Zelda's story going to Hollywood

24 February 2016 - 02:37 By TMG Digital

"Let's make a movie!" That's how Maven Pictures announced that Zelda la Grange's best-selling autobiography, Good Morning, Mr Mandela, will be adapted for the big screen."Thank you Maven Pictures for believing in the power of a South African story," was La Grange's excited response to the news.Her book has become a top seller worldwide and is available in English and Afrikaans in South Africa. It has been translated into Dutch, German, French, Quebecois and Portuguese, with Italian and Japanese translations in the works.La Grange became a trusted assistant to statesman Nelson Mandela, growing to cherish the man she had been taught was the enemy. Her book tells how he transformed her life, beliefs and prejudices as a young woman.Their relationship began in 1994 when she was 23 and continued until his death in 2013.Now Trudie Styler - rocker Sting's wife - will be bringing the story to film through her company Maven Pictures, which she started with a friend, Celine Rattray, to bring more interesting female roles to Hollywood.Maven's roll call of well-known actresses includes Kristen Wiig, Liv Tyler and Bette Midler. Styler and Rattray were also executive producers of the film Still Alice, which saw Julianne Moore win an Oscar award.The Mandela movie will be made in conjunction with Jacqui Lewis, associate producer on the acclaimed 2015 documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.Sting is a member of Amnesty International which commissioned a tapestry of Madiba to mark International Human Rights Day, for display at Cape Town International Airport. The tapestry, Flying Madiba, was designed by Czech artist Peter Sis and woven by Ateliers Pinton in France. ..

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