Spud Learning To Fly

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Spud 3 Learning To Fly --

Thu, 16 Oct 2014 16:48

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South Africas best-loved teen, Spud, is back and this time theres no end to the madness he and his friends conjure. Spud 3 Learning To Fly is due to hit South African cinemas on 28 November 2014.

Following on the global success of Spud and Spud 2 The Madness Continues, Spud 3 trails the never dull life of John Spud Milton, as he tries to find love, attempts to master Shakespeare, and wrestles constantly with his friends the Crazy 8 , his embarrassing parents, God and the power of negative thinking.

Produced by Ross Garland of Rogue Star Films, in association with Times Media Films and The National Film and Video Foundation, Spud 3 is a South African film to the core. Not only was it shot in the heart of Cape Town but it also features an admirable collection of local and international stars. Based on the best-selling novel by Durban-born novelist, actor, playwright and producer John van de Ruit and directed by John Barker, the movie sees most of the original cast return, headed up by film and television legend John Cleese.

Troye Sivan reprises his role as Spud. Sivan hails from South Africa and has starred as Spud in all three motion pictures.

Internationall known South African YouTuber Caspar Lee makes his screen debut in the role of Garlic from Malawi. Sivan and Lee are joined by rising young acting stars Sven Ruygrok (Rambo) and Alex McGregor (Christine), UCT business science student Thomas Burne (Vern), cricket star and part-time model Byron Langley (Simon), Johannesburgs Travis Hornsby (Boggo), Durban s Blessing Xaba (Fatty) and second-year varsity student Genna Blair (The Mermaid).

Two of South Africa s popular entertainers Aaron McIlroy and actress of stage and screen Julie Summers play Spud s dad and mom. Cinematographer Willie Nel joins the franchise for the first time, alongside 5FM DJ Jon Savage who composed the original music in the film. Tsotsi alumnus and prolific editor Megan Gill returns to edit, while Times Media Films has acquired the distribution rights to release the film in SA.

A lot of time and work went into ensuring that everything from the sets and wardrobe were adapted to be authentic for the 1992 setting of the story, says director John Barker, who also directed famed movies Bunny Chow and 31 Million Reasons. The plot follows 16-year-old Spud as he returns to boarding school as a senior. Spuds hoping for a smooth year but instead, he discovers that his vindictive arch enemy is back to taunt him and that a talkative Malawian called Garlic has taken residence in his dormitory, along with the regular inmates and misfits he calls friends. Spuds world has never seemed less certain.. I didn t try to reinvent the wheel with Spud 3, as a strong aesthetic has already been established. As far as references go I looked at films that created a world through the eyes of a child or teenager.

Spud is the most successful and popular book in South African publishing history with over 200 000 copies sold, with an estimated readership of over 600 000, in South Africa alone. The book won the Booksellers Choice award 2006, and continues to break SA fiction publishing records. The record-breaking sequel Spud The Madness Continues, sold over 140 000 copies in South Africa to date, while the third instalment in the series, Spud Learning to Fly, sold 77 000 copies in SA in the first two weeks from the launch date. The fourth and final book in the series, Spud Exit Pursued by a Bear, hit the shelves in 2012.

The Spud movies have been just as successful as the books. Spud topped the South African box office during the 2010 Christmas holidays and went on to become the sixth biggest performer for a local film at the all-time box office. Spud 2 was one of the big films of the winter school holidays in South Africa and has subsequently been released in Australia and New Zealand, and is now available on iTunes in major markets including the US and Canada. Its predicted Spud 3 will be just as successful.

Spud 3: Learning to fly releases at cinemas 28 November 2014.

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