Endgame (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Endgame is a 2009 British film
directed by Pete Travis
from a script by Paula Milne
, based upon the book The Fall of Apartheid by Robert Harvey
. The film is produced by Daybreak Pictures and reunites Travis with Vantage Point
actor William Hurt
. It also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor
, Jonny Lee Miller
and Mark Strong
. The film dramatises the final days of apartheid in South Africa. It was filmed at locations in Reading, Berkshire
, England
and Cape Town
, South Africa
in the first half of 2008 and was completed in December that year.
The film had its world premiere on 18 January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival
and was broadcast on Channel 4
on 4 May 2009. It will also have an international theatrical release, the distribution of which is handled by Target Entertainment Group.
and the National Party
in a country house in Somerset
, England
. The film focuses on the emotional relationship that develops between Willie Esterhuyse
and Thabo Mbeki
.
The secret talks were brokered by Michael Young, a British businessman who worked for Consolidated Gold Fields, a firm with considerable interests in South Africa. The talks took place in Mells Park, a country house near Frome
in Somerset. The house was then owned by Consolidated Gold Fields.
Consolidated Goldfields was a company with interests in South Africa which is the subject of sanctions by other nations. In one scene, Young and Rudolf Agnew, chairman of Consolidated Goldfields, leave their offices in London and are mobbed by anti-apartheid protesters who batter and chase their car, unaware that the two men are sponsoring the very talks that are leading to the end of the system they oppose.
In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on 24 April 2009, Michael Young mentioned how he had been asked by Thabo Mbeki to write the final chapter of the 2003 book by Robert Harvey on the Fall of Apartheid - the chapter titled "Endgame" - on which this film is based.
; when Dyke told Aukin that he wanted to make a documentary about the secret talks that ended apartheid, Aukin suggested turning it into a drama instead. Aukin had previously produced the acclaimed political drama The Government Inspector.
Aukin and his production partner Hal Vogel contacted Paula Milne to write the script. She spent 18 months on the screenplay and researched the history of the talks by speaking to Thabo Mbeki and Michael Young in South Africa. Pete Travis, director of Omagh
(2004) and Vantage Point
(2008), was sent the script by Milne. Travis was not interested in directing a historical drama about recent events and decided to turn the film into a political thriller. William Hurt and Chiwetel Ejiofor were first to be cast. Hurt, who played President Henry Ashton in Vantage Point, was cast as Will Esterhuyse because Travis wanted to cast actors he had worked with before. Other actors were interested in the part even after Hurt had signed on. Travis wanted to work with Ejiofor, who was his first choice for the part of Thabo Mbeki.
Location scouting
in South Africa was done in January 2008. Rehearsals began on 14 April 2008 and scenes set in the UK were filmed for the rest of the month at a large country house near Reading, Berkshire
. The production moved to Cape Town
in May, where location filming was done for six weeks. Production wrapped in August. Martin Phipps
composed the film soundtrack. The final cut of the film was completed on 24 December 2008.
and the American Film Market
for release in 2009. Endgame had its world premiere on 18 January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival
, in the International Narrative Feature Films category. The film was originally slated to be a major part of Channel 4
's "Apartheid Season", and was previously scheduled for broadcast in mid-2008. It premiered in the UK at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in March and was broadcast on Channel 4 on 4 May. It had its American television premiere on 25 October 2009 on Masterpiece Contemporary on PBS
. This was followed by a theatrical release on October 30 through Monterey Media in select U.S. cities.
The film's reception was largely positive. The Daily Telegraph
praised Lee Miller's performance but argued that "the elements never quite cohered". The newspaper concluded that the script "seemed too fuzzy in its focus, and also too eager to write history with an unambiguously broad brush." Other publications praised the film. In contrast with the Telegraph, The Independent
praised the script "Paula Milne's script skilfully interspersed talk with action".The Times
rated the film four out of five stars.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
directed by Pete Travis
Pete Travis
Pete Travis is an English television and film director. His work includes Cold Feet , The Jury and Omagh for television, and Vantage Point and Endgame for cinema...
from a script by Paula Milne
Paula Milne
Paula Milne is a multi-award–winning British screenwriter who has been active since the 1970s. Her notable works include The Politician’s Wife, The Virgin Queen, Chandler & Co, Die Kinder, Second Sight, Driving Ambition, Small Island and Endgame.She also devised the BBC medical drama Angels.Further...
