Spud

Name: Spud
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2010-12-03
Duration: 1 h 47 min
Rating: 6.8
Cast: John Cleese, Troye Sivan, Jamie Royal, Sven Ruygrok, Blessing Xaba

Spud (2010)

Timing: 1:47 (107 min)

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All about film

Video 3

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Actors and characters

Watch film Spud — Spud (2010) Trailer | Pinnacle Films

2:07

Photo 7

Release date

2010-12-03

Country

South Africa

Production

The National Film and Video Foundation of SA, Rogue Star Films, BLM Productions (ZA), The Little Film Company

Genre

Comedy, Drama

Budget

$4 000 000

Revenue

$2 415 999

Website

http://spudthemovie.com/

Director

Donovan Marsh

Actors

John Cleese, Troye Sivan, Jamie Royal, Sven Ruygrok, Blessing Xaba, Tom Burne, Josh Goddard, Travis Hornsby, Byron Langley, Jason Cope
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Ross Garland, Brad Logan, Ross Garland, Rob Little, Nic Evans, Tasneem Abdool-Samad, Neshica Bheem, Xavier Botha, John Barbe, Trevor Brown

Operator

Lance Gewer

Composer

Ed Jordan

Artist

Tom Gubb

Audition

Ros Hubbard, Brad Logan

Editing

Megan Gill
All team (147)

Short description

It's South Africa 1990. Two major events are about to happen: The release of Nelson Mandela and, more importantly, it's Spud Milton's first year at an elite boys only private boarding school. Spud is a boy from an ordinary background who wins a scholarship to a private school in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Surrounded by boys with nicknames like Gecko, Rambo, Rain Man and Mad Dog, Spud has his hands full trying to adapt to his new home.

What's left behind the scenes

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.
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.
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.
The filmmakers' primary candidates for the role of the English teacher were Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, and Stephen Fry. The first didn't bother to respond to the offer at all, while the other two declined after some consideration. Their last hope was John Cleese, who was very pleased with the script and quickly agreed.
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 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 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.
The film was entirely funded by private investors from South Africa, which ensured complete creative freedom for its creators.
Troy Sivan, who was born in South Africa but lived with his parents in Australia, was recommended to producer Ross Garland by his uncle, who had read about him in a local newspaper.
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 book's author, John van de Wouw, who served as a creative consultant on set, played a small role as the history teacher, Mr. Lennox, at the director's suggestion.
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.
Auditions for the key teenage roles took place in Durban in August 2009. An open casting call was also conducted online via the YouTube media portal.
The English teacher's office contained two thousand books, bought in bulk for 2,000 South African rand—essentially one rand (approximately fifteen cents) per book. In the evenings, John Cleese often took something to read from this mini-library.
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 was shot at Michaelhouse, a prestigious boys' school located near Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The author of the book, John van de Ruit, graduated from the school in 1993 and insisted that the film be shot there exclusively. Initially, the school's board of governors refused the author's request, but the decision was later reversed, and the film crew received full support from the headmaster and the administration. Two of the school's students, Tom Burn and Josh Goddard, also landed key roles in the movie.
In most of his scenes, John Cleese wore house slippers, which remained off-camera, instead of the required footwear.
In most of his scenes, John Cleese filmed in slippers that remained constantly off-screen instead of the required footwear.
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.
The film received six nominations at the South African Film and Television Awards, the country's main cinema award of the year, presented by the National Film and Video Foundation.
The film was fully funded by private investors from South Africa, which granted its creators complete creative freedom.
The film's producers tried desperately to obtain the rights to use songs from the Oscar-winning musical 'Oliver!' (1968), but they were unsuccessful. Consequently, several original compositions were created specifically for the film.
The film is based on the eponymous book by South African writer John van de Ruit, published in 2005, which quickly became a national bestseller. By the time the film was released, two sequels had also been published, both of which enjoyed great success in South Africa and abroad.