Amazon Prime Video’s first-ever original South African film, The Shakedown, is set to premiere on the streaming service on 8 August and boasts an impressive local cast with a story that is sure to entertain audiences.
The dark comedy crime film, directed and co-written by Ari Kruger, along with Daniel Zimbler, in his first feature film directorial debut, tells the story of Justin Diamond (Carl Beukes), a ‘well-respected medical aid broker’ who finds himself caught up in the Cape Town underworld after his mistress threatens to reveal the secret of their affair.
The plot takes a turn as Justin’s desperate attempts to maintain his reputation lead him down a path filled with dangerous criminals, mistaken identities, and comical mishaps.
As Justin teams up with his ‘black sheep’ brother, Dovi (Emmanuel Castis), to handle the escalating chaos, viewers are in for a treat for a ‘comedy-of-errors crime caper’ that will keep them on the edge of their seats.
Cape {town} Etc recently sat down with two of the film’s stars, Julia Anastasopoulos, of SuzelleDIY and Tali’s Diary series fame, and rapper Jack Parow, to talk about the upcoming film.
Also read: Amazon Prime Video’s first South African original film is coming soon
Julia Anastasopoulos
Anastasopoulos portrays the role of Natalie Diamond, the wife of Justin Diamond, who she describes as ‘trying to deal’ with being the spouse of the main character.
‘She tries to find her voice a bit more and finds herself outside of this perfect ‘Team Diamond’ [as] we call it in the film. Which is the sort of portrayal of this perfect family living in Cape Town,’ says Anastasopoulos.
Anastasopoulos tells of how this role was ‘a bit harder’ than her SuzelleDIY and Tali Babes characters, who were both ‘very larger than life’ comedic personalities.
‘This character [Natalie] was much more understated and much more rooted in reality. So it was a bit of a departure for me, definitely, and it was a little bit scary,’ says Anastasopoulos.
‘But once I “found” her and I sort of understood the world a bit better, it really seemed to flow. And I think that having done [SuzelleDIY] and Tali and exploring that different kind of performance, I think it really just gave me, if anything, it gave me confidence to be able to step into the shoes of a new character,’ she added.
‘It was a lot of fun and actually, I would say this character is probably the closest to myself that I’ve ever played.’
In terms of her approach to the character, Anastasopoulos tells of how her previous characters came from ‘her own mind’ and her own writing, whereas Natalie’s character was ‘somebody new’.
‘[Natalie] wasn’t my own creation, so I had to kind of find a way to make it my own, “take what was on the page” in the script, just own it a bit more,’ says Anastasopoulos.
‘Obviously, my husband’s [Kruger] the director, so we worked on it a lot and I was able to bring my own sort of flavour to the character. Even though it was very different, I had to kind of find myself in her,’ she added.
On the film reaching a global audience via Amazon Prime, Anastasopoulos is excited for the debut and believes that South African films should have more recognition and ‘be on the map’.
‘I think that the quality and the talent and the amazing things that are being made in South Africa really should be on a global stage […] because they’re so good,’ says Anastasopoulos.
‘For us, it’s huge. It’s so exciting that an international audience would be able to see the kinds of things that we make. And I think it would also be interesting to see how an international audience responds to this kind of movie that is very niche [and has] a very South African flavour,’ she added.
Anastasopoulos believes the film will ‘translate’ well and thinks that TV shows and films that are set in a different place with a different accent or humour make for unique entertainment that is ‘different and fresh’.
‘I think the global audience is in for such a treat to be able to see something that’s so uniquely South African, but [with] an international theme,’ says Anastasopoulos.
‘It’s something that’s accessible to everyone, but it’s just got a South African flavour, which I think people will respond well to,’ she added.
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Anastasopoulos recounts her experiences working with the cast and crew as enjoyable and working with ‘such wonderful people’.
‘Working with Carl [Beukes] was quite honestly inspirational. He is such a talented actor. Whenever I work on a new project, I’m so blown away by the local talent and how excellent everyone is,’ says Anastasopoulos.
‘It’s inspiring to see other actors and see how they’re processing and see how they work […] It flowed so beautifully working with Carl in particular,’ she added.
‘Jack Parow, also, [is] just so much fun to work with […] He’s so professional and actually a very talented actor.’
Adding to her ‘wonderful experience’ was the collaboration and ‘magic’ that happened when the actors were ‘bouncing’ ideas off each other, contributing to a ‘dream come true’ kind of team.
As for her favourite scene from the film, Anastasopoulos says there were many, making it ‘hard to choose’.
Without spoilers, she recounts how one scene stood out for her that made many cast and crew members laugh ‘so much’ as it was filmed.
‘It’s quite a comedically heightened scene and it’s quite tense. The comedy that came out of that was so fantastic,’ says Anastasopoulos.
