Hansie movie stumps his family

2004-11-19 07:43

André Gouws

Cape Town - There is talk of a film being made about the match-fixing in which former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronjé was embroiled.

Cape movie-maker Bonnie Rodini, who was responsible for the making of Story of an African Farm, is to make the picture.

Director Daniel J Harris is already working on a script for the film, which is expected to be called The Fix. It will be shot in South Africa and India next year, said Rodini on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Cronjé's brother, Frans, said Harris had not approached the family for input, but they were aware of the movie.

"It's part of my and the family's frustration that people write stuff that has nothing to do with Hansie. I think they're running after the sensation," he said.

South African actor for lead role

Harris said Cronjé's family knew about the movie.

He said it was definitely not a biographical account of Hansie's life; it dealt with match-fixing in cricket.

Rodini did not want to reveal where it would be shot in South Africa.

She said they planned on distributing the film internationally.

"It's something different. I think the whole (Hansie) story is very interesting - it's about how fragile mankind can be and how people can make the wrong decisions," she said.

Harris said the part of Cronjé most definitely would be played by a South African actor.

Harris, who is from Cape Town and lived in Los Angeles for a while, said he was cautious about saying too much about the movie as the project was still in its infancy.

Indian movie maker Jeetu Chawla's Castle Peak Pictures in Mumbai is expected to produce the Indian section of the film.

Cronjé confessed before the King Commission in 2002 that he received money from bookies to supply information about matches.

He died in an aircraft crash near George later that year.

Bertha Cronjé-Du Plessis, Hansie's widow, said on Thursday she knew nothing about the movie.

- Die Burger