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3 N e w s independent MARCH 31 2013 THE SUNDAY Intelligently advanced. Intelligently financed. Fixed interest rate and low repayments of R3 999 on the Audi A4. Price (Vat incl.) R 309 500 Fixed Interest Rate* 6.31% Total Cost R 348 246 Balloon R 108 325 Model A4 Sedan 1.8T FSI R 3 999 Instalment 60 months Period Deposit 10% *Fixed interest for the term. Offers above are calculated on A4 Sedan 1.8T FSI 88kW manual in standard specification. Model shown may be fitted with optional extras. Total cost includes initiation and monthly administration fee of R57 and exclude monthly comprehensive insurance. Optional equipment pricing is not included in the finance amount advertised. Interest rate will vary from example in this advert if price differs. All finance offers are subject to credit approval. Terms and conditions apply. Audi Financial Services - a division of WesBank - a division of FirstRand Bank Ltd. An Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP20. When it comes to a car of such superior performance and advanced technology, we normally don’t need to talk about the price. But given that Audi’s offer of a fixed interest rate and low monthly repayments of R3 999 on the Audi A4 is so attractive – we felt we should mention it. Not that it would influence your decision, of course. Visit your nearest Audi Dealer or audi.co.za for more information. Über Offers ending 31 March OGILVY CAPE TOWN 55550/E S I H L E M T H E M B U D ANAI Gurira, with her dark skin and average sized body, is some- thing of a creative tour de force. As a playwright and actress her body of work is the result of an eclectic lineage and is an investiga- tion of the immigrant experience in America. She herself on the subject has already written plays such as The Convert, and even stars in Andrew Dosunmu’s forthcoming film, Moth- er of George. The daughter of Zimbabwean immigrants, Gurira is something of a cultural expat. Speaking about what it is that regularly attracts her to this subject matter Gurira notes that it is a need to understand the identity politics around her. “I like being a part of creating stories around the immigrant expe- rience because that is my back- ground,” she says. “And I feel like they are unique and they are not something that we regularly experience in the culture, so we need to acknowledge that and the best way to do it is through art.” Now, however, Gurira is taking on a challenge of a different kind. She is in South Africa promoting her new role as Michonne in The Walking Dead. As one of the lead characters in the series, she is at the front line of the TV apocalypse. Speaking about what it has been like to visit Mzansi, she says this is not her first trip, but she has enjoyed how well received the series has been here. “It’s always good to visit other countries and see what they think of the work we do. So I have really enjoyed being around South Africans and seeing how much they love the show,” she says. Gurira says taking the role of a sword-wielding zombie slayer was a lengthy process and not as romantic as one might assume. “I had been initially approached by the casting agent to audition for the part. But after I had done sever- al auditions things went silent and I thought I didn’t get it,” she says. But get it she did and she has already made a name for herself as one of the most endearing charac- ters in the series with witty one-lin- ers and intricate fighting sequences. Speaking about some of the strange reactions she has got since taking the role, Gurira notes that she has been surprised by the fact that women find Michonne to be an empowering character. “Even as I am playing the role I thought a lot of people would hate this character,” she notes. “But I have been pleasantly sur- prised to find that a lot of women understand Michonne and that she is a very guarded person. And they relate to that, so that has been refreshing.” It hasn’t all been a walk in the park, however. Gurira has been sub- jected to a strict training regimen and has even helped choreograph some of her own scenes for the series, something which she says has been a learning experience for her as an actress and as a person. “It’s hard, especially with the acting and then the physical aspects of the role,” she says. “I have had to work with two trainers and have had to learn to handle the weapons I use correctly ” Gurira says what has also been interesting for her is knowing that she is able to adapt herself to stage, TV and film, something which she feels adds a lot of value to her reper- toire as an actress. “TV is definitely more demand- ing, but I think each of them has their discipline and I have to give my all to each one. So it’s important to be versatile and take things that interest and challenge you,” she says. Among her plans Gurira says she is looking forward to the theatri- cal release of Mother of George and seeing public reaction to the film as well as working on her own TV series. “It’s been a really exciting to work with Andrew Dosunmu on Mother of George because he has such a strong directorial vision,” she says. “I have also been approached to write a TV series but am still thinking about that and hoping to get it together soon.” ■ Season three of The Walking Dead is on TopTV’s FX channel. The series, which is based on the comics of Robert Altman, airs at 9.15pm on Tuesdays Fans loving Gurira’s new role in US series Danai Gurira has learnt she can adapt her acting skills as easily to TV as to stage and film T H E R E S E O W E N HEADLINE act Mi Casa kept fans waiting for more than three hours on Friday night at the 24th Splashy Fen music festival. Held below the Drakensberg mountains, the popular music festi- val saw more than 10 000 people enjoy top South African music. The festival began on Thursday night with Desmond & the Tutus headlining the evening. With the majority of people arriving on Friday afternoon, there was much anticipation for the incredibly popular house act, Mi Casa. However, after a sterling per- formance by Veranda Panda, the organisers had to swop Gazelle and DJ Invizable to an earlier spot as Mi Casa had not yet arrived. The two musicians agreed to move their performance slot earlier to cover for the missing Mi Casa. Mi Casa, who demand more than R60 000 a performance, were sched- uled to go on at 9.15pm, but only took to the stage at 12.20am. By that time most of the crowd