Leon Schuster could n’t resist the opportunity the 2010 World Cup Soccer offered for a bit of fun. His latest comedy blockbuster Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide To South Africa will open first with Ster-Kinekor Theatresat their Exclusive Premieres at several sites around the country from 16 – 27 May. The movie releases at cinemas nationwide on 28 May.
Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide To South Africa is a combination of dramatic narrative and traditional candid camera gags unleashed on a new group of unsuspecting Schuster victims. Leon is incarnated in the lead as Schuks Tshabalala. Shot largely on location in Cape Town and surrounds, Leon plays himself and an array of alternate characters alongside his trusty sidekick “Shorty’ (Alfred Ntombela). They are part of the 2010 tourism campaign, tasked with assisting tourists who are in the process of planning their visits to South Africa. The story is littered with all sorts of mishaps and belly laughs, in line with what fans have come to expect of Leon Schuster over the last few decades.
The tourists and students who are attending class with Schuks are a motley crew of all kinds of characters from all over the world. For the most part, they are the typical representations of each country and have some hysterical one-liners and questions they pose to Schuks throughout the film. Some are naughty, but mostly all are nice and totally impressed with the wonderful Schuks and Shorty, as they travel through the city to learn more about South Africa.
Renowned South African film director, Gray Hofmeyr reflects on the challenges posed by the production: “As a director, I had never been involved in a gag movie before, my experience being entirely with scripted fiction. Comparatively speaking, candid camera is an imperfect medium because you never know what you are going to get. I expect that our operation was probably bigger than any other candid camera movie done in South Africa.
“However, the most pressure rests on the shoulders of the person in the firing line, in this instance, Leon Schuster. The emotional and mental demands are massive… Four hours spent in the make-up caravan, and then four more hours spent to con the population of a suburb? That takes determination! This may be an imperfect medium and a daunting one, but ultimately it’s a lot of fun.’
