Yes, Nelson Mandela is still alive, despite what President Bush said (I know it was taken out of context). And now the previously announced Mandela biopic is also very much alive, and may even get a multiple Oscar-winner as its director. According to Variety, Clint Eastwood is interested in helming The Human Factor, an adaptation of the same-titled book by John Carlin (with subtitle: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Changed the World). The film won't actually be a full biopic, though; instead, it focuses on the former President of South Africa post-imprisonment, on the eve of apartheid's end. It also deals with the 1995 Rugby World Cup and how it aided in the post-apartheid healing of South Africa. The adaptation has been scripted by South African screenwriter Anthony Peckham (Don't Say a Word).

We've already learned that Mandela will be portrayed by Morgan Freeman (perfect choice), who will also be producing with his company Revelations Entertainment (10 Items or Less). Now possibly joining Freeman on screen is Matt Damon, who is in talks to play the captain of rugby team the Springboks. Although both Freeman and Damon contributed to the 3D IMAX documentary Magnificent Desolation, the two have never acted together. Freeman and Eastwood, though, have collaborated a few times, and it was due to working with the actor-director on Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby that Freeman reportedly requested Eastwood's filmmaking talents for this project. My guess is that Eastwood appreciates the opportunity, as it sounds like something that will garner him yet another Oscar nomination. However, it won't be the director's next film; that has already been announced as The Changeling, with Angelina Jolie.

For those looking for a Mandela movie in the meantime, perhaps someone will finally pick up U.S. distribution rights to Bille August's new film, Goodbye Bafana, which features Dennis Haysbert as the iconic prisoner-turned-leader. Erik caught the pic in Berlin earlier this year and called it, "a perfect movie -- one that gets it all right," and it is very surprising that there's no plans yet to release the film here. Perhaps someone is waiting until they can pit it against The Human Factor, in order to fulfill the new Hollywood law that all biopics must have a dueling competitor.

Morgan Freeman is about to embark on one of the best film roles of his life. Freeman will be portraying his long-time friend Nelson Mandela in The Human Factor. The film is a drama that will be produced by Freeman's production company Revelations Entertainment and was written by South African screenwriter Anthony Peckham -- who also wrote Don't Say A Word starring Brittany Murphy and Michael Douglas.

The Human Factor will follow the life of Mandela from the release of his 27-year imprisonment and after the first democratic election in South Africa following the fall of the apartheid. Mandela is most recognized for his work on South African reconciliation when his most pivotal and widely watched efforts were during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. South Africa was the host of the games when Mandela asked the black South Africans to support the widely-hated team the Springbok. The team won the world cup as Mandela revolutionized and began to unionize South African races by presenting the cup to Francois Pienaar; the captain of the rugby team.

I feel so accustomed to seeing Morgan Freeman in similar roles, best described as the ethereal voice of reason and aptly portrayed in Bruce Almighty and today's release of Evan Almighty, the God-like roles. It will be breathtaking to see Freeman portray one of the most influential and stunning public figures of our time. The film is based off the book The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed the World, written by John Carlin. I, for one, have a great amount of confidence in this particular piece of work. Freeman is one of the greater actors of our time and Nelson Mandela is one of the most influential and renowned purveyors of community and peace throughout the world. A film about a great man and portrayed by a great actor should be, at the very least, good.

Continuing the long string of real-life inspired films that have been rolling into theaters recently, Danish director Bille August is set to direct a movie about Nelson Mandela's relationship with the white prison guard who was his personal warden during Mandela's long incarceration on Robben Island. Entitled Goodbye Bafana, the film is based on a memoir of the same name by the guard, James Gregory (adapted for the screen by Greg Latter). 'Bafana Bafana' is the nickname by which the South African soccer team is known; one assumes the word 'Bafana' is a fond general reference to the country itself, but if someone knows for sure, please let us know in the comments.*

The multinational cast will be anchored by the wonderful Dennis Haysbert as Mandela, with Joseph Fiennes as his guard and German actress Diane Kruger in the role of Gregory's wife. Playing an icon like Mandela is an unimaginably huge responsibility - I can't even fathom the pressure that Haysbert must feel. He is, however, one of the must dignified, underrated screen presences we have right now (not to mention by far the best spokesman an insurance company has ever had); if anyone can do it, he's probably up to the task.

The film has a budget of about $25 million, and is expected to start shooting next month in South Africa.

*Thanks to Serena for clearing things up: "Eh, the name Bafana, in the context of this story, has nothing to do with football or the nation. This is supposed to be James Gregory's story, and when he was a kid he had a zulu friend named Bafana. When Mandela was released, Gregory embraced him and said, "goodbye, Bafana", recalling the friend from his childhood."

[via Dark Horizons]