‘I watched that scene back and it takes me back to how much fun we had filming it. Ari [Kruger] also allowed the actors to play and we got to do it a few times and sort of find our way through the scene, and it was very funny and very comedic,’ she added.
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On the possibility of playing her character again, Anastasopoulos says she would return to the role ‘in a heartbeat’.
‘I loved it so much. The whole experience was so great. If we could get this cast back together to do a sequel, I think that would be a dream come true,’ says Anastasopoulos.
‘Film is so tricky because it’s just got this short little life. You get to play this character for a few weeks and then you almost have to say goodbye in a way, so I would always welcome the opportunity to revisit that character, especially to be in that world again and with those actors again,’ she added.
Jack Parow
Portraying a gangster named Mikey in the film, Parow describes his character as a ‘loveable f**k-up’ who tries his best to ‘take his job seriously’.
‘At the end of the day, [my character] isn’t the most honoured or smartest criminal out there, and this obviously causes problems,’ says Parow.
‘No matter how hard he tries, there’s always something that throws a spanner in his works,’ he adds.
On his approach to portraying the character, Parow believes that Mikey is ‘in line’ with his on-stage ‘Jack Parow’ persona.
‘In a way, it’s a swift kind of like ‘deur die k*k’ kind of criminal who has good intentions with the ‘lovable f**k-up’ thing. And the Jack Parow character is similar to that in many ways.’
‘So I pulled from that, and I was lucky enough to build my confidence from that, as well as to portray from my own character from my experiences and not reach too far. If I had to portray something out of my comfort zone, then I think it would have been intense,’ he added.
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While Parow has had experience working in various series and making cameos, as well as appearing in the 2013 movie Babalas with actor Ian Roberts, he considers The Shakedown to be his acting debut.
‘I was still wet behind the ears at the time, so I am glad to have another chance to do something cool and portray a character,’ says Parow.
This is also not the first time that Parow has collaborated with Kruger, as Kruger directed the music videos for Parow’s song Afrikaans is Dood in 2012 and Tema Van Jou Lied in 2014, where Parow collaborated with fellow musician Valiant Swart.
‘[When Kruger called me], I was unsure if I wanted to do another movie. I was almost half like, “I don’t want to do another movie”, and he told me, “Don’t worry, I know you can do it. I can see how you act in music videos, and that skill that you have, just go for it.” So I trusted him,’ says Parow.
‘When I get up on stage, I’m not shy, because I know what I do up there, but if you do something like [acting], it’s a kind of difficult thing to throw yourself 100% completely into it. So I just decided, “F**k it, don’t think about embarrassing yourself or your ego or anything like that. Just go for it, give it 100% everything and try to become the character”.’
In hindsight, Parow feels satisfied and proud of his performance and has become comfortable with the acting process.
‘Not that I’m saying that I’m becoming an actor now, but you never know. It’s obviously a lekker side thing towards music,’ says Parow.
With the film being available for international audiences, Parow simply calls it ‘bef*k‘.
‘I think it’s great for the whole South African movie scene and industry. I know Amazon did commission a few [South African] movies and later cancelled most of them, so I’m so glad that we made the cut,’ says Parow.
‘Once again, it’s a testament to the people that worked on [this] movie and how great they were working on this movie, like Ari [Kruger] and his whole team. It just shows the quality they made. […] Amazon backed them with everything and said, “It’s bef*k.”‘
Parow believes that the movie is worthy of ‘global-level’ status.
One of the scenes he enjoyed most was the fight scene, where there was much involved.
Another scene he enjoyed was a scene where Parow’s character and his partner, David Isaacs, sit in a car and chat.
‘They would let us sit in the car and let us just talk bullsh*t, and they would say, “Cool, we are done now, and while we pan out [with the camera], just keep talking and just say weird stuff.”‘
‘It was just so much fun. We just came up with the weirdest stuff [to talk about],’ he added.
Similar to Anastasopoulos, Parow enjoyed his time working with the cast and crew.
‘It was amazing. I mean, I know Julia [Anastasopoulos] for some time now, obviously she’s married to Ari [Kruger], so [I know her] through Ari [Kruger],’ says Parow.
‘I’ve been on SuzelleDIY, and I’m a big fan of Tali Babes and all that stuff. I love her, I think she’s hilarious and an incredibly professional actress. The same with Carl [Beukes] and Emmanuel [Castis], and obviously my partner David [Isaacs],’ he added.
‘They are all so professional, and I’m the one that was wet behind the ears. I walked in there [thinking], “These guys, this is their life. I’m just a rapper from the suburbs.” They helped me a lot and they went out of their way to give me confidence.’
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Picture: Supplied