Hudson to star in Winnie movie
2009-11-18 14:41
Cape Town - Grammy-winner Jennifer Hudson is to star in Winnie, a movie about SA struggle veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Variety reported.
Production of the movie is scheduled to begin on May 30 2010 and Hudson will take the role of Madikizela-Mandela, then wife of national icon Nelson Mandela.
The movie will be directed by Darrell J Roodt, who also directed Cry, The Beloved Country and Sarafina! and will be shot in Johannesburg, Cape Town, the former Transkei and Robben Island, where Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years.
The script was based on a biography by Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob, Winnie Mandela: A Life, and was written by Andre Pieterse, Roodt and Paul L Johnson.
Morgan Freeman will play the role of Nelson Mandela
"Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honoured to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told," said Hudson.
Hudson won a Grammy for her debut album and an Oscar for Dreamgirls.