In a career that spans over 35 years, producer Mace Neufeld says he never completed a film as quickly and easily as Invictus. Based on the book Playing the Enemy by John Carlin, and directed by Clint Eastwood, the Warner Bros. release shows how South African President Nelson Mandela used the 1995 World Cup rugby championships to help counteract the lingering effects of apartheid. Starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, the film is opening in the United States in December in time for Oscar consideration.

Neufeld attributes his success as a producer to perseverance and luck, but the march of Invictus from script to screen is a story of networking as well. Screenwriter Anthony Peckham had worked on another Neufeld project, a remake of the John Frankenheimer thriller Seconds. Neufeld knew Freeman from producing The Sum of All Fears, a 2002 adaptation of a Tom Clancy novel. Freeman saw an opportunity to involve Clint Eastwood, having worked with the actor and director on the Oscar-winning Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. And because Freeman already knew Mandela from researching the political activist and leader's autobiography The Long Walk to Freedom, he was able to fly to South Africa to get the politician's personal blessing for Invictus. Neufeld shares producer credit on the project with Lori McCreary, Freeman's producing partner at  Revelatons Entertainment, and Malpaso Prods. partners Eastwood and Robert Lorenz.

Neufeld knew that Peckham, a native South African, would be tempted to portray Mandela as a saint. "After all, he was a leader who spent 27 years in jail, and then came out talking about forgiving people who had maintained apartheid in South Africa. But Tony thought he could do justice to the story, and in fact his script was an absolute home run. It's now a story that concentrates on Mandela's belief that the only way to bring peace to the country was to reconcile with those who oppressed him."

Matt Damon took on the role of Francois Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks team, in September 2007. His casting upset some rugby fans, as Damon is smaller in stature than Pienaar, but Eastwood assured him that the difference wouldn't be that apparent onscreen. Damon, who had never played rugby before, spent some time with Pienaar, and also trained with a provincial rugby team in Cape Town.

Production took place entirely in South Africa, primarily in Cape Town but with some scenes shot in Johannesburg. As for working with Eastwood, Neufeld exclaims, "If I had Clint directing all of my films, I probably could have done twice as many. He's fast. He knows what he wants. The actors show up totally prepared and they do their stuff in at most three or four takes."

Over the years, Neufeld has worked with numerous directors, from veterans to newcomers. More than Eastwood's speed, Neufeld was impressed by his command of the material. "Working with Clint is unique. He's a very judicious filmmaker. He has it all in his head, he knows what he's looking for, and he trusts his crew," he observes. "And the key members of the crew have worked with him for ten or twelve years in some cases. They know what's expected. You're never waiting for them. Clint would stand next to the camera operator, Steve Campanelli. After a take, he would turn and say, 'How is it, Campy? You happy?' Campy'd say, 'I got it all,' and Clint would tell the others, 'Good, let's move on.' Really, that's how you want it done."



Although he can consult a half-dozen wireless monitors on the set, Eastwood doesn't use video recording. By avoiding video playback, he can save 60 to 90 minutes a day. But that leaves little margin for error, especially since the negative was processed in California. Neufeld for one wasn't worried. "Unless the lab reported something wrong with what was shot, there really wasn't much of a need to look at dailies." He adds, "Everyone was smiling on this production."

A New York native, Neufeld began his career in show business as a photographer and songwriter, moving to Los Angeles in 1962. There he became a talent manager, a job he now says he disliked. He admits that managing helped him understand what performers went through on stage or on a set. "After The Omen, which was my first film, I saw an opportunity to produce. I thought producing and managing was a conflict of interest, although a lot of people do it today. But I took the producing mantle very happily."

Neufeld's career includes outstanding thrillers like No Way Out and the award-winning cable series Gettysburg. He also helped initiate two successful franchises, The Omen and The Hunt for Red October, which introduced Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan character to the big screen. Neufeld is currently working on a fifth Jack Ryan film, with Star Trek's Chris Pine penciled in as the lead. Ryan has also been played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck.

"We tried to get Harrison for The Sum of All Fears," Neufeld recalls, "but the script only made sense with a younger Jack Ryan. And the approach we're taking on the new project will work perfectly with Chris Pine. The key to a good franchise remains the character. Whether it's Bourne or Bond or Jack Ryan, people have to care about the character and want to find out what happens to him."

In committing to a project, Neufeld looks for something he would enjoy seeing himself. "I can't anticipate what an audience is going to want to see two years from now," he admits. "I can only work on what interests me." Perseverance comes into play after Neufeld has taken on a project. "The Hunt for Red October was rejected by every studio, several times by some. I optioned it in 1984, and it wasn't released until 1990. No Way Out took twelve years from the first draft until we eventually made it."

Neufeld is concerned that the movie audience is splintering between mainstream and "special interest" titles. "The marketing people are so heavily involved at the beginning now that it changes the template for filmmaking," he laments. "It used to be that the studio heads were creative people who would develop or greenlight a film and then give it to the marketers. Now the marketers are involved right from the get-go. If the film doesn't meet their parameters, it's not going to get made."

While he praises the Warners marketing department, Neufeld also worries that the window between filming and releasing Invictus might be too tight. "Invictus happens to be the quickest from conception to delivery that I've ever worked on," he says. "I think it has broad appeal—it's a story that families and young people especially should see. I trust Warners, they're very happy with the film, but there isn't a lot of time."

This article was revised on December 1 after receiving new input from representatives of executive producer Morgan Freeman.