Where the Film Industry Meets

African franchise character

Where are our characters???

In the world of movies, Hollywood has built some of the most successful movies around one character. Indiana Jones. James Bond. Freddy Kruger, just to name 3.

In literature Africa enjoyed a number of iconic characters, albeit not always African, but the setting was the Dark Continent. Allan Quartermain is probably the closest we got to an iconic character that spewed novels, comics, cartoons and movies. Now he was British. Every movie he featured in was a flop, so it will be interesting to see if the Hollywood movie set for release in 2012 titled "Quartermain" and staring Australian actor Sam Worthington will actually be successful.

This brings me to this topic. Why have we as film makers not worked together to create a character in the mould of those above? We have everything we need don't we? We have a continent shrouded in mystery and diversity. We have history. We have intrigue, danger, politics and wildlife that is the envy of the world.

I am in the process of developing a character centred around Adventure. I've come up with the flaw. His purpose for being. His back-story. His drive. His setting is Africa with no boundaries. I even have the bases for his first tale.

I am inviting anybody with a background in production to help me with this project. I need a producer, a fellow writer or even a director who knows their stuff to help me thrash out a kickass story, centred around this character, that can be taken to the worldwide market. And here's the beauty of this. It's a project with no time limit. There is no ticking clock demanding results. There is no investor tapping his heals impatiently in the shadows. There is no money needed from anyone. If you read this and feel the slightest pull of curiosity towards this then drop me a mail. I'm going to be picky for sure. This is my baby. I can easily do it alone. But I'm trying a new approach.

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Permalink Reply by Moe M. on July 14, 2011 at 9:18pm

Hi Norman

I've thought about this years ago and also wondered why nobody came up with a superhero, an African one at that. And i've actually sat down and put together a decent , very African story to that goes some way in making a good start. Our hero is comes from the depths of Africa and (no modern day hero) with a unique ability and is able to overcome many odds in the face of intense adversity. I am tired of struggle stories...and the other not-so-good local offerings. Believe me this is different. Moe. fella@webmail.co.za

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Permalink Reply by Norman Welthagen on July 15, 2011 at 7:40am

Thanks for reply Moe. I'll drop you a mail. Just know that what I am going for is not a suprhero styled character. There are enough of those coming out our ears.

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Permalink Reply by Sean McCallum on July 20, 2011 at 2:11pm

A character worthy of your interest is Vertigo Comics' Unknown Soldier. Set in present-day war-torn Northern Uganda, it follows Ugandan born, US-Educated Dr. Moses Lwanga, who is missing presumed dead after giving in to violent impulses (implied to be as part of some sleeper agent-style training...)

The book pulls no punches when addressing the strife that people of that region face every day, and is gripping reading page after page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_Soldier_%28DC_Comics%29