Tycoon Series producer and director, Makalo Khutlisi
Mohalenyane Phakela
THE filming of the third edition of the Tycoon Series is set to begin with auditions slated for St Boniface Hall in Maputsoe on Sunday.
Tycoon Series ventures into the murky world of the infamous Maputsoe gang, Tycoons, and tells the tale of a reformed gang leader who decides to mend his ways after unleashing a reign of terror on the surrounding community.
The first and second editions were released last year in January and October respectively.
The initial plan was to produce a five-part series but director and producer, Makalo Khutlisi told the Weekender that the upcoming two and half hour edition would be the last.
“Production is slow due to the high costs we incur as we have to hire extra cameras and the owners of the venues we use for shooting require payment because they believe we make a lot,” Khutlisi said this week.
“Our plan was to shoot five editions of 90 minutes each but we have decided to make this into five parts with each episode running for 30 minutes.
“This is due to the high costs which cause us to delay shooting and thus miss the opportunity to capture incidents while they are still fresh such as the issue of young girls being kidnapped.”
He said the series told the story of crime in Maputsoe and neighbouring communities mostly focusing on the notorious Tycoon gangs in order to show that as much as the Tycoons seemed to be living lavish lifestyles, there were bitter repercussions.
“One would think that the Tycoons are against the idea of us exposing their lives but then they are very supportive as we get the information to build the storyline on from them.
“We wanted to feature them as part of the cast but then we cannot afford the payments they demand so they just give us the information but tell us which to use and which is too sensitive for the public.”
Khutlisi also revealed that the upcoming editions would focus on life in prison and the disputes the Tycoons had as a result of lack of trust for each other.
“Part one introduces the Tycoons and the crimes they engaged in with the lead actor, Tycoon, wrongfully arrested for the murder of his uncle who was a gang leader.
In part two he is released from jail and then groomed to succeed his late uncle as he continues to lead the gang in various crimes.
“In the upcoming edition some of his gang members are arrested and viewers will see how new inmates are treated in prison as a way of showing that prison is not a place one should dream of. Meanwhile, Tycoon and other members are still outside and continuing with crime in order to raise bail.
“However, they blame each other for snitching on those arrested and that causes cracks within the gang as trust does not exist anymore.”
Khutlisi said they were looking to 20 new cast members from the Sunday auditions, with shooting slated for October.
He said their next project, Thabelo would spotlight the challenges faced by disabled people.
