Mandela biopic failed because Years a Slave Sucked Up All the Guilt

The screenwriter of Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom has said that the film failed to live up to its critical and commercial potential because 12 Years A Slave sucked up all the guilt. By Ben Arnold

William Nicholson, who had been previously nominated for his scripts for Gladiator and Shadowlands, penned the biopic, which starred Idris Elba as former South African president Nelson Mandela. According to reports, Nicholson spent 15 years working on the screenplay, delivering 33 drafts.

But it was roundly snubbed at this years Oscars, and performed disappointingly at the box office.

I think it worked superbly. Im incredibly proud of this film. Unfortunately it didnt get the kind of acclaim that I wanted. It didnt get Oscars, he told the Daily Telegraph.

12 Years A Slave came out in America and that sucked up all the guilt about black people that was available.

They were so exhausted feeling guilty about slavery that I dont think there was much left over to be nice about our film. So our film didnt do as well as wed hoped, which was a bit heartbreaking.

We showed it to test audiences very extensively and it got astounding responses. These things are measured in percentages and it was in the high 90s every time. So, honestly, we thought we had a winner. And when it didnt become a winner it was devastating, actually, it was very distressing.

I really thought it was going to win lots of awards, partly because its a good story but also because I thought Id done a really good job and the director had done a really good job. So it has been very tough for me. Some things work and some things dont. You just have to soldier on.

Nicholson didnt stop there, however, adding that Mandelas death damaged the films chances too.

Mandela died as I was in the royal premiere with Will and Kate. Suddenly the word came through that he died. We were deluged with Mandela stuff and after a week we all thought, please, take it away, weve heard enough about Mandela, he said.

He then added that nearly all the speeches he wrote for the film were all made up by him, because Mandelas actual speeches were so boring.

All but one of the speeches were made up by me because his own speeches are so boring. I know it sounds outrageous to say a thing like that, but when he came out of prison he made a speech and, God, you fell asleep, he said.

Its a sadness. In all the speeches theres always a good line, but theyre not very good.

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom was released in January, and is yet to recoup its $35 million budget.

https://uk.movies.yahoo.com

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