How the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" was filmed: 15 interesting facts about the film (11 photos)

The comedy "The Gods Must Be Crazy", about an indigenous African named Ki, who went in search of the edge of the world to take a divine gift (a bottle of cola) to the gods, made a pleasant impression on many viewers.





1. South African director Jamie Weiss conceived his film in the late 60s, when he first met the Bushmen in Africa. For those who are not in the know, Bushmen is a generalized name for some indigenous peoples of Africa who are engaged in hunting and gathering.



Jamie Weiss

But Weiss only sat down to write the script in 1976. Many even noted that it took a much longer time to create this film, but there is a logical explanation for all this. The fact is that Jamie Weiss liked to control the entire process. In all his films, he was not only the director, but also the scriptwriter, producer, and sometimes he himself took part as an actor.

2. For the main role, the director decided to take not a professional actor, but a real bushman. He traveled with an interpreter to different parts of Africa, photographing the faces he liked. After that, he noted the latitude and longitude of these locations to return there later.





In one of these locations, he found a suitable bushman named Nkahau. The director (with the help of a translator) offered the bushman to work with him. However, the aborigine did not understand anything, since he did not understand what work was at all. Then the director offered him to just go with him for a few days. And the bushman happily agreed.

3. Nkahau did not perceive filming as work. He assumed it was just a game, so he happily played along with the rest of the crew.



The bushman considered filmmakers to be magicians, and sincerely admired everything they did. The only thing he flatly refused to do was lie down in a hotel room bed.

4. The filming lasted 15 weeks, which was very difficult for the bushman, because not only did he miss his family, but he was also in real shock from everything he saw. Therefore, every 3 weeks Nkahu went home on a short vacation to see his family and take a break from the modern world.

5. The director was pleased with Nkahau's work, but he was very sorry that due to the fact that, essentially, it was his fault that the Bushman became addicted to smoking and drinking alcohol.



6. For the first 1.5 weeks of filming, Nkahau received a fee of 300 dollars. But giving cash to the Bushman was a big mistake, because he simply put the money on the ground, after which the wind blew it away. The next time, the Bushman was given a fee in the form of 12 heads of cattle. Such a gift made Nkahau very happy, because he was not used to the fact that the cattle did not run away during the hunt for him.



And later, the director opened a trust account in Nkahu's name for $20,000. The bushman also received $100 a week, and by that time he had already learned how to use money. He even went to a store that was 60 kilometers from his home to spend the money he earned.

7. For the role of the shy microbiologist Andy Stein, the director chose actor Marius Weyers. According to Jamie Weys, he wrote this character off of himself. As he himself said, in his youth he was just as awkward, especially with women.



8. The director invited actress Sandra Prinsloo to play Kate. But because she had a pronounced African accent, another actress re-dubbed her especially for the American release.



9. The film crew consisted of only 6 people, and Jamie Weisz himself sincerely did not understand why other directors involve dozens or even hundreds of crew members in their films.

10. The working title of the film was "The Bushmen", but later the director decided to abandon this title, changing it to "The Gods Must Be Crazy".

11. Director Jamie Wace did not hide the fact that in his films he sometimes uses plot lines from his previously shot films. For example, the romantic line between Andrew and Kate was essentially borrowed from another Wace film - "Far in the Bushveld" (1951).



12. The film was an incredible success for South Africa. No other South African film had ever seen such success, as they managed to collect as much as $5 million in domestic distribution. The film eventually collected $90 million worldwide.



13. Director Jamie Weiss played a small role in the film as a priest. However, his name was not indicated in the credits.

14. During the filming of the film, director Jamie Weiss suffered a heart attack due to the rather difficult multi-week shoot. And while Weiss was recovering in the hospital, another director replaced him for a while.

15. Despite its success and recognition, the film was harshly criticized by various organizations. The film was even accused of racism. Critics did not like the title, because in fact the gods here were white people. Also, many accused the director of making a film in the pseudo-documentary genre.