Mandela's ex irked over Hudson in biopic

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


JOHANNESBURG --

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was never consulted about a new movie on her turbulent life and marriage to Nelson Mandela, her lawyers told the film-makers in a letter leaked Tuesday to South African media.

Jennifer Hudson, who scooped a best supporting actress Oscar in 2007 for her performance in the musical "Dreamgirls", said in November that she would be starring in the film that would bring a "powerful part of history" to cinema screens.

Titled "Winnie", the film is directed by South African film-maker Darrell J. Roodt, whose work includes "Cry, The Beloved Country" and "Sarafina."

But a letter from her attorney Bowman Gilfillan said Madikizela-Mandela was "extremely concerned" to hear about the film, saying "she has never been approached for consent or at all," according to The Star newspaper.

"It is difficult to understand how a production bearing the name of an individual who has not been consulted at all could ever be appropriate or tell the full story of that individual's life as media reports suggest this production is intended to," the letter said, according to the paper.

"This is certainly the case here, where our client has not responded to allegations and comment which have been made about her, precisely because she has sought to protect her sphere of personal privacy as best she can in extremely difficult and turbulent times," it added.

Gilfillan's office decline to comment on the report, citing lawyer-client confidentiality.
Madikizela-Mandela campaigned tirelessly for her husband's release during his 27-year imprisonment in the apartheid era.

However her image was tarnished by a series of scandals including her links to the kidnap and murder of a young activist and a 2003 conviction for fraud.

She separated from Nelson Mandela in 1992, two years after his release, but she remains a leading South African figure in own her own right.

The ruling African National Congress placed her fifth on its party list in last year's elections, a sign of prestige that guaranteed her a seat in parliament.

The film had already stoked controversy in South Africa when Hudson was tapped to play the role, sparking outrage among local actors who complained that South African talent had again been overlooked by Hollywood.

The Clint Eastwood film "Invictus", about South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup victory, stars Morgan Freeman playing Mandela and has been a hit on local screens.