John Barker – the man behind Bunny Chow
Since Gavin Hood and his cast did us proud by scooping the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in March, the local film circuit has been pretty quiet till now. The latest buzz is director John Barker’s new film Bunny Chow that is soon to premier at the Toronto Film Festival this September. Represent sends a special Big ups to Bunny Chow and everyone behind it! Written by:NG> John Barker and David Kibuuka Based on a story by: David Kibuuka, John Barker, Salah Sabiti and Joey Rasdien. Starring : Kim Engelbrecht, Kagiso Lediga, David Kibuuka, Salah Sabiti and Joey Rasdien Produced by: Kagiso Lediga and Leanne Callanan of Dog Pack Films and Michelle Wheatley We had breakfast with director John Barker to chat about his film and the industry: What does John Barker as a brand represent? J.B – I am still trying to create a brand. I’m trying to put a face to a name and get to the level where people recognise the name and associate it with great films. I want to get to the “it’s a JOHN BARKER film” level. My brand is about bringing people together. The urban market, the Color Bar crowd that have no issues about race or any hang-ups. I want to develop that kind of following.Do you believe in film school? J.B – I was an editor for a year, cameraman for four years, a runner in London on a morning show, and a graphic designer for a year. So I was self-taught. I believe more in that approach, because it exposes you to the different disciplines in making a filmmaking. Film schools are great, the problem is I don’t feel people are well equipped to choose what they want to do after matric. They don’t have a point of reference. I recon every kid should go overseas for a year before they decide what to do with their lives. How long have you been directing? And what projects have you worked on before this? J.B – It’s been 5 years now. I started off directing inserts for Channel O in South Africa on Hip Hop which was really cool. Then I directed several music videos. In the meantime, I was writing and directing short films. I then worked on a few TV shows, the Pure Monate Show being one of them. During that time, I gained a lot of experience because we would shoot about 5 to 10 comedy sketches a day. I worked with the most talented comedians in this country and that was a great blessing. The pressure I was under helped me deal with the pressure one...
SA heavyweight driving the WWW – Roelof Botha
You might know this already. We didn’t. A bunch of friends were chatting the other day at a table in Melville and we started talking about the phenomenon that is YouTube and the fact that it was sold for $1.65 billion after running for less than two years, one of our friends mentioned that one of the owners of YouTube was not only a South African but also the son of Pik Botha. We of course thou… ght this was a joke, as the person telling this story just happened to be a Botha too (you know who you are) and for some reason it sounded ridiculous that a South African would be behind one of the biggest deals in the history of the internet business. Plus this guy has that kind of sense of humour. Ridiculous. Until we went to Wikipedia to look up Roelof. See here. And here for YouTube’s story. No Jokes. Roelof Botha is indeed behind not only YouTube but PayPal too! But he is the GRANDSON of Pik Botha. He is part of an exciting and dynamic venture capital company Sequoia Capital based in Silicon Valley in the States and our boy is kicking some serious internet touches. Vat hom Fluffie!!! “Roelof Botha focuses on services and software investments. Prior to joining Sequoia Capital in 2003, Roelof served as the Chief Financial Officer of PayPal (EBAY). Earlier, he worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. Roelof is a certified actuary (Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries), and has a BS in Actuarial Science, Economics, and Statistics from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. ” Sequoia looks like the kind of company that is truly global nd working in developing markets – bravo – with operations in Israel, India and China – let’s face it, Roelof seems like a hell of a creative guy who is willing to take risks and believe in creativity and wild and wonderful ideas. The best part is – his company wants to hear your business plan. So brothers and sisters, let him know what you are thinking – you never know. Check it out here. To Roelof, thanks for making us proud and for flying the South African flag way up high. Much Respect You Rock! Represent. Here’s the info on the deal: SAN FRANCISCO – Even in Silicon Valley, it is rare for so much money to be made so fast – and by so few. The biggest winners in the $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube by Google are the YouTube founders, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen,...
Well Done FRESHLY GROUND on winning MTV awards
OH Yes, they did it, they scooped Best African Act. It’s about bloody time. We all know that they deserve to win. Freshly Ground, we are 100% behind you. Alles van die beste. REPRESENT!!! SA superstars Freshlyground jet off to Europe this week to Copenhagen for the MTV Europe Music Awards – in which they are nominated for Best African Act against Nigeria’s P-Square, Tanzania’a Juma Nature, Kenya’s Nameless and Anselmo Ralph from Angola… . Here’s the latest news from the red carpet concerning the Awards, where Freshlyground will be rubbing shoulders with Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, The Killers, Keane, Muse, P Diddy, Nelly Furtado and Outlandish – to name but a few…. Winners will be announced live on MTV base (DStv Channel 88) and MTV (DStv Channel 85) live on Thursday 2 November between 22:00 – midnight. Keep your thumbs crossed for SA’s...
