Invictus Movie
Clint Eastwood is directing the movie Invictus, a feature film based on Nelson Mandela’s life during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. The screenplay was penned by native South African writer Anthony Peckham, based upon the book Playing the Enemy written by John Carlin. The movie Invictus is starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela who was President of South Africa at the time, and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the South African team captain. The film will open in theaters on December 11, 2009.
Update: the trailer of Invictus is now available!
INVICTUS
Here below a first look at Morgan freeman as President Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Rugby man Francois Pienaar:
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Plot:
“Invictus tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team (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.”
Nelson Mandela – Morgan Freeman
Francois Pienaar – Matt Damon
Nelson Mandela is for sure a great man that deserves much respect. But I doubt I would be interested in watching his biopic if it wasn’t directed by Clint Eastwood. I usually find hard to watch biopic of people who are still alive: I’d feel like watching some TV report… But with a directorial talent like Clint Eastwood helming the project and with actors like Morgan Freeman and Matt Demon I can but give a try to the movie Invictus.
:)
Can’t wait to see this movie.
However I must admit I find it odd that Pienaar at 6′6 is being portrayed by a guy who probably wouldn’t even be 5′6.
I wonder if they will mention the fact they poisoned their opposition in the lead up to the final too. Its all history now, it can be rewritten however they want to. Mandela is a great man and deserves this.
All of this is well and good, but the fact is that Clint is the man and I sure hope some screenwriter is up to the task of writing another movie that Clint can act in. A good Western would be nice, but anything with Clint on screen would bring joy to so many people for he is a movie icon.
To “SuperDave”
“they poisoned their opposition”
Man!! That must be the dumbest, most naive comment i’ve ever heard my entire 35years of existence!! Realy!! Like always! Tipical, KIWI!!, always finding an excuse. Dude!! You need to get out more!! And leave the conspiracy theories to people who give a damn!!
Hey Roy
I’ll say it a bit slower next time but I thought the mocking tone might have been a bit more obvious.
It was a throwaway line buddy. Have a laugh and move on. Thats what I was doing. Geez, maybe you’re the one who should think about getting out more. Smile!
Roy !
super dave is right, the did poisen nzl, u are naive and if u new anything about rugby history and the most inner workings u would realise the facts.
stick to cross stich mate.
should be great film, freeman is brilliant !
to “Superdave”
Excuses are for losers…. ALL BLACKS will choke next world cup again.
GO BOKKE!!!!
And “Invictus” will become an all time Classic, leaving the Springbok name an even more and famous name in World sport…
Almost as famous as the All Black name.
WTF are the All Blacks?
The All Blacks alleged that a cook named “Suzie” poisoned them. They had food-poisoning, they ate bad food somewhere. You make it sound like our guys wanted to kill them. Stop crying.
The All Blacks are chokers and should rather just focus on their rugby than making up excuses everytime they lose. I’ve stopped counting everytime the Springboks lost because of dodgy ref’s and unlawful playing by the All Blacks. They can’t even comment on a movie without crying. Springboks have won 50% of all the World Cups they’ve played so just get over it. And we would have won the first two too if we had the opportunity to play. Feite.
I coughed up one throw away line and I’m crying?? It sounds like you guys might be feeling a little guilty. Not a chef are you?
Sounds like sour grapes if you ask me all those bad mouthing the Bokke – the world cup win of 1995 did South Africa great, and this movie is a fabulous way of celebrating such a historical moment – hopefully this movie is a huge success and will reunite all South Africans yet again
I am from Detroit. Was on the set one day and saw Clint act a few scenes for “Gran Torino.” What a stud! This movie sounds like another winner. A great poem, too. So what is Bokke? What is Springbok? We Americans do not know a lot about rugby. As far as all South Africa being reunited again, that would be nice, but if the situations gets too racially tense, like in Zimbabwe, I hope the whites will be allowed to return to their native nations like England, the Netherlands, Scotland, whereever. If Africa wants to be all African, let it be all African. Maybe the best way to racial harmony is not forced integration.
@Dave
I guess you follow the same conspiracy theories like the CIA was responsible for 9/11.
That conspiracy about “Susie” and the poisoning lost merit after we saw in the 3 world cups that followed that the Blacks are just actually a bunch of chokers.
They can play the most attractive rugga’s but fall short when it really counts
Mike, in union rugby most of the competing nations call the teams by a name, very much the same as you guys with the “Dallas Cowboys”. South Africa’s team is known as the Springboks (or bokke for short) it means buck in English and is our national antelope. New Zeeland is known as the All Blacks, Australia as the Wallabies etc.
Wilfred,
Thanks for the background info. Now I understand. Being from Detroit, I root for all the Detroit teams. The Lions not those infernal cowboys in football. American football, of course. How are things in South Africa these days? Are Whites and Blacks living in harmony?
Mike.
INVICTUS
Clint’s got the Midas touch….this movie WILL be great, as the man himself.
Soundtrack by South-African BoyBand OVERTONE, now that is something to look forward to, another brilliant Clint Eastwood “move” ……
GO OVERTONE…Go BOKKE!!!!
The All Blacks were sick, whether it was intentional or not will never be known but nevertheless, the springboks were the best team on the day and deserved to win it, as much as it pains me to say it!
What can you say? Looks like it will be a great movie based on a moving story with Clint Eastwood behind the wheel. I expect that South Africa could end up with a lot of new fans for the next Rugby World Cup and even the upcoming Soccer World cup. This could help bring respectability to Rugby in the United States, and could help grow the sport. My guess is that if this movie is even half of what it could possibly be, the USA Rugby Community should make Clint their Man of the Decade.
