15 January, 2018 - 06:01
Sello Chicco Twala is putting his foot down, vowing that a planned biopic about Brenda Fassie will not go ahead without his blessing. by Ntombizodwa Makhoba
The songwriter and producer claims he has all the rights to her music, which he produced and wrote, and is taking legal action to stop the release of any film made about her life.
Besides my company having the rights, I have never been consulted by anyone. I feel disrespected and undermined, especially being the one who has written and produced almost 75% of the late singer's songs, a fuming Twala told City Press on Friday.
Without the music I wrote and produced for Brenda, there will be no movie. This movie is not going to happen.
This week, UK-based production company Showbizbee, in partnership with local artist management company Legaci Nova Entertainment, announced that a movie based on the life of the late queen of African pop was in the works and would hit screens later this year. The movie is set to be shot in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
MaBrrr died at the age of 39 in Sunninghill Hospital on 9 May 2004 after overdosing on cocaine.
Twala said he instructed his publisher not to grant the movie's production partners - Fassie's son Bongani Fassie, Legaci Nova Entertainment or Showbizbee - permission to use any of the songs he wrote and produced for Fassie.
City Press has seen a letter that Twala's attorneys sent to Legaci Nova, which says an agreement was entered into between Twala, Fassie Records and Fassie's estate.
In terms of the said agreements, Twala was granted commercial exploitation rights on the feature film of Brenda Fassie. Twala respectively holds 90% of Fassie records and [has an] 82% shareholding in Estate Late Brenda Fassie, with Bongani Fassie and Estate Late Brenda Fassie holding 10% and 18%, respectively, reads the letter.
Twala said the estate's executor, Thokozani Mthembu, gave his company the rights for a Fassie film.
However, Mthembu told City Press that, based on the records in his possession, Twala's estimate of having written and produced almost 75% of Fassie's songs was incorrect and exaggerated .
He confirmed that an agreement was signed in May 2012 with Dzinge Productions, Fassie's estate and Leakgona Multimedia, in terms of which the Brenda Fassie feature film rights were granted to those two companies.
Nothing ever came of that agreement. I believe the agreement was subsequently terminated, although I have not been able to locate the termination letter. The estate of the late Brenda Fassie has been finalised and the rights transferred to Bongani Fassie, who will decide the granting of any rights to the Fassie feature film, Mthembu said.
Touchvision enables creative professionals to achieve stellar growth
Request a trial, book a demo or call us for a chat
Get New Film Business in 2018
Select your Membership
Vaughn Eaton of Legaci Nova Entertainment said Estate Late Brenda Fassie signed an exclusive agreement with Showbizbee for the recording and production of the Fassie biopic.
He did not want to comment further on Twala's claims because it was a legal matter.
Showbizbee said in an email that the company owns full and exclusive rights to film Fassie's story.
We are not aware of any legal proceedings. We obtained the rights through negotiations with the Estate Late Brenda Fassie and Legaci Nova, Showbizbee said.
Film insiders said Showbizbee seemed to have little knowledge about producing films. The company was registered two years ago. Apparently their budget was less than R5 million, which they said was not nearly enough.
Showbizbee said this was true to a certain extent. We have not allocated a budget as yet. Once this has been announced we will submit it to IMDb [Internet Movie Database]. But if you are insinuating that we don't have the means for a budget, this is completely false information.
They said the company was formed two years ago as a consortium of industry professionals.
But our team has worked on many box office films and British TV series for a variety of national broadcasters.
Meanwhile, Showbizbee is continuing with pre-production, with or without Twala's blessing. An open casting call has been sent out in search of fresh-faced local talent to portray the vivacious singer.
On Friday, Showbizbee announced that so far they had received 1 200 applications from hopefuls wanting to audition for the role of Fassie.
Many suggested that actress Brenda Ngxoli would be a perfect fit to play Fassie. The entire cast, Showbizbee insisted, would be South African.
Bongani Fassie didn't want to comment to City Press, but said in a statement: My mother Brenda has been surrounded by controversy in her life and even after her death.
I'm particularly eager to participate in the production as co-executive producer so that the real story of my mum comes alive to the people of South Africa and the world.
www.channel24.co.za
Films in Development
Africa South Africa
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
03/05/2024
NEW YORK CBS has declared that it will finish the 2023-24 season as Americas Most-Watched Network in primetime for the 16th consecutive season....
15 January, 2018 - 06:01 
