Despite Cape Town’s year as World Design Capital 2014 having come to an end, its design legacy lives on, not only with design projects created for last year’s event, but with future design projects too.
Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy punts the legacy of World Design Capital 2014 (both are funded by the City Continue reading →
Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* SAA Chairman Dudu Myeni has refused to follow Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown’s instruction that its CEO Monwabisi Kalawe be reinstated, after having been fired last week! Technically the Minister is not allowed to interfere with Board matters, but Minister Brown has intimated that anyone not co-operating to create stability at SAA will be fired.
* Corné Koch has been appointed as Head of the Wesgro’s Convention Bureau, having previously worked in promoting Gauteng, and the Advertising Standards Authority.
* Trendtalk#9 will focus on design trends, with speakers being Trevyn McGowan of Southern Guild, who curated the new Watershed at the V&A Waterfront, and John Sanei of Future Collective. The talk will be held on 11 November at the ICIC Continue reading →
The V&A Waterfront has completely transformed what was previously the Blue Shed near the V&A Market on the Wharf, renaming it Watershed (a corny name which tries to be clever, but it does not reflect at all what is inside the building), and creating a showcase of 168 crafters, designers, and more under one roof.
I was invited to attend the official opening of Watershed on 
Thursday evening, and so were thousands of others, as the traffic jam inside the V&A was unbelievable, a trip between Kloof Street and the parking garage opposite Watershed taking 45 minutes traveling time! There was no warning on radio nor through the V&A’s electronic Continue reading →
The 1907 South African classic novel by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick about the famous Staffordshire bull terrier Jock, set in the time of the gold rush in the Eastern Transvaal more than 200 years ago, has been made into an animated 3-D movie, and ‘Jock of the Bushveld’ will open in local cinemas on 29 July. International distribution is being sought, which could put South Africa on the world cinema map.
Hosting a cast of international voice stars, including Donald Sutherland, Oscar winner Helen Hunt, Ted Danson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, William Baldwin, Mallory Hart, Makenzie Hart, Robert Hobbs, Theo Landey, as well as the voice of and music by Bryan Adams, the world premiere of the movie takes place at Montecasino in Johannesburg as a charity function on 19 July, reports the Sunday Times. Landey said of the movie, in which his voice is used for Fitzpatrick: “The film is uniquely South African, the story is a classic and the artwork is brilliant”. Johnny Clegg, Nianell, and Craig Hinds of Watershed also performed music for the movie.
The concept of the movie came from director Duncan Macneillie, who also wrote the script and was involved with the previous movie based on the book. Tim Rice of musical writing fame with Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who had written the lyrics of ‘Lion King’, is said to be a backer of the movie. His brother Andy, Johannesburg-based advertising and marketing strategist, is the Marketing director for the movie, which tells the story of how Jock, the runt of the litter, became the hero of the Bushveld.
Rice has indicated that more money will be made from merchandising than from ticket sales, and licences have been sold for the 14 characters in the movie. Penguin Books will be publishing a new abridged version of the book, and is printing stickers and colouring-in books. Toys, games, children’s wear, and bedding will soon be for sale, sporting Jock.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage