Morgan’s Mandela

Fancy yourself as a film expert? Reckon you know who’s who in the industry and convinced you could do a damn better job at casting big features than some of the mugs in Hollywood at the moment? Well, here's a small test for you. A film version of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom has landed in your lap and you are deciding who exactly will fill the role of one of the 20th century’s most respected and courageous world leaders. Who, exactly, do you choose? Well, ten big shiny points to the clever ones who plumped for Morgan Freeman; a big fat zero to any other patently stupid suggestions. For who else but Hollywood’s most dignified leading man could ever even attempt to fill the revered boots of Mandela? Happily, the man in charge of this new project, Elizabeth and The Four Feathers director Shekhar Kapur, obviously agrees. He told Entertainment Weekly magazine that he is indeed in talks to make the film and commented, "Morgan has the dignity required for the role. I know of no other actor who has that wisdom that I see in Nelson." This divine and totally fitting piece of casting – Freeman has even met Mandela himself – bodes extremely well for the project which is due to start shooting in South Africa next year. Oscar glory in the offing, perchance?