerk, South Africa’s last white president, stunned the world on 2 February 1990 when he announced the lifting of the ban on the African National Congress, after three decades of illegality, and the imminent release of its leader, Nelson Mandela, after more than 27 years in prison. Black South Africans reacted with joyful stupefaction; white South Africans, programmed to view Mandela as the vengeful terrorist who would thrown them all into the sea, were in shock, none more so than the parliamentary caucus of the far right Conservative party.
The caucus held an emergency meeting at which their leader, Andries Treurnicht, better known as “Dr No”, read a thunderous passage from the Old Testament, preparing his co-religionists for holy war. A conservative MP there recalled later that they had long been fearing the day might come when they would have to unleash “the Afrikaner tiger”. “And, well,” the MP said, “this was the tiger moment.”
Nine days later, Mandela was out and the next morning he gave a press conference which I attended in the garden of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Cape Town home. If Mandela had ever been a “terrorist” – he was jailed for founding and leading the armed wing of the ANC – he did not look much like one now. A fit, good-humoured, serene and kingly figure aged 71, he committed himself to finding a negotiated solution to a conflict that had been threatening during the violent Eighties to spill over into civil war.
Toe John Carlin begin skryf het aan Invictus het hy nooit kon raai watter opskudding die boek, en die fliek wat daarop gebasseer is, sou maak nie. Sarie het bietjie by die outeur gaan uitvind hoe hy voel oor sy sukses, die film en sy toekomsplanne.
Het jy ooit gedink die boek sal soveel impak hê?
Nooit! Alles – die boek se sukses en, veral die maak van die fliek – is ‘n massiewe bevredigende verrassing.
Volg jy steeds die politiek in SA?
Ja. Met ywerige belangstelling. Ek stel meer belang in SA politiek as enige ander land se politiek; ek is ook meer geïnteresseerd in SA as enige ander land.
The film Invictus is taking audiences, both locally and abroad, by storm, with its brilliantly-directed tale of a special moment in South African history. Based on John Carlin’s book, the narrative incorporates William Henley’s famous poem, which obviously supplied the title. British journalist Ian Jack takes a closer look at “Invictus” the poem, the man behind it and the men who have embraced its message:
Invictus, meaning unconquered, is the name of Clint Eastwood’s new film about Nelson Mandela and the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa that was won by the Springboks; a victory celebrated by black people as well as white and generally recognised as the country’s first important symbol of national unification. Eastwood directs, Morgan Freeman is Mandela, Matt Damon plays the Springboks’ captain, Francois Pienaar. At their first meeting, when success on the field is still far from certain, the president tells the captain of a favourite poem that inspired him during his 18 years of imprisonment on Robben Island. The poem is Invictus by WE (William Ernest) Henley, which had helped him “stand up when all I wanted to do was lie down”.
If sport, nay, if life was fair and things had gone the way of fairness, then South Africa should have beaten England 4-0 in this spellbinding Test series.
Thank the heavens that cricket is not always rational and keeps us on our toes, for we would not have been able to experience four Tests of dramatic entertainment.
It was magnificent, from Makhaya Ntini celebrating his 100th Test match at SuperSport Park to JP Duminy bowling Ryan Sidebottom at the Wanderers on Sunday.
Following the Proteas’ disastrous innings defeat to England during the Boxing Day test in Durban, sportswriter Kevin McCallum is somewhat incredulous that, just one short year ago, South Africa’s test outfit was top o’ the world:
Was it really a year ago today that a nation was sitting over breakfast, listening to the radio, watching the telly and wondering if it was too early to crack open a beer? Was it really a year ago that Graeme Smith and his men ran down on to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, smiles as broad and as full of unexpected joy as the Great Barrier Reef, having become the first team to beat Australia at home since 1992-93?
Was it really a year ago that Morne Morkel ran across that vast ground to the other side of the field where the small group of South African fans were practically the only spectators left? Was it really a year ago that he high-fived and hugged them, then was joined by Makhaya Ntini to sign autographs until everyone had their personalised memento of that day?
Around 500 youngsters from disadvantaged communities were treated to a free screening of the movie Invictus at Maponya Mall in Soweto on Wednesday night, as part of a special Reconciliation Day commemoration.
Morgan Freeman, who plays former president Nelson Mandela in the movie, personally welcomed the audiences and helped hand over money raised for three charities as part of the Invictus Fund.
