7de laan takes up 24 hrs , seven days of my week …
HM : What advice do you have for writers and creators to come up with a project as successful as 7de Laan ? What is the most important factor to consider when you create a new series ? Language , characters , genre , setting ?
DO : Do not try to imitate other successful series . Do not follow established formulae - producers receive dozens of proposals following the same patterns and hackneyed recipes . Try to find a concept that is original but still close to your heart , with characters and settings that you are familiar with , in a genre that you are comfortable in . And then stop dreaming - SIT DOWN AND WRITE !
HM : What is your opinion on the quality of writers in South Africa ? What can WGSA do to make our writers more internationally competitive ?
DO : There is too much drive to be “ internationally competitive ”, resulting in our writers slavishly copying international models and formulae . We should concentrate more on telling local stories in a uniquely SA way .
HM : What is in the future for Danie Odendaal that we can look forward to ? Will you carry on writing ?
DO : The future ? Wish I knew . Writing ? Unfortunately yes - this old head is still buzzing with story ideas …
Danie Odendaal
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat to us , Danie , and here ’ s to another 3000 episodes of 7de Laan .
7de Laan - 3000 episodes old !
The 3000th episode of 7de Laan was finally broadcast on Thursday , 9 May 2013 at 18:30 on SABC2 .
7de Laan was created by Executive Producer Danie Odendaal . He got the idea for this soapie from a few of his favourite coffee shops in the Johannesburg area . That is the reason 7de Laan is centred around Oppiekoffie , a local coffee shop in the suburb of Hillside - very much like Melville in Johannesburg .
7de Laan is the story of a tight-knit community of friends and family who care deeply for each other . But , that also means everyone knows about each other ’ s business . While life in Hillside is centred around the coffee shop there are also a few other businesses ( Felicity ’ s boutique Eclectic E , Herman ’ s sports shop T & T , Vince ’ s Deli , Altus ’ events company Bruynwaves , the local newspaper The Hillside Times and Gita ’ s travel agency ) that are key and of course the group of young people who make the place tick . Also very important to the soapie are the elders of the community , Oubaas , Hilda , Matrone , Charmaine and no-nonsense cleaning lady , Maria .
The much-anticipated episode was recorded on 4 March 2013 , during 7de Laan ’ s 14th year on air . “ It is very exciting for our team to have reached such a great milestone . Many TV shows don ’ t even make it to 1000 episodes ,” said Tsholofelo Modise , 7de Laan ’ s Publicity and PR Manager .
Although there is nothing spectacular happening in the 3000th episode it is still something worth celebrating . “ The producers and writers could not stop the ‘ normal lives ’ of the characters to celebrate 3000 episodes . It wouldn ’ t make sense for the continuation of the storyline ,” Tsholofelo adds . But the cast and crew of 7de Laan celebrated with some cake and champagne on the day they recorded the episode and they will have a crew get together soon .
7de Laan wishes to thank everyone who makes 7de Laan possible . And we would like to give a special thank you to our loyal fans who voted us Best Soapie at the South African Film and Television Awards in March .
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