Scheduled for delivery in April 2013, 3 Pegs, a co-production between Muddville and
ZenHQ Films, hinges on the premise of what happens when three soldiers – an
American, an Israeli and an Arab – are trapped in a room on the Lebanese / Israeli
border.
3 Pegs is the feature film directorial debut of South African Jac Mulder, who started
post-production facility, Muddville, in Dubai. The script was written by Ziggy Darwish,
an Australian of Arab descent who is a former gunnery sailor in the Australian Royal
Navy.
Shot in three and a half weeks in and around Cape Town, 3 Pegs stars Hollywood
actor Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down), Israeli Oz Zehavi
(Yossi, Southland) and Australian Bernard Curry (Pretty Little Liars, Home and Away).
Chris Roland of Cape Town-based ZenHQ Films produced the film with Muddville’s
Leigh Ferreira, Richard Lackey and Yola Raydan. The entire crew is South African, as
are the remaining cast members, who include Patrick Lyster and Nicky Rebello.
3 Pegs is funded by private equity and the South African Department of Trade and
Industry rebate.
Roland became involved in 3 Pegs when South African Richard Lackey, who works with
Muddville, introduced him to Jac Mulder.
“I was very excited about the concept and script for 3 Pegs, which addresses the
ludicrousness of pre-conceptions between Arab, Israeli and American soldiers,’ says
Roland. “Although the scriptwriter Ziggy Darwish did not find himself in exactly the
same situation as the characters in the film when he was in the navy, he was
exposed to similar racial tensions and dynamics.’
It was a casting director in Los Angeles who suggested Tom Sizemore as one of the
three leads.
“I think Tom is one of the best actors alive, but I had heard about the wild stories
surrounding him. After checking, we found that Tom had successfully gone through
rehab and turned his life and career around. He was an absolute professional during
filming, and brought great energy and creativity to the set,’ explains Roland.
Mulder adds: “The prospect of directing Tom Sizemore scared the hell out of me as he
has worked with Hollywood’s best directors. Tom is an amazing actor and I feel lucky
to have had the opportunity to work with him on 3 Pegs.’
Over 50% of the film takes place inside what looks like a run-down home but is in
fact a communication centre on an Israeli military base. The three soldiers are
accidentally trapped in the communications room for six hours.
This set was built at Ottery Youth Centre which, according to Roland, also had great
exterior locations that doubled perfectly for an Israeli military base. Other locations
included Kalk Bay, a shop on Long Street, a hotel in Greenpoint, a private home in
Pinelands, Ysterplaat Air Force Base, and other locations which doubled as Israel and
Lebanon.
The off-line edit was expedited in Cape Town by Paul Merrington, with Freq’ncy (also
in Cape Town) doing the music and mix. Online, VFX and deliverables are being done
at Muddville in Dubai.
Roland attended the recent European Film Market in Berlin to look for an international
sales company and notes that the response to the teaser was “pretty fantastic’. He
will continue marketing the film at the Cannes Film Festival in May. ZenHQ Films’
sister company, My Movies, will handle South African sales.
By Joanna Sterkowicz
Screen Africa magazine – April 2013