The Clint Eastwood-directed adaptation of John Carlin’s Invictus (originally titled Playing the Enemy) opened around the world this weekend. As might be expected, media coverage of the story of South Africa’s fabled 1995 Rugby World Cup win – and the crucial role that Nelson Mandela played behind the scenes – has been intense.
Morgan Freeman was in South Africa to attend the local premiere, and the Sunday Times snapped up an interview with him. Here’s his chat with Biénne Huisman; and a podcast in which he answers the question, “Were you intimidated, playing Nelson Mandela?”
“Oh my, isn’t it lovely,” he drawled, while brandishing pictures of the seven-seater jet. The SB30 is the flagship aircraft of Emivest Aerospace, and is marketed as “the world’s fastest, longest-range and highest-flying light jet”.
Freeman, who got his pilot’s licence in 2002, flew the aircraft to South Africa last week, and plans to touch down in Botswana and Kenya next.
He said he inherited a Madiba shirt from the Invictus film shoot and intends to wear it in his home town of Charleston, Mississippi.
Podcast: Morgan Freeman answers the SA press’ questions
At the same time, the film has returned many local rugby heroes to the limelight – including Joel Stransky, who kicked the winning drop goal against New Zealand in the world cup’s final match. Aspasia Karras caught up with him:
I am having a surreal moment. Francois Pienaar – or rather Matt Damon channelling Francois Pienaar – is staring directly into the cinema audience and telling Joel Stransky to go home. Sitting directly behind me is Joel Stransky; fortunately he does not obey.
We are watching Invictus – Clint Eastwood’s interpretation of John Carlin’s book about the 1995 Rugby World Cup – and things have taken a decidedly peculiar turn. Will the real Joel Stransky please stand up?
Given that he is one of my all-time favourite Bokke and having the distinction of touring with him (we went to Paris to witness our team’s second World Cup) I naturally want the lowdown from the man himself. How does it feel to be immortalised on celluloid?
Here’s a terrific feature on Eastwood’s latest from Zane Henry, writing in IOL Tonight, that includes a review, a summary of Eastwood’s role in getting the film off the ground, and a video interview with Morgan Freeman:
Two questions can be asked of Invictus. Should it have been made? And, could it have been made better? Well, yes and no, respectively.
The film tells a cracking good story with absorbing, if rather gentle, narrative developments. It is entertaining and, yes, inspiring.
The 1995 World Cup is an event most South Africans will remember with fondness. The film, and John Carlin’s book Playing The Enemy initially, throw some light on exactly why it is so memorable. It charts Nelson Mandela’s first few years out of prison and in the presidency and how he visualised using the World Cup to unite a divided land.
If it wasn’t for Clint Eastwood, the film might never have been made. Such is his Hollywood cachet that he could get a film about rugby and politics greenlit.
The Clint Eastwood-directed film of John Carlin’s book Invictus (originally titled Playing the Enemy) premiered in Beverly Hills, California earlier this week. Guests included Angelina Jolie and Francois Pienaar, and the photos have appeared online. Feast your eyes!
The film version of John Carlin’s Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation – now titled, like the movie, Invictus – opens in South Africa on Dec 11. Ahead of the event, the Sunday Times’ Barry Ronge sat down with the director, Clint Eastwood:
I meet with Clint Eastwood at a gala at the presidential palace in Paris the day after President Nicolas Sarkozy had awarded him France’s most coveted prize, the Legion of Honour. It’s typical of Eastwood, however, that the next day he was up early to do interviews with journalists, which he does with great courtesy and minimum fuss.
He ambles into the room without an entourage, his hair tousled, wearing well-worn denims and sneakers, and shakes my hand. A pert young makeup artist bustles up, but he gives her a wry smile and says: “At my age, there’s not much you can do about this face.” And then we begin. It is a reminder that the really big stars show up on time, give you their full attention and say “Thank you for coming such a long way to see me” at the end of the interview.
In other news, actor Morgan Freeman, who plays Mandela in Invictus, will attend the film’s premiere in South Africa:
Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman will visit South Africa to attend the local premiere for the film “Invictus,” starring Freeman as Nelson Mandela and directed by Clint Eastwood.
As part of the trip, Freeman will also support various charity initiatives around the film’s December 11th release.
By freeing Mandela, Carlin writes, de Klerk helped South Africa take a first step into becoming a place where “respect has replaced hatred”. He was at Mandela’s first post-imprisonment press conference:
To celebrate the film release of 
