The Box: Paramount Africa’s Telenovela ‘Queendom’ Has Ended
Becky Dube
Africa: France’s politically further to the right billionaire Vincent Bolloré from Vivendi is in the process of acquiring Africa’s MultiChoice in South Africa through his Canal+ corporate takeover. His strategy of corporate raiding has been named the “Bolloré system.” How it works: Vincent Bolloré first acquires a small stake in an organization and slowly builds up his shareholding. According to Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post, he then “stages a hostile takeover” and fires many staffers. In the end, he can seamlessly point the organization toward his further to the right political beliefs. The Listening Post stated the dangers of this business model, stating it would “ grant a monopoly to one man with the power to determine what kind of content gets broadcast across an entire continent.” The report details how Bolloré and Canal+ have censored the news in the past. Additionally, according to The Listening Post, staffers were fired to create a further to the right editorial newsroom environment. Bolloré removed television channels critical of the government from Canal+’s lineup to appease governments in Africa to get government contracts. Vincent Bolloré recently pleaded guilty to corruption charges in France related to election interference in both Togo and Guinea.
Becky Dube, the casting agent responsible for the Shaka iLembe scandal, took responsibility for luring hundreds of actors to camp out to secure a spot on the show, most of which never received their promised role. Devi Sankaree Govender (The Devi Show) interviewed Dube. In the interview, Dube claimed that the exploited extras lured from three provinces hoping for a spot as an extra on the show, “consented” to the treatment. The Shaka iLembe scandal has led to change across the entertainment industry. MultiChoice, M-Net, and Bomb Productions have implemented a code of conduct. All casting agents working for Shaka iLembe must sign the document. Earlier this year, Dube demanded that hundreds of hopeful actors pay her R2,000 (USD 108.71080) each, only for them to live in tents surrounding Bomb Productions’ base camp. The actors were not given clean water, food, electricity, or sanitation facilities. Becky Casting demanded that prospective extras pay an additional R350 (USD 19.08) “membership fee.” Becky Casting also required the actors to pay for two “workshops” at R150 (USD 8.18) each. The supposed workshops would “orientate extras on how things would be” once they got roles on Shaka iLembe. Dube made over R500,000 (USD 27,194.00) off of this scheme. Legally, extras are not allowed to pay for anything related to their show and must be paid for their work. After Bomb Productions finally intervened and required Becky Casting to act, the extras were moved to a run-down church where people slept 13 in a room and ate off the floor. Extras were threatened by Becky Casting and told they would not get any work if they spoke out about the conditions they endured.
"It would be right to look at this in the context of human trafficking. The conditions in which they were kept is a misrepresentation. It wasn't what people were told and they certainly didn't get work every day which is what they were promised," said Jack Devnarain, chairman of the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA).
Filming has abruptly ended on Paramount Africa’s Queendom produced by Clive Morris Productions. This comes after the cast and crew of the show went unpaid for months. Empini, a series under the same production company, has also been taken away due to budget issues. Clive Morris Productions has struggled to pay the cast and crew on five additional television shows over the past year. The last time Clive Morris Productions paid the cast and crew of Quendom was April 26. This is not the first time Queendom employees have been paid late. Clive Morris Productions now has no money available to continue to film the show or to pay the crew what they are owed. The crew and cast of Queendom continued to work through May, expecting payment at the end of May. When that didn’t happen, the cast and crew collectively decided not to report for work from June 3. This led to the complete production shutdown of Queendom. However, the cast and crew are all still under contract, have not been released, and continue to wait for their overdue salaries. Because they are still under contract, they cannot accept other work. BET and Clive Morris Productions owe the Queendom cast and crew salary for May, June, and July. Clive Morris Productions sent the cast and crew three letters promising payments that never materialized. Clive Morris recently sent a message to the cast and crew saying: "What I can tell you is that we're not sitting on the money and deciding not to pay people, we are actively working non-stop to get the funding to pay everyone."