Goose is right, the AB’s were sick. They lost. Who cares, it’s in the past. If the AB’s loosing unites a f***ed up country like SA and helps to stop all that racial oppression, then sweet. But NZers, don’t go around bagging the Boks, since then they’ve proved they can beat the AB’s a whopping 12 out of 36 games. And the way the AB’s have performed recently I’m not surprised it got that high. Would also like to remind South Africans that NZ was turned inside out because of SA’s apartheid policy during and after the ‘81 tour. Now there’s a chance for another decent rugby story.
What really gets me about this movie is that you have an American director, who knows nothing about the game with an actor who knows nothing about the game and another actor, african by descent he might be but South African he is not. Why wouldn’t he go and get a REAL SA boy to play the part of Francois Pienaar or Nelson Mandela. Damn I’ve waited a long time for a good film with some Ruggy in it and here goes a great story getting screwed up by the bloody Americans, again. There we go ladies and gentlemen, blame it on the Yanks, just another good story screwed. Haha.
BTW Clint, Matt and Morgan are all the man.
I begged to differ to “Mr.” Ecobulb views and attitute towards South Africa as being a F**ed up country. It is people like him who make’s this wonderfull place F**ed up.
How F**ed up can one be criticising South Africa, the All Blacks, the Invictus movie, Americans…everything that lives..It just proves my point in that the movie is not even out yet, but “mr.” Ecobulb acts if he actually seen it. but sure, he’s got a good say about it… jealousy, verbal Diarrhoea?
What you can blame on the Yanks sir, is the fact that they are investing millions of dollars in South Africa, they got the best of friends living here, they want to be part of the solution and not like you, Mr eco-idiot, part of the problem in South Africa.
Im proud to know Americans, to be associated with Americans, to have friends and family who are American citizens, and I would like to suggest that Mr Eco-idiot take a look into the mirror, and he will see the full picture, the reason why some people thinks that South Africans and their people are F**ck up.
JOB well done to the Americans, great job with the movie, great actors (Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon), a legendary film director, MR Clint Eastwood, Thank you for caring sir.
Now, if I had to swear, which I never do, I would have called Mr. EcoBulb a fucking idiot, but I dont, so I wont.
Regards
Johan van Zyl (Proudly South African)
I am glad we Americans are not universally disdained. Clint rocks and decided to use some American actors, maybe for the movie to play well at home and make rugby more popular, and he is good friends with Morgan who he was in Unforgiven with. Morgan is a great actor, and seems a good choice for Mandela. Matt is a good actor, too, and, though short, like many actors, he seems to be able to play just about any role he is called upon to play.
I am an artist, by the way, if you click on my name, it will take you to my website.
I was on the set of “Gran Torino,” the film Clint made in Metro Detroit right before “Invictus,” and you can tell Clint loves to make movies and loves to act. This new film will be a joyous experience. Clint is a perfectionist, and will prove the naysayers wrong.
I hope all the animosity on this site will end. Sport should not make one a cutthroat bastard. Sport is an art form. Enjoy it. If your team wins, great. If you team loses, feel empathy for the joy of the winners and their fans and better luck next time.
Am I right, or am I wrong?
What do you call 22 New Zealander’s watching a world cup final?
The All Blacks
I’m am one of what I thought was perhaps a rare breed. I have professionally played Rugby Union, I have a bachelors degree in Film and I have personally met several of the players, All Blacks and Springboks, from the 1995 world cup match.
All I can say is this. The film looks like it should be great. Clint Eastwood is a masterful story teller who endows his films with a humanity that allows the audience to fully invest themselves within the characters. If anyone would be up to telling this amazing story, it would be him.
My only concern is this. Yes, I have met players from both teams and yes The All Blacks did have food poisoning. However, whether by sabotage or not, New Zealand lost. South Africa was united in victory and were able to take another big step froward on the path to racial and social harmony.Yet Ironically, the very country who are in many ways the ‘villains’ of this rugby story are also one of the reasons that South Africa had been forced into fielding a racially ‘mixed’ team in the first place. As that Eco guy pointed out, it was New Zealands Extreme uproar and public reaction to South Africa’s ‘White only’ rugby tour in 1981 that forced many to confront the issue of apartheid on an international scale.
It would be only too easy to call the tiny,food poisoned, freedom fighting nation from the bottom of the world; ‘The Bad guys’.
Cool, History, thanks for the info.
That is too bad NZ’s AB suffered food poisoning. It might have been someone/s from SA, but I like to think the team did not have anything to do with it. Sports can be so cut-throat. I played ice hockey for 6 years as a kid, and I did a dirty thing or two once in a while to win. I am not proud of it, but I was a teenager and not yet a grown man. For a grown man to cheat at sports, or a fan to cheat for his team to win is amoral and unacceptable.
That being said, I am sure the story Clint will weave will be a good morality tale, even if it does not address the poisoning issue, though it might for all I know.
I hope Clint acts again. I wish I could write a great screenplay for him.
I am a South African who experienced the 95 world cup. It was a time of much doubt, fear and uncertainty. The 1995 World cup was more than just a Rugby game to us. It was the last bit of South Africa as we knew it, as well as all about the new South Africa we did not.
Nelson Mandela is, was and will be a great president. We should however not forget about where he came from. What he stood for, and who supported him. As a President, he achieved more than most expected.
There will be never again a Francios Pienaar and a 1995 team. They had more on their sholders than just to win the world cup on home ground.
I am looking forward to watching this movie. The should be lost of mixed feelings I am sure. Clint Eastwood is a great director and always do proper research when directing a movie. Matt Damon as Francios were a good choice, and Morgan Freeman perfect for Pres. Mandela.