, based upon the book The Fall of Apartheid by Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey (UK politician)
Robert Lambart Harvey is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist and author.Robert Harvey has been foreign affairs leader writer for the Daily Telegraph, assistant editor of The Economist and a Member of Parliament...
. The film is produced by Daybreak Pictures and reunites Travis with Vantage Point
Vantage Point (film)
Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of...
actor William Hurt
William Hurt
William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
. It also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetelu Umeadi "Chiwetel" Ejiofor, OBE is an English actor of stage and screen. He has received numerous acting awards and award nominations, including the 2006 BAFTA Awards Rising Star, three Golden Globe Awards' nominations, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his...
, Jonny Lee Miller
Jonny Lee Miller
Jonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is an English actor. During the initial days he was best known for his roles in the 1996 films Trainspotting and Hackers...
and Mark Strong
Mark Strong
Mark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
. The film dramatises the final days of apartheid in South Africa. It was filmed at locations in Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in the first half of 2008 and was completed in December that year.
The film had its world premiere on 18 January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and was broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on 4 May 2009. It will also have an international theatrical release, the distribution of which is handled by Target Entertainment Group.
Premise
The film depicts the final days of apartheid, focusing on secret talks held between the African National CongressAfrican National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
and the National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
in a country house in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The film focuses on the emotional relationship that develops between Willie Esterhuyse
Willie Esterhuyse
William Peter Esterhuyse is an emeritus professor of philosophy and business ethics at the University of Stellenbosch, a columnist and critic of the system of Apartheid....
and Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
.
The secret talks were brokered by Michael Young, a British businessman who worked for Consolidated Gold Fields, a firm with considerable interests in South Africa. The talks took place in Mells Park, a country house near Frome
Frome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
in Somerset. The house was then owned by Consolidated Gold Fields.
Consolidated Goldfields was a company with interests in South Africa which is the subject of sanctions by other nations. In one scene, Young and Rudolf Agnew, chairman of Consolidated Goldfields, leave their offices in London and are mobbed by anti-apartheid protesters who batter and chase their car, unaware that the two men are sponsoring the very talks that are leading to the end of the system they oppose.
In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on 24 April 2009, Michael Young mentioned how he had been asked by Thabo Mbeki to write the final chapter of the 2003 book by Robert Harvey on the Fall of Apartheid - the chapter titled "Endgame" - on which this film is based.
Cast
- William HurtWilliam HurtWilliam McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
as Willie Esterhuyse, professor of philosophy at Stellenbosch UniversityStellenbosch UniversityStellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape.... - Chiwetel EjioforChiwetel EjioforChiwetelu Umeadi "Chiwetel" Ejiofor, OBE is an English actor of stage and screen. He has received numerous acting awards and award nominations, including the 2006 BAFTA Awards Rising Star, three Golden Globe Awards' nominations, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his...
as Thabo MbekiThabo MbekiThabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
, director of information for the African National Congress - Jonny Lee MillerJonny Lee MillerJonathan "Jonny" Lee Miller is an English actor. During the initial days he was best known for his roles in the 1996 films Trainspotting and Hackers...
as Michael YoungMichael Young (businessman)Michael Alan Young facilitated the end of apartheid in South Africa. He secretly organised the meetings between the South African Government and the leadership of the African National Congress . These led to the end of the apartheid system and the release of Nelson Mandela...
, director of communications for Consolidated Gold Fields - Mark StrongMark StrongMark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
as Dr Barnard, head of the National Intelligence ServiceNational Intelligence Service (South Africa)The National Intelligence Service was an intelligence agency of the Republic of South Africa that took over from the older South African Bureau of State Security in 1980. Associated with the Apartheid Era in South Africa, it was replaced by the South African Secret Service and the National... - Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
as Rudolf Agnew, chairman of Consolidated Gold Fields - Timothy WestTimothy WestTimothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
as P.W. Botha, State President of South AfricaState President of South AfricaState President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state... - Ramon TikaramRamon TikaramRamon Pramod Junior Tikaram is a British stage and screen actor of Indo-Fijian and Malaysian descent.-Early and personal life:...
as Aziz PahadAziz PahadAziz Pahad is a South African politician, who served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999-2008, he currently serves as an MP for Johannseburg West Highlands.-Education:...
