INTERVIEW: Finding forgiveness in the story of Tutu
Photo: Forest Whitaker stars as Archbishop Desmond Tutu in The Forgiven, a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films / Provided by KWPR with permission.
For Michael Ashton, forgiveness and redemption are important themes in his work and in his life — so important that he crafted a play about one of the world preeminent experts on th subject: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an anti-apartheid leader in South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner. That play, The Archbishop and the Antichrist, has now been adapted into a movie called The Forgiven.
The drama, starring Forest Whitaker as Tutu and Eric Bana, arrives in theaters Friday, March 9. Ashton co-wrote the screenplay with the film’s director, Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields).
“I went to prison,” Ashton said in a recent phone interview. “I was a drug addict and an alcoholic, and when I went to prison, of course, you’re supposed to sober up. And I was wracked with guilt, completely wracked with guilt. I literally couldn’t cope, and I decided to fill my days. So I took a master’s degree in research methodology, and I researched South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And I had one afternoon free a week, and prison offered a playwrighting course.”
Ashton enrolled in the course, which required a final project. His classmates were writing about cocaine and guns, he said, but he wanted to tap into the theme of forgiveness and his research into Tutu, who headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“I realized that Archbishop Desmond Tutu had largely been ignored by the media,” he said. “The real hero, I thought, was Desmond Tutu, so I wanted to write something about him. And I didn’t want to write a life story, so I wanted something about redemption and forgiveness. So I created Piet Blomfeld as his protagonist, and the play won Amnesty International’s Protect the Human Award.”
Joffé saw a production of the play at the Royal Festival Hall in London, and the two decided to meet. Eventually they settled on a movie adaptation.
“Obviously, with a film, it’s a collaborative effort, and people sort of then become attached as you go along,” said the native of Dundee, Scotland. “So basically all I had to do was accept advice and guidance from Roland on what to keep in the screenplay, what was cinematic and what to ditch because it was more theatrical — hence, The Forgiven.”
Although Ashton didn’t visit the set in South Africa, he was involved with receiving updates. He also did not attend the recent premiere of the movie. “As it happens, I’m lying in bed right now for this interview because I broke my leg, so I couldn’t get over for the premiere yesterday,” he said. “It’ll heal. As a soldier, I was blown up twice and shot, so I’m used to injuries.”
Whether audience members are experiencing his words on a stage or on in a movie theater, Ashton seems happy that they are learning about Tutu and the influence of the archbishop.
“What inspires me about Desmond Tutu is his ability to forgive,” Ashton said. “When I first went into prison, I had driven every single person who cared about me away from me through alcohol and drugs, and at first, when I went into prison, I had no phone calls, no letters, no visits. I resented them.”
Learning about Tutu changed his life perspective, changed the way he viewed the world and its people.
“He is a remarkable human being,” the writer said. “When I met him, I was just bowled over. You can actually feel this man’s aura of goodness and compassion.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Forgiven, written by Roland Joffé and Michael Ashton, opens Friday, March 9 in movie theaters.
