Principal photography on Invictus was accomplished entirely on location in South Africa. As often as possible, the filmmakers utilized the same locations where the actual events had unfolded.
Lorenz states, "For the entire cast and crew, being in South Africa drove home the significance of the story because we were constantly reminded of the effect it had on the people.
"Everybody we talked to could tell us where they were on the day of that final game and about the excitement they felt. It was just a moment in time that defined them and everyone could recall it vividly."
"Being in the same places gave us all a sense of the reality of the story," Mace Neufeld notes. "And then it was so amazing to be there less than 15 years after these events transpired and see what has been achieved. It was one of the most remarkable experiences I’ve had as a producer."
Freeman agrees, noting that he felt a tangible difference in the country from his first visit more than a decade ago. "The first time I went to South Africa, when Mandela was president, there was electricity crackling in the air; there was a feeling of excitement and potential all around. But this time, everything was just moving along no strain, no pressure and that was great. It was fabulous to see that what was started then had become the status quo."
"I would not have filmed this movie any other place but South Africa," Eastwood declares. "You have to be there you need the people, you need the places. We wanted that authenticity. The majority of our cast and all of our extras were South African.
"They also have a viable cinema group in South Africa, so we also had a nice ensemble of Americans and South Africans working together behind the scenes and their crew could not have been better."
Eastwood also reunited with his key creative team, including director of photography Tom Stern, production designer James J. Murakami, editors Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach, and costume designer Deborah Hopper.
"Clint surrounds himself with people who share his sensibility," Neufeld remarks. "It’s a remarkable combination. I just sat back in amazement watching him direct this movie. He’s very judicious in his approach to filming, and the cast and crew knew that they had to show up ready to go because he always is."
Freeman, who is very familiar with Eastwood’s directing style, attests, "He’s quick; if he’s got it in one take, he’s moving on. I just love that. I also appreciate his quietude, which represents strength and control."
Collaborating with Eastwood for the first time, Damon says, "He’s so fluent in the language of film; he knows exactly what will work in telling the story. As an actor, you feel very secure that you’re in very, very good hands. It was a great experience working with him."
A majority of the filming took place in and around the coastal city of Cape Town. One of the key scenes shot there was Nelson Mandela’s visit to the Springbok training camp, filmed in an area called Tokai.
When the company arrived that morning they discovered some unusual spectators had beaten them to the site: a group of baboons. Eastwood recounts, "We had to wait until the baboons exited, but as soon as the players got out there, they would stay on the sidelines or up in the trees. They looked at us like they were wondering, ‘What kind of crazy people are these?’" the director laughs.
The production also used a house in Cape Town for the interior of President Mandela’s home. Mandela’s personal assistant, Zelda la Grange, complimented the work of production designer James J. Murakami and his team, saying, "I know the house so well and they recreated it to perfection. The environment even felt the same.
"And then I heard Morgan Freeman speakI didn’t see who it was at first and I thought, ‘Now how did Mr. Mandela get here?’" she smiles. "I see Madiba almost every day, and that was the closest anyone could ever come to speaking and behaving like him."
The exterior scenes of Mandela’s house were done at his actual residence in Johannesburg. Also in that city, the rugby games, including the climactic World Cup Final, were filmed at Ellis Park Stadium, where the games had really been played.
Much of the stadium has changed since 1995, so Murakami’s department gathered extensive research to take the venue back to the way it looked at the time, including the appropriate signage of the day.
Computer graphics were later employed to complete the effect, as well as to augment the 2,000-plus extras in the stands. Using motion capture techniques, the visual effects team was able to sell out the stadium with 62,000 cheering fans.
Like Murakami, costume designer Deborah Hopper needed to bring back the look of 1995, especially with regard to the Springbok uniforms, since the current team’s outfits are not the same. She explains, "There is a lot of difference in the uniforms.
"In 1995, the shorts were much shorter and the jerseys were cut fuller and boxier. And the fabric they used at that time was cotton; now it’s synthetic. We had to have the fabric specially knitted for us."
Hopper and her team also had to duplicate the uniforms of the other teams, including the logos, many of which have also changed. In fact, the Springbok on the team’s logo now faces in the opposite direction from the logo of ’95
In the film’s final match, the Springbok jersey is also donned by Nelson Mandela, which, Lori McCreary says, "was very significant because that jersey had been an anathema to black South Africans. So Mandela walking out in a Springbok jersey says to everyone, black and white, ‘We’re in this together now. Let’s all work together as one.’"
The number on the back of Mandela’s jersey is a 6, in a show of solidarity with his friend and ally, Captain Francois Pienaar.
The scene in which Mandela and Francois first meet, in the president’s office, was filmed in the offices of the Union Buildings, the seat of government in the capital city of Pretoria. It marked the first time any movie had been filmed there.
However, the location that evoked the most emotion for the entire production team and cast was the prison on Robben Island, including the actual cell where Nelson Mandela was held for almost three decades.
"We were all moved in different ways, mostly to silence," McCreary remembers. "After that trip, we all connected to the story and to Mandela in a way we wouldn’t have been if we hadn’t shot those scenes out there."
Eastwood reflects, "When we went to Robben Island, everybody was struck by how tiny the space was. And to spend 27 years there maybe the best years of your life and then come out and still not be bitter is quite a feat."
The entire Springbok team travels to Robben Island to experience firsthand, if only for a moment, what it was like to be in that terrible place. It is there that Francois is reminded of the poem Nelson Mandela shared with him as a source of inspiration.
Invictus is out in cinemas now.
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