had dispersed to their campsites for the night. One of the major highlights on the night were The Muffinz, who performed earlier that evening. THE television news in English on SABC3 will be run one hour long from April 1, to allow time to give coverage to stories from the respective provinces, acting chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng announced yesterday. “As a public service broadcaster,our various programming has to continuously reflect the needs and wants of our audiences,”Motsoeneng said in a statement. “This decision was not taken lightly and we are cognisant of the fact that more work needs to be done, and this is but one step in that direction.” Motsoeneng said the SABC had gone on a “public drive”in August last year,to gather opinions from viewers representing all sectors of the population. Many of those canvassed had felt that the television news broadcasts were too short. “We want the people to know that this is their SABC, and their opinion and input are highly valued. “We will continue to engage them on various issues regarding the corporation,”Motsoeneng said. During the public drive the broadcaster had engaged with audiences on its 18 radio stations and three television channels, as well as on social media platforms.The public had discussed and given opinion on content offering. SABC group chief executive officer Lulama Mokhobo will launch the new one-hour TV news bulletin. The Cosby Show sitcom aired between Monday and Wednesday and repeats on Thursday and Friday on SABC3 at 6.30pm would be moved to SABC1, said Motsoeneng. The Zulu and Xhosa bulletins would remain 30 minutes in length and would stay in their usual 7.30pm slot on SABC1, he added. – Sapa Mi Casa disappoint fans with late start at Splashy SABC3 to devote an hour to English news Curves v slender debate rages in Ivory Coast ON THE airwaves and the catwalks of Ivory Coast, a war of words has broken out between admirers of voluptuous female figures and those who plump for a more streamlined, traditionally Western, shape. The young Ivorian singer Princesse Amour is hoping for a hit with her song celebrating “lalas” , the name she has given to slender,small-breasted women. Dressed in ultra-tight skinny jeans, she sings over a pounding beat, her lyrics encouraging women to embrace their “little lemons” . “I noticed that some girls were embarrassed to have small breasts”and “felt like they had to fake it by stuffing their bras” , she said. Her use of the term “lala”is reference to “lolo” , the word used to describe voluptuous women by Ivorian musical heavyweight Meiway in his 2000 hit, Miss Lolo. His latest smash, Wiggle Your Bottom, a celebration of big booties, has had the whole of Abidjan shaking their stuff in recent months. But the aesthetic at the Miss Ivory Coast beauty pageant is infinitely more “lala”than “lolo” . Victor Yapobi, president of the organising committee, says:“Our beauties comply to international standards: minimum height 1.68m, 90cm around the hips.” In Africa,“young women are becoming more and more slender” , he says, pointing out that a slim woman is still considered a marketing plus for brands. But away from the podium, old habits die hard. “Being thin is synonymous with being sickly and malnourished in African society,”laments Micheline Gueu, a candidate for Miss Ivory Coast in a regional heat in the south-eastern town of Aboisso. At the other end of the scale, however, the awoulaba (voluptuous women in the local Baoule language) also complain that their beauty is underrated. On International Women’s Day on March 8, the awoulaba beauty contest celebrating curvy women was reinstated after a seven-year lull. The crown was taken by Esteve Alexandrine N’Goran, who told the audience of a thousand that she was there to “honour the real African woman” . N’Goran said that she wanted to show that women like her were both “beautiful”and “comfortable with themselves” . – Sapa-AFP ON GUARD: M i c h o n n e ( D a n a i G u r i r a ) s w i n g s a s w o r d i n a c t i o n i n T h e W a l k i n g D e a d - s e a s o n 3 , e p i s o d e 1 PICTURE:GENE P AGE/AMC A musical Valentine for France’s Nicolas Sarkozy from Bruni F A R A H N A Y E R I a n d M A R K B E E C H NICOLAS Sarkozy is an atom bomb. He’s tireless, charismatic and some- times mopes – according to Carla Bruni, his wife, who is releasing an album on April 1. On Bruni’s album Little French Songs she pays tribute to the former French president in Mon Raymond. But the album’s release is at an awkward time. Sarkozy has been placed under formal investigation by judges probing claims that he took advantage of the mental frailty of L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt to raise money for his 2007 election campaign. Politics came up before. Little French Songs got advance coverage for its track Le Pingouin (The Penguin), about a wishy-washy guy with no manners and a puffed-up, penguin- like air. Journalists saw it as a dig at President Francois Hollande, who avoided walking the Sarkozys to their car at the Elysee Palace handover. Bruni denied targeting Hollande. The former first lady, who wrote most of the tracks, sings in the breathy style made fashionable by singer- songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. He penned tunes for Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve and Jane Birkin that he had them whisper like sweet nothings. Their beauty made you forget their vocal limitations. The same may be said of ex-model Bruni. Any schoolgirl could do her gentle cooing. The album is as relaxing as a quiet night in with a shared bottle of decent Merlot. It’s inoffensive, like- able, polite and curiously devoid of passion. The instrumentation is taste- ful: gentle electric guitars, classy piano. There’s nothing to disturb that soothing bath before bedtime. Bruni is better at lyrics, which reveal a brooding side to her.There are refer- ences to a “dreary childhood” (she grew up in a grand Italian household), to being “the fruit of chance” (she was born of her married mother’s affair) and to her “devilish youth”(she dated Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger). Whether her husband’s legal troubles will help or hurt sales of Little French Songs is anyone’s guess. – Washington Post-Bloomberg I N T H E G R O O V E : V o c a l i s t a n d g u i t a r i s t A t o m z a o f T h e M u f f i n z r o c k s S p l a s h y F e n PICTURE:SHELLEY KJONSTAD
