Charlize Theron is causing a stir in Cape Town, currently filming the latest ‘Mad Max: The Fury’. She is attracting attention at local eateries, with her ultra-short hair, and her baby Jackson and mother Gerda in tow.
Charlize has been seen eating at Bistrot Bizerca, Beluga, and Café Caprice, and drinking imported champagne, a shame given our country’s excellent bubblies, as will be on show at the Cap Classique and Champagne Festival in Franschhoek on Saturday and Sunday.
South Africa is increasingly attractive to international film makers, and the new ‘Mad Max’ movie is one of the largest productions to be filmed here. ‘Safe House’, with Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington, was almost exclusively filmed in Cape Town, whereas ‘Mad Max’ has been extensively filmed in Namibia. Other big film productions have been attracted to our country’s beautiful locations, competitive pricing, favourable exchange rate, and talent , which have also included ‘Chronicle‘, ‘Blood Diamond’, and ‘Lord of War’. The film industry generates R7 billion per annum to the economy. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) incentive makes it 40% cheaper to shoot in South Africa than in Europe, reports the Sunday Times, encouraging large-budget international film and TV productions, which not only create employment for our film industry crew, but also help to market our country to cinema goers around the world.
The Cape Town Film Commission has seen a 20% increase in enquiries for film and TV shoots in the past year, and the Cape’s film industry was valued at R5 billion in the past financial year. With the Cape Town Film Studios, and its abundance of beautiful location, Cape Town could become one of the top five film production locations, according to the Cape Film Commission CEO Denis Lillie.
Having actors like Charlize Theron in Cape Town, snapped by the paparazzi and featured in international magazines, as well as their roles in international movies, are excellent opportunities for Brand Cape Town to be marketed internationally.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage