Watch Chiwetel Ejiofor in Endgame on PBS December 19
Americans can catch Chiwetel Ejiofor this month as the South African activist Thabo Mbeki in the political thriller Endgame. The movie, part of PBS’s Masterpiece Contemporary dramatic series, will air December 19, 2010 at 8pm CST. Ejiofor is joined by William Hurt, Johnny Lee Miller, and John Kani.
Check out MsWOO’s April 2009 post for a recap of the movie’s history, and an interview with Chiwetel Ejiofor about his role.
Synopsis:
Civil unrest is mounting. Labor strikes threaten the economy. Black South Africans are locked up or murdered by police. The African National Congress (ANC) plants bombs in public places. Prime Minister P.W. Botha declares a state of emergency.
The racist apartheid regime that has ruled for nearly forty years and stripped the majority of the nation of its rights appears to be in its final throes. But will the nation go up in flames?
Against this backdrop, British business executive Michael Young, charged with shoring up the South African assets of a mining company amid the turmoil, makes a bold move. Following failed attempts to work with black South Africans in the townships to try to smooth simmering tensions, he takes his chances at the top. … -PBS.org
The preview follows:
Read the rest of the synopsis and get behind-the-scenes footage here.
A nation teeters on the brink of civil war in this real-life political thriller about the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid in South Africa and the release of Nelson Mandela. Michael Young, a British businessman working in South Africa, has the audacious hope of bringing both sides of the apartheid conflict together — the entrenched government and the rebel African National Congress (ANC). But when his dream of secret talks is realized on an estate in England, it quickly becomes clear that common ground will be elusive as explosive tensions boil just below the surface. Against a backdrop of danger, terrorism and escalating unrest, a high-stakes chess match plays out, ultimately proving that peace is possible.
The international cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster, Kinky Boots), William Hurt (Damages), Jonny Lee Miller (Eli Stone, Trainspotting), Derek Jacobi (Gosford Park) and Clarke Peters (The Wire).
Characters
Learn about the real-life historical figures in Endgame and the actors who portray them.
Michael Young Interview
Meet the British businessman and peace broker at the center ofEndgame.
Apartheid Timeline
Find out about the events that strengthened and weakened apartheid in South Africa.
A Journalist's Perspective
Former NewsHour correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault recollects covering apartheid in South Africa.
Behind-the-Scenes Video
Sit across the table from the actors and crew as they talk about the making of Endgame.
Curriculum Connections
Find innovative teaching ideas for using Endgame in a variety of classroom settings. (Acrobat Reader required.)
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Theatrical Release Not Necessarily The ENDGAME For Chiwetel
I’m often prone to the obviously wrong belief that films with handsome and relatively well known leading men that got screened at Sundance Film Festival are destined for theatrical/cinematic release. So I was rather surprised to read that End Game, which screened at Sundance earlier this year and in which the handsome Chiwetel Ejioforplays future South African president, Thabo Mbeki, is to be aired on TV in the UK onChannel 4 on May 4.
Then again, the fact that End Game was directed by Pete Travis maybe shouldn’t have made it that much of a surprise. Until his foray into feature films with the action thriller,Vantage Point, last year, Travis’ work behind the camera had been for TV. He directed a couple of episodes of one of my all time favourite British TV series, Cold Feet, but I haven’t seen any of his other TV work, a couple of TV series, a two-part costume drama on king Henry the eigth called, aptly enough, Henry VIII, and a 2004 BAFTA Award winning drama called Omagh, which examined the aftermath of the 1998 Real IRA bombing that killed 29 people in Omagh, Northern Ireland.
End Game is described in the Guardian Newspaper as “A gripping, fact-based film directed by Pete Travis and written by Paula Milne… structured around covert negotiations conducted in England over the end of apartheid.” I can only hope that Travis has left any traces of the laughable Hollywood fare that was Vantage Point well and truly behind him and managed to negotiate a contract with the devil that allows him to reclaim at least part of his soul.
I’ll leave you with a video clip of Mr Ejiofor talking about his role in End Game and what the film is about in an interview at Sundance earlier this year. As for myself, being someone partial to handsome, relatively well known leading men that go by the name Ejiofor Chiwetel, I may just catch it on TV on May 4th.