"It's a precarious situation that we find ourselves in. The heartbreaking part of this is that there are real people at the end of this crisis. One of our crew members has lost a parent and is now unable to participate meaningfully in the burial of the parent because funeral policies have lapsed through no fault of their own,” said a producer for Queendom.
MultiChoice and M-Net’s Queen Modjadji drama series aired Sunday, July 14, despite the Balobedu Royal Council’s court application to prohibit its airing. The court application failed on Tuesday, July 9. The Balobedu Royal Council, represented by Louis Kok, tried to block Queen Modjadji from being broadcast because the series “infringed on the rights and dignity of the Balobedu.” The Balobedu interdicted Queen Modjaadji for telling a historical story through a fictional lens, thus causing “dangers” to public perception. The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria dismissed the Balobedu Royal Council’s application. Advocate Tery Motau represented MultiChoice. Although a broadcaster or production company is not obliged to consult researchers for a historical drama piece, MultiChoice, M-Net, and Rhythm World Productions paid for research and consultation with tribal leaders and academic experts to maintain authenticity in the show. Queen Modjadji is inspired by the first Queen Modjadji, whose bloodline ruled South Africa’s Lobedu clan for centuries. In court, Motau argued that MultiChoice made clear to the audience that the series is fictional. Before each episode, there is a title page reading “HISTORICAL DRAMA INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS.” A longer disclaimer also follows at the end of each episode. Judge Jacques Minnaar dismissed the Balobedu Royal Council’s interdict application.
"We undertook the necessary protocols and extensive consultations with cultural experts as part of the production process. The production of Queen Modjadji plays a pivotal role as it impacts the economy, job creation, and livelihoods within the industry,” said MultiChoice in a statement.
Steve W. Chang - Chiru Labs
Asia: Steve W. Chang, a former executive at Fox and Korea’s CJ ENM, has been appointed as the COO of Azuki, an anime community platform and digital art collection. Azuki brands itself as operating at the intersection of art, technology, and culture. The company focuses on “brand revolutionizing the future of anime by developing decentralized IPs and enriching the fandom experience with innovative blockchain products.” Azuki uses blockchain technology for its fans to own a stake in content. All stakeholders can see the revenue-generating progress of a title. Industry observers have speculated that blockchain and cryptocurrencies may be the solution to “age-old problems of Hollywood accounting for profit participants.” Before his position as COO, Chung was the global chief growth officer at Fox Corp. He was also a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley and an executive producer at the Shanghai Media Group in China.
Screenwriter and director Park Hoon-jung (I Saw the Devil) has written and directed the newest Korean espionage-revenge-drama series The Tyrant. The four-part miniseries, launching on Disney+ on August 14, centers around a virus that is stolen during a secret handover between Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies. Both governments plan to go to war to recover it. The show stars Jo Yoon-su,, Cha Seoung-won, Kim Seon-ho, and Kim Hang-woo.
Eva Logoria - Jamie McCarthy
Latin America: Welcome to Wrexham‘s Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have teamed up with Eva Longoria on a new bilingual sports documentary series following a new soccer club from FX and Disney+ Latin America. The untitled project, currently referred to as Bienvenidos a Necaxa, follows Mexico’s Club Necaxa, who were relocated to Aguascalientes, a working-class city known as the “land of good people,” after struggling for several seasons in their original home in bustling Mexico City. The Spanish/English series will be led by Longoria. Production is set to start soon.
Martín Rodríguez (Griselda) joined the cast of Netflix’s El Marginal spinoff En el barro. Argentine series El Marginal ran from 2016 to 2022 and is still available on Netflix. It tells the story of undercover cop Pastor (Juan Minujin) who infiltrates a prison while investigating a kidnapping, where he runs into a group of inmates led by the Borges brothers (Nicolás Furtado and Claudio Rissi). The spinoff, En el barro (In The Mud) is being produced by Underground Producciones S.A. and Netflix. It is set in a women’s prison and follows two of El Marginal’s most talked-about characters in the original: Gladys “La Borges” Guerra (played by Ana Garibaldi) and Sergio Antín (Gerardo Romano). The series is set to release in early 2025.