Lerato and Andre get their BEYONCE photo
You have to love two of our favourite South African entertainment journalists ever Andre and Lerato. They are good friends of Represent and we absolutely love their determination and spirit. They were convinced BEYONCE aka Bouncy would be here with Jay-Z and they were determined to see her. Well, they found her and got their pic. You go guys, Represent loves you. ONG>Here are their stories: Andre: “Attending a Jay-Z press conference is mega exciting, but something inside me said there’s more! And boy, was my instinct right! We followed Jay-Z out of the venue and saw his car driving up the road within the actual premises. The only place he would go is the Polo Lounge which is well-known for its celebs hanging there during intervals. So when we were told we weren’t allowed inside the usually public lounge, we knew he was inside. His entire crew had already left, so who was keeping him company? Was it Rihanna? Was Beyonce chilling out there while the press conference was going on? So after waiting almost an hour, a gorgeous Beyonce Knowles walked out with her man, Jay-Z. We were SPEECHLESS. Although security were trying to get rid of us, Beyonce was completely chilled and an utter darling. She could see we were desperate fans and took the time to pose with us while Jay-Z refused and got into the car. So while the media were all hyped about Jay-Z, we got an exclusive first glimpse of Beyonce- even better! No sign of Rihanna though. Looks like Bouncy isn’t letting her man out of her sight! You go girl!” Lerato: “This picture proves that Andre and I are the biggest and most successful chasers of all time in South Africa, and while the rest of the nation was wondering if Beyonce is indeed in the country with Jay-Z, we found out where he was staying, how long he’d be there for and what his posse was doing at the moment that he was giving a press interview. Turns out they were chilling at their hotel waiting for Jay-Z, head to the airport to catch a private plane out to Cape Town. Well, we asked him if we could have a picture taken with him, he said “No” and we thought we’d stalk him just so he understands that we know his every move and, most importantly, not afraid of his security team. An hour in the sun later, Jay, B and their two bodyguards checked out of the hotel. We became Beyonce crazy, told her how much we loved and her begged to take a picture with her. Her...
BYE BYE Kara thanks for making us proud
So we were right, Kara really needed to up her game if she was planning on making the final three for the Project Runway competition. Her sexy black evening dress was the least favourite of the final four which saw her being booted out of the competition. Go and check out Kara Janx’s website here and read all about the amazing success she has had thanks to … being on the show. Apparently Kara did take part in the fashion week along with the other three winners anyway (so what was the booting out all about) and her collection was the best! Kara says her business has grown phenomally and she is now a celeb designer with fans asking for autographs whereever she goes. Now that’s our kind of reality TV, where real talent and skill make you famous. You go girl! ====================================== People are starting to get suspicious. “Why do you never party anymore on Friday nights? Is it winter? Do you have new friends we don’t know of? Places you don’t want to share with us? Are you getting old and boring?” Well, being cold did have something to do with it, but the second season of Project Runway had a whole lot more. It all happened one Friday night about 7 weeks ago when, too exhausted to go out on a Friday and missing her man who was gallavanting elsewhere, Editorista went to visit her best friends house with pizza’s in hand. You see the best friends were moving house soon after into their very cute semi in Brixton (what a super cool suburb for young buyers) and everyone wanted to talk about the move and just chill together… Needing to zone out of the weeks stresses, we skipped quickly through the cable ‘bouquet” – cuddling up next to a warm fire, we settled on “Project Runway” on E Entertainment, “just another reality show” we thought. How wrong we were. 7 weeks later we are confirmed PR addicts bordering on freaks and Friday nights will never be the same. Project Runway works very simply. There are a whole bunch of talented young clothing designers in New York who have to create a fashion garment every week under extremely tight budgetary and timing restrictions. Each week someone is eliminated and the team gets more competitive, the creative bar is raised and the bitchiness soars. Heidi Klum is the presenter and the judges are all well respected (Nina Garcia) and entertaining (Michael Kors) fashionistas. Drawn essentially to the creative integrity and challenge at the heart of this wonderful show, we were even more delighted to hear the flat...
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