11/17/2009

in

The former American Idol contestant and Oscar-winner set to play Nelson Mandela's former wife.

Justin Key

After winning an oscar for her first movie role in *Dreamgirls*, Jennifer Hudson has been cast to play as the former wife of Nelson Mandela in the new drama, *Winnie*.  
  
A parallel to *Invictus,* the upcoming film by Clint Eastwood about South Africa's first black president, *Winnie* will be directed by Darrell J. Roodt and is more focused on the wife's relatively complicated life. Roodt, who directed the 2006 Best Foreign Film nominee *Yesterday*, wants to tell all of her story, from the good to the bad. Winnie Mandela has been known for her deep support for her husband, even facing jail herself in fighting for both Nelson's release and against apartheid. Contrasting with her established character, she was later associated with a bodyguard who murdered a 14-year-old informer and convicted of fraud.  
  
Filming is set to being May 30 in South Africa. Specific locations are Johannesburg, Capt Town, and the Transkei and Robben Island. The script is based on *Winnie Mandela: A Life* by Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob.  
  
From Variety.com:  
  
"I was compelled and moved when I read the script," Hudson, who will also sing the film's theme song, said. "Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I'm honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told."