Spud
Short description
Set in South Africa in 1990, this story follows John Milton, a boy from a modest background who earns a scholarship to an elite all-male boarding school in KwaZulu-Natal. As the country awaits the release of Nelson Mandela, Milton, known as Spud, struggles to fit into his new environment. He must navigate the challenges of school life while dealing with a group of eccentric classmates who go by nicknames such as Gecko, Rambo, Rain Man, and Mad Dog.
Written and directed by Donovan Marsh, this comedy-drama was the first of five films he directed, followed by Avenged, Hunter Killer, I Am All Girls, and iNumber Number: Jozi Gold. The movie stars Troye Sivan as Spud and John Cleese as Mr. Edly, with supporting roles played by Jamie Royal, Sven Ruygrok, Blessing Xaba, and Tom Burne. A total of 82 cast members and 147 crew members were credited.
Produced with a budget of 4 million USD, the film earned 2 million USD at the worldwide box office. Audience reception has been generally positive, with a rating of 6.6/10 from 2,900 votes on IMDb and 7/10 from 56 votes on TMDB. Film critics provided a similar assessment, giving the movie a rating of 6.7/10 based on 10 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on the eponymous book by South African writer John van de Ruit, published in 2005 and quickly becoming a national bestseller. By the time the film was released, two sequels had also been published, enjoying great success in South Africa and abroad.
- The film was entirely funded by private investors from South Africa, which ensured complete creative freedom for its creators.
- Auditions for the key roles of the teenagers took place in Durban in August 2009. An open casting call was also held online via the YouTube media portal.
- Troy Sivan, born in South Africa but living with his parents in Australia, was recommended to producer Ross Garland by his uncle, who had read about him in a local newspaper.
- Filming took place at the prestigious Michaelhouse boys' school, located near Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The book's author, John van de Ruit, graduated from the school in 1993 and insisted that the film be shot only there. Initially, the school's board of trustees refused the author's request, but the decision was reconsidered, and the film crew received full support from the school's headmaster and administration. Two students, Tom Burn and Josh Goddard, also received key roles in the film.
- The filmmakers’ main candidates for the role of the English teacher were Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, and Stephen Fry. The first didn’t even bother to respond to the offer sent to him, while the other two declined after some consideration. John Cleese became their last hope, and he was very pleased with the script and quickly agreed.
- The film’s very limited budget allowed for the use of 1366 meters of film per day of shooting. This limit was exceeded on the very first day and was periodically exceeded afterward. In total, about 55 kilometers of film were shot.
- The English teacher’s office contained two thousand books, purchased in bulk for 2000 South African rand, that is, one rand (approximately fifteen cents) per book. In the evenings, John Cleese often took something to read from this mini-library.
- In most of his scenes, John Cleese filmed in slippers that remained constantly off-screen instead of the required footwear.
- Having previously been a creative consultant on set, the author of the book, John van de Ruit, played a small role as the history teacher Mr. Lennox at the director’s suggestion.
- The film's producers desperately tried to secure the rights to use songs from the Academy Award-winning musical "Oliver!" (1968), but were unsuccessful. Therefore, several original compositions were created specifically for the film.
- The film received six nominations for the South African Film and Television Awards, the country's leading film award of the year, presented by the National Film and Video Foundation.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
