Gerrie Coetzee has confirmed that Liam Hemsworth is set to jet into South Africa to start shooting with the American film crew Fontabila Productions sometime in August this year if all goes according to plan.
Coetzee made history when he became the first African ever to fight for, and win, a world heavyweight championship – the WBA (World Boxing Association) title in 1983. At the time he was an underdog in the world of boxing but his knocking out of the hitherto undefeated Michael Dokes at the Richfield Coliseum in Ohio is something that has gone down in the annals of boxing history.
News of the movie being in the pipeline was first announced in March of last year and since then movie producers have been finalising the logistics of shooting the film in South Africa but there had been no word as to who would play Coetzee until now.
Coetzee has always been hugely popular in America and proof of this was confirmed when he was honoured by the Hollywood and African Prestigious Awards in Los Angeles in 2017.
As quoted in the Sowetan, Coetzee's promoter Thinus Strydom, of World Sports Promotion, said American film company, Fontabila Productions, will bankroll the whole production.
"The producers expect to premiere the film in December. Let's just hope that the lockdown will be over [by that time]. The production will continue in Washington and at the Richfield Coliseum in Ohio ."
Sixty-five-year-old Coetzee told the publication that he was not sure who would play his wife but did say “ I know that they asked Charlize Theron – but she asked $15 million for the role. I would like this movie to end when I won my title and came back to South Africa. Katinka Heyns read the script and cried – she said it’s the best script ever.”
It's exciting stuff to have our sporting hero honoured in this way – let’s just hope Hemsworth nails the accent!
