Or himself a star ...

GDT Ranamane, Beverly Hills, USA

Meintjeskop Ditaba 1/1998

My first meeting with Eric Forrester was on November 15, 1995 at Paramount Studios. I had just arrived in Los Angeles and had hardly settled in when the American Jewish Committee (AJC) invited me to Paramount Studios to make some remarks on Alan Paton's classic novel "Cry The Beloved Country". Before the premiere, Miramax Films gave a private reception in the VIP suite, leading to my direct meeting with Eric. We shook hands when he introduced himself as John and then went on to tell about the good works of Paton. An ardent, fanatic admirer of Paton, he also delved a little into the original version of the movie. I enjoyed it tremendously. He is without question a sterling actor with good oratory talents and articulates clearly. He is very modest about his person

As we continued speaking we attracted a lot of attention and suddenly we had a good audience around us. Expectedly, I had prepared for questions on xenophobia and anti-Semitism in South Africa. These are obvious questions with the Jewish community and cause them sleepless nights. With that in mind, and having acceded to their invitation, I had no option but to face the beast (questions). As a result the movie was right on the money and m perfect timing. We addressed a few questions and amazingly they treated me with the utmost respect, perhaps saving me as their beacon of certitude- during question time.

"Cry The Beloved Country" is produced and co-directed by Anant Singh- a South African national. Unlike him, AJC's main concern was reconciliation In South Africa. For a change profiting from the movie was not a factor, but the message the movie carries. That the people of South Africa, after the political miracle performed, would really let bygones be bygones, hold hands and send that message to the world. Or whether it was just a momentary respite and hell would break loose once real power is attained? It was for me some kind of a Joke and unnecessary paranoia. Certainly they hadn't expected me to confirm their fears when even the mainstream media know what the position is in South Africa. Nevertheless I was goa-oriented and accepted the invitation graciously.

As I continued talking to Eric, in between I met with more celebrities like Alfre Woodard, Charles Darden, Tina Allen, Ted Danson, Louis Gasset Jr and the lot. It was all exciting. The thing is that Hollywood is such a complex scenario that what we see on the surface mirrors only a fraction of what happens in Hollywood. Meaning there is much more than meets the eye. Therefore as a tip off Eric warned me against wasting time with the actors when the people I want are studio owners, directors and In some cases also producers. These are the people with the money and the cheque books. He introduced me to Bill Bernstein, the vice-president of Paramount. Danny Schecter, at the time working on Mandela's documentary, and many others, He clarified that these were the Messrs Hollywood who Wield enormous power In every economic sector In the US, Certainly my kind of quarry.

I had arranged my commentary to kick off with the relation between the African diaspora and the Jewish diaspora - also touching a little on the holocaust. From the arguments so far, I sensed it would not be a good idea. Accordingly I changed. Fact is, to the Jewish people the holocaust is unequalled and cannot be matched by any tragedy in human existence. Please don't get me wrong: the holocaust was one of the most dreadful occurrences to human species and I say this with the utmost respect. However, there were other human sufferings in existence and I don't believe it is prudent to play them down as though the lives claimed during those sufferings were not counting for anything, I am talking about lives lost In places like Africa and elsewhere In the world. The wars and famine in places like Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Angola, Mozambique, et al, were no Joke, They were a real disaster and so was the holocaust.

With Eric again, I was astounded by the respect he commands In the Hollywood circles, Everybody came to say hi! while I kept scavenging from the Introductions, He is a great guy, he definitely is. He IS one of my Idols Just like Blake Carrington In Dynasty, One thing though: I was not going to sacrifice my pose. No, not this time, I was enjoying something Eric was not - being a diplomat. Perhaps as an actor there is an amount of Indirect diplomacy he conducts for his country but notwithstanding that, I was still the shining star. It was my show, The only speaker of the day. So, you Just can't beat that, particularly since we didn't have to show our bank statements,

In time we spoke about his role In "The Bold and The Beautiful", how much time he spent on the sets, the locations , his frustration, the impact on his family life, kissing all those beautiful women and the lot. Unexpectedly he was very candid and liked talking about his experience, which was thoroughly enjoyable. The sordid thing though is that the last episode was done nine years ago and we are paying dearly for an old re-run, Well, this is the American way. A country with so much, yet always needing shrinks. To me it is Just a hole In the soul that more and more cannot fill.

Eric also mentioned that his son lives In Vanderbijl Park and he himself contemplated retiring in South Africa save for one problem. That the incumbent government wants to nationalise the economy and the women. He didn't care so much about the money but his wife was way too precious to be nationalised.

GOT Ranemane and his son and daughter meet Eric Forrester while shopping at "Ralph's Store".! 

After my remarks I noticed and greeted a few South Afncans, notably Prof. Willie Kgos itsiIe , National Deputy Speaker Baleka Kgositsile's former husband, An astute scholar who covered most of the arts and African History, In fact he is the reason the ANC has an Arts and Culture department. I have known Bra Willie, as he is popularly known, for a while now and he has Introduced me to some powerful people at UCLA and also In some social circles, Through him I have also had the honour to meet the Dean of the faculty of Film and TV at UCLA, Prof. Robert Rosen, a keen helper and a democrat.

My association with Eric marked a prelude to better contacts and a better understanding of Hollywood, reminding me of the words of the famous general, 'We've got them", In fact it turned out to be a domino effect.

Next The Hollywood Reporter invited me as a guest speaker on the theme "Filming in South Africa". I also accepted without question knowing that you can only miss a hundred per cent of the shots you don't take. I needed another home run to stay afloat In this tough industry. I went for it and when I did I had only three things In mind: encouraging filming in South Africa, encouraging filming in South Africa and encouraging filming in South Africa.

My contacts started Increasing and meanwhile AJC availed itself to the Consulate in the event of any need. I continued to meet with the stars, Danny Glover, Derby Allen, and many more. I conducted Interviews at several cable stations, frequently visited studios, and networked at a much higher level than normal. My career high was when I met Ms Maggie Christie from the Association of Film Commissioners (AFC). It was an important tum of events for me.

For the first time as the new South Africa we participated in the Locations Expo- a world event attracting more than 300 000 film makers from around the world. Its purpose is to afford film makers a chance to scout locations better suited for their film needs. We participated full steam and successfully promoted our country as the film making destination. It was a phenomenal experience.

Then came the invitations from the Santa Monica Film Market- a counterpart of our Southern African Film and Video Market and also the Cannes Film Festival in France. All these helped me consolidate my efforts and enable me to approach every project with great enthusiasm.

Before I knew it, it was already approaching midnight: the stars were still around helping themselves to the remnants of the after event, each giving his point of view on the movie and perhaps even only remarks. Everything was swell. I have since seen Eric and have spoken to him on the phone regarding my progress.

He is a gentleman and we can use all help from people like him.