Fairest Cape forms background to top film, TV productions

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Universal's Safe House, starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, will be released on Friday 10 February 2012. It was shot with Moonlighting Films and represents a first for Cape Town and for the South African film industry. Directed by Daniel Espinosa, it is the first major Hollywood action film to be set in Cape Town. Produced by Scott Stuber, the executive producers are Denzel Washington, Scott Aversano, Adam Merims, Alexa Faigen, Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans.

Genevieve Hofmeyr, supervising producer for Safe House and owner of Moonlighting Films, says, "Cape Town transformed itself for this Hollywood action film which would not have been possible without the incredible co-operation of the public, the City of Cape Town and the many traffic officers to whom we owe huge thanks.

"The success of the production shows that Cape Town has been elevated to a city that can accommodate big Hollywood projects. The city's co-operation will ensure that Hollywood keeps coming back for more."

Positive impact of the production

The feature film was in pre-production for five months and then shot for 14 weeks. Locations included downtown Cape Town (with numerous road closures, including Western Boulevard), Belville, Langa and Moorreesburg.

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"We built a huge set right in the heart of the Langa community where we shot an extensive night sequence. We are incredibly grateful to the residents and community leaders of Langa who engaged with us whole-heartedly to make it work, as well as fulfilling positions ranging from security to extras."

The positive impact of the production on the City of Cape Town and the South African film industry is significant. "This was a great opportunity for us to showcase the crew talent that we have here in South Africa and to grow it exponentially thanks to the skills transfer between international and local crew. Furthermore, for once we are proudly presenting Cape Town and iconic locations such as Greenpoint Stadium and Table Mountain instead of doubling our city for somewhere else - this will no doubt result in a considerable boost in 'film' tourism for Cape Town."

Nederburg - loveliest venue

MasterChef South Africa begins on M-Net on Tuesday 20 March 2012, with the high-profile Nederburg winery as the star venue of the reality cooking show.

"This could well be the loveliest venue ever chosen for a MasterChef series anywhere in the world," says Anne Davis, M-Net's senior commissioning editor of the series.

"We wanted to shoot in the Winelands because Cape vineyards are immediately recognisable to local and international viewers as distinctly South African. The Western Cape is also the culinary capital of South Africa and has great access to fresh produce. We obviously also wanted good weather and the Cape summer offers a very favourable climate. Nederburg was able to provide everything we were looking for."

The Paarl winery revamped its world-renowned Johann Graue Auction Hall, the annual venue for its Nederburg Auction, equipping it as the kitchen for the show that will be broadcast weekly over 18 weeks. The 1000 m² venue will be where most of the show's action will take place but it is also close enough to any off-site challenges in which the contestants will be involved, according to the organisers.

"Exciting blend of classical and modern"

Davis says the overhaul of the Nederburg auction hall has been an extensive process. There are over 20 cooking stations equipped with state-of-the-art appliances and utensils. To create the floor and the walls, over 15 tonnes of wood was sourced locally, while five kilometres of under floor cabling have been used and the garden around the area has been beautifully landscaped. The final result is really impressive."

When the MasterChef South Africa team approached Nederburg to consider making the winery facilities available for the series, the winery was ready to oblige. "Nederburg is surrounded by gorgeous gardens, vineyards and sweeping views of the mountains. The historic and contemporary buildings create an exciting blend of classical and modern and this is a very appealing and attractive location," says Suné van der Merwe, Distell's category manager for wines in South Africa, whose portfolio includes Nederburg. "We are very proud of its starring role."

Davis said the MasterChef set would be closed to the public until production of the series was concluded in March.