, international arm of ANC - Clarke PetersClarke PetersClarke Peters is an American actor, singer, writer and director best known for his role as Detective Lester Freamon on the HBO drama The Wire.-Early life:...
as Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing... - John KaniJohn KaniBonsile John Kani is a South African actor, director and playwright.He was born in New Brighton, South Africa.Kani joined The Serpent Players in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception.These...
as Oliver TamboOliver TamboOliver Reginald Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and a central figure in the African National Congress .-Biography:Oliver Tambo was born in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now Eastern Cape...
, the former President of the African National CongressAfrican National CongressThe African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
Production
The film has its roots in a discussion between Daybreak Pictures executive producer David Aukin and former Director General of the BBC Greg DykeGreg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
; when Dyke told Aukin that he wanted to make a documentary about the secret talks that ended apartheid, Aukin suggested turning it into a drama instead. Aukin had previously produced the acclaimed political drama The Government Inspector.
Aukin and his production partner Hal Vogel contacted Paula Milne to write the script. She spent 18 months on the screenplay and researched the history of the talks by speaking to Thabo Mbeki and Michael Young in South Africa. Pete Travis, director of Omagh
Omagh (film)
Omagh was a film dramatising the events surrounding the Omagh bombing and its aftermath, co-produced by Irish state broadcaster RTÉ and UK network Channel 4, and directed by Pete Travis. It was first shown on television in both countries in June, 2004....
(2004) and Vantage Point
Vantage Point (film)
Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States as seen from a different set of vantage points through the eyes of...
(2008), was sent the script by Milne. Travis was not interested in directing a historical drama about recent events and decided to turn the film into a political thriller. William Hurt and Chiwetel Ejiofor were first to be cast. Hurt, who played President Henry Ashton in Vantage Point, was cast as Will Esterhuyse because Travis wanted to cast actors he had worked with before. Other actors were interested in the part even after Hurt had signed on. Travis wanted to work with Ejiofor, who was his first choice for the part of Thabo Mbeki.
Location scouting
Location scouting
Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work that is shot outside of the studio, the search for a...
in South Africa was done in January 2008. Rehearsals began on 14 April 2008 and scenes set in the UK were filmed for the rest of the month at a large country house near Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. The production moved to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
in May, where location filming was done for six weeks. Production wrapped in August. Martin Phipps
Martin Phipps
Martin Phipps is an award-winning British composer, who has garnered critical acclaim for his work on numerous film and television projects.- Career :...
composed the film soundtrack. The final cut of the film was completed on 24 December 2008.
Release
Target Entertainment sold the international theatrical distribution rights in 2008 at the Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
and the American Film Market
American Film Market
The American Film Market is a film industry event held each year at the beginning of November in Santa Monica, California. About 8,000 people attend the eight day event to network and to sell and acquire films...
for release in 2009. Endgame had its world premiere on 18 January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, in the International Narrative Feature Films category. The film was originally slated to be a major part of Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's "Apartheid Season", and was previously scheduled for broadcast in mid-2008. It premiered in the UK at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in March and was broadcast on Channel 4 on 4 May. It had its American television premiere on 25 October 2009 on Masterpiece Contemporary on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. This was followed by a theatrical release on October 30 through Monterey Media in select U.S. cities.
Reception
Overnight ratings indicated that Endgames first Channel 4 broadcast was seen by 837,000 viewers (a 3.9% audience share). 64,000 more watched on Channel 4's one-hour timeshift service, Channel 4+1. A repeat on the evening of 9 May got 336,000 viewers (1.7% share) on Channel 4 and 35,000 on Channel 4+1.The film's reception was largely positive. The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
praised Lee Miller's performance but argued that "the elements never quite cohered". The newspaper concluded that the script "seemed too fuzzy in its focus, and also too eager to write history with an unambiguously broad brush." Other publications praised the film. In contrast with the Telegraph, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
praised the script "Paula Milne's script skilfully interspersed talk with action".The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
rated the film four out of five stars.
Further reading
- Travis, Pete (19 March 2009). ""Endgame" from the Start". Moving Pictures Magazine.
External links
- Official website was http://www.endgame-themovie.com/ but now seems unregistered.
- Endgame at DayBreak Pictures, Producers.