THE outbreak of Coronavirus has put a halt to the filming of a movie based on the life of South African boxing legend Gerrie “Boksburg Bomber” Coetzee.
The production of Gerrie, a film dedicated to the ring achievements of Africa’s first world heavyweight champion, was supposed to start shooting in Cape Town this month.
However, due to Covid-19, the boxing biopic which will be produced by American company Fontabila Production Inc has been rescheduled to film during the next few months depending on flight restriction measures.
South African filmmaker Andrè Scholtz, who is working with the American crew on this Hollywood movie, said he hoped travel restrictions ease so that they can start filming.
“We were supposed to film this month but due to this Covid-19 we will shoot in October or November. We are finalising things like a lead actor and production next month,” he said.
According to the local producer, the lead role could be played by Australian actor Liam Hemsworth but that has not been finalised.
Meanwhile, Scholtz said Coetzee’s pet, a spaniel dog, which attracted international media coverage during Coetzee’s fight preparations, won’t play a big role. The puppy was highlighted in the New York Times and the Washington Post.
“The movie will focus on boxing and the human side of the story. The pet will be there but won’t play a big role,” said Scholtz.
In 1979 a large international boxing media contingent arrived in South Africa ahead of Coetzee’s first world title tilt which was scheduled for October at Loftus Versfeld. He was going up against American heavyweight “Big John” Tate for the vacant World Boxing Association world title.
At the time, both boxers enjoyed a lot of the media hype, but Coetzee’s pet named Wendy unwittingly grabbed her share of attention too. The New York Times kicked-off with a story headlined ‘Richest Spaniel in South Africa’ as part of their build-up to the title showdown.
The story reported the spaniel had an annual R7 000 sponsorship for endorsing a dog food brand.
