we have strong storylines , colourful characters and lots of humour contributes much more to our success .
HM : We have heard rumours that you may be spending more of your time in France . Is Danie Odendaal retiring and , if so , what will happen to 7de Laan ?
DO : I wish ! No retirement in sight yet , although I sometimes yearn to have week-ends or holidays like “ normal ” people have . I work on new storylines during our Christmas and Easter breaks and I flee overseas when I go on holiday , because it is impossible to escape from the show in South Africa - people invariably find out about my Sewendelaan connection and pepper me with suggestions , questions , complaints , threats , etc .!
HM : How did you actually start in the industry , and how was Danie Odendaal Productions “ born ”, if I may call it that ?
DO : I registered a sole proprietorship , Danie Odendaal Productions , after I left the SABC , produced and directed one or two children ’ s series ( Fransina Vark , Rompelstompelstories ), and was in the fortunate position to be around when a multi-cam drama series was cancelled at the last minute and the SABC desperately needed something in its place . I wrote my first drama series , Dennekruin 12 , at breakneck speed , and produced and directed it before the final episodes had even been written ! It was tough going , but I survived .
HM : There are so many young people starting out in this industry every year with stars in their eyes and big hopes and dreams , little realising how difficult it is to survive . You are one of the few local drama producers who have actually “ made it ” on their own , who have built a strong production house with ongoing programming without the support of either a financier or an international group to fall back on . What did you do ? How did you make this happen ? And is there any advice you can give to people starting out ?
DO : I have always shied away from teaming up with a large production company or getting financiers involved , because I hate the thought of losing final control over my product .
I am often approached by young people ( writers , directors ) with ideas for a feature or a series , and they want to know what they should do to sell it to Hollywood . My advice is : learn your craft first , don ’ t try to fly before you can crawl , write something with a low budget for the local market and if it gets produced , learn from your mistakes . If you fail to interest someone to produce it , don ’ t lose heart , keep trying . I have dozens of scripts on my shelf , and although they will probably never be produced , they were still valuable training experience . Too may young people talk and dream , instead of buckling down and getting something on paper .
HM : Coming back to 7de Laan , can viewers ever look forward to a motion picture spin-off from the series , like we ’ ve had with Egoli ?
DO : I very much doubt it . I do not have the time or energy .
22 | WGSA MAG July 2013