{"id":7257,"date":"2017-01-31T13:24:28","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T18:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/producer-lance-samuels-talks-madiba\/"},"modified":"2017-02-01T09:29:34","modified_gmt":"2017-02-01T14:29:34","slug":"producer-lance-samuels-talks-madiba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/producer-lance-samuels-talks-madiba\/","title":{"rendered":"Producer Lance Samuels Talks Madiba"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of Nelson Mandela and his heroic journey to bring racial equality and democracy to the people of South Africa is told in the six-hour TV event\u00a0<\/em>Madiba, which debuts February 1 on BET in the U.S.<\/em><\/p>\n

The project was produced by Blue Ice Pictures and Out of Africa Entertainment, in association with Left Bank Pictures and Cinema Gypsy Productions. Lance Samuels, the president of Blue Ice Pictures and founder of Out of Africa Entertainment, serves as executive producer on the miniseries, which is billed as\u00a0the\u00a0<\/em>definitive telling of the late South African leader\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been a lot of Mandela stories made, most of them feature films or documentaries,\u201d says Samuels. \u201cI always felt that making a story on one of the greatest statesmen ever to live is so difficult to try to do in a 90-minute or two-hour movie.\u00a0\"***Image***\"It\u2019s never been approached from a miniseries point of view, where you\u2019ve got six hours to really explore the true story of Nelson Mandela.\u201d<\/p>\n

Samuels says that the previous pieces made about Mandela were about parts of life, rather than the full, complete picture\u2014which is why\u00a0Madiba\u00a0<\/em>stands out. \u201cWhat makes our show different from the other programs that have been made about Nelson Mandela in the past is that Nelson Mandela was the figurehead and obviously he was the leader, but there were so many other people who contributed to his success and the success of the liberation of South Africa,\u201d he adds. \u201cBecause we had six hours, we were able to tell those stories as well. Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Joe Slovo\u2014all of those people were in the inner circle and their stories have never been told. We were able to incorporate them into the miniseries, which was unique and exciting for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also says that it was important for\u00a0Madiba\u00a0<\/em>to tell the other side of the story, that of the Afrikaner apartheid government. \u201cObviously they were evil and terrible people, but it\u2019s important to understand what they believed and thought about, which helps you understand what the story of Nelson Mandela is. It was exciting to tell the story of the apartheid regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madiba\u00a0<\/em>stars Laurence Fishburne as Mandela, complemented by a cast that includes Orlando Jones and David Harewood. Samuels says that the producers had Fishburne in mind to take on the iconic role from the very beginning. \u201cWhen he agreed and signed on it was the perfect fit for us. He\u2019s an unbelievably fantastic actor, and we couldn\u2019t think of anyone who could encapsulate the life of Nelson Mandela better than Laurence. He was amazing to work with and a true professional. I honestly believe that if Nelson Mandela were to watch the series, he\u2019d be very proud of the performance that Laurence gave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Samuels says that BET is the perfect home for\u00a0Madiba<\/em>, as Blue Ice previously teamed up with the network to launch\u00a0The Book of Negroes<\/em>. \u201cThey were so supportive and interested from the very beginning,\u201d he says. \u201cWith a commitment to do a long-form drama and increase their content level, we thought it was a good fit. After having a great experience on\u00a0Book of Negroes<\/em>, it made sense to do it with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being from South Africa himself, Samuels was passionate about telling Mandela\u2019s story and about shooting the project on location in the country. \u201cIt was important for us to try to shoot in the actual places where a lot of the events took place,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was amazing shooting in houses and locations where the historical events happened. That was very encouraging and an amazing experience. During the research process, we spoke to a number of people [in South Africa] who were involved in the story of Nelson Mandela,\u201d which proved to be a valuable resource.<\/p>\n

The books\u00a0Conversations with Myself\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Nelson Mandela by Himself<\/em>, both authored by Mandela, served as the basis for the series. \u201cThese are amazing source materials in terms of research and understanding the thought process he went through during this period,\u201d says Samuels. \u201cThat was a major asset to us in our research and development. The Nelson Mandela Foundation in South Africa was also extremely cooperative and resourceful. They helped the scriptwriters with their research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dynamic Television holds the international rights for\u00a0Madiba<\/em>. \u201cWe can\u2019t wait to show the series to the world,\u201d says Samuels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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