Tag Archives: Meryl Streep

‘The Giver’ movie gives coverage to Cape Town and Winelands!

The GiverThe Waterkloof wine estate has always been low key, in its location on Sir Lowry’s Pass Village road, which is not visible to most visitors to Somerset West.  That is about to change as the trailer for the science fiction movie ‘The Giver’, which was shot in its entirety in Cape Town and surrounding areas, hints at the futuristic prison scenes having been shot at Waterkloof.

‘The Giver’ is based on a book written by Lois Lowry, and has an Oscar star cast with lead actors Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges. In the movie well-known actors Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgard are joined by a brief appearance of Taylor Swift. The Waterkloof scenes were shot late last year, and necessitated the cellar to be cleared of all the barrels, to create the futuristic prison, in which Holmes and Bridges feature. Filming was done from the top, looking down on the cellar, and inside the cellar too, as well as in the fields.

‘The Giver’ trailer, which was first posted on YouTube on 19 March, has already achieved more than 1,6 million views.  The film is due to Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 10 February

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Decanter included three South African wines in its 2013 top 50 wines, out of a total of 3200 wines evaluated. Alheit Vineyards’ Cartology 2011 was ranked 4th; Vuurberg White 2011 was ranked 36th; and Adoro Red 2006 was ranked 37th.

*   Given that the week of romance is upon us, the top five most romantic beaches of South Africa have been named, Clifton making first place, followed by Umhlanga Rocks, Noetzie in Knysna, Margate, and Noup in the Northern Cape.

*   About 10% of tourists arriving in South Africa come to participate or watch a sports event.  Now a new sport called Bossaball, a combination of soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, and an Afro-Brazilian martial arts form capoeira, is to be introduced to our country by Zinto Sports.

*   The Cape Town Art Fair 2014 will be held at The Pavilion in the V&A Waterfront from 28 February – 2 March.  The entrance fee of R120 also entitles entrance to ‘GUILD’, an exhibition of Design, held at The Lookout, also in the V&A. Both exhibitions form part of Cape Town hosting World Design Capital 2014.

*   Allan Mullins has been appointed as ‘chief wine selector’ by Africa Wine Merchants, Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 24 January

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Malaysian journalist David Bowden visited Cape Town late last year, when our mountains were snow capped, and he enthused about the city, documenting his journey as ‘Cape capers’.  He was accommodated at the Twelve Apostles hotel, and was shown Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak, Klein Constantia, Steenberg, Boulders’ Beach, and Bo-Kaap.

*   Meryl Streep has waxed lyrical about her time in South Africa, both in Cape Town whilst shooting ‘The Giver‘ and on holiday with her family in an unnamed game reserve, in an interview on the Ellen Degeneres Show, which has 3 – 4 million viewers.   A ‘highlight’ for her was being in South Africa when Nelson Mandela passed away, and experiencing the happiness and grief all in one.

*   The MyCiTi Bus route expands to include Hout Bay (with Hangberg and Imizamo Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 27 August

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   International tourism in the first half of 2013 has grown by 5% relative to the same period the year before, reports the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

*   The film ‘The Giver‘, starring Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges, is to be shot in its entirety in Cape Town from the end of September, reports the Cape Times.  Moonlighting Films has been appointed as the production company, which was also involved in the filming of ‘Invictus’ and ‘Safe House’. The Cape Town Film Commission said that the Mother City’s film industry has been growing at 30% per year in the past three years, has contributed R5 billion to our economy in the past year, and is creating positive talk about Cape Town in Hollywood.  ‘The Giver’ is expected Continue reading →