The multitalented John Legend will play the multitalented Harry Belafonte in an upcoming film dramatizing Paul Simon’s Graceland tour of South Africa during Apartheid with Hugh Masekela and Miriam “Mama Africa” Makeba. Filmmaker Bill Condon will direct the picture, titled The Road Home, according to Variety. Shooting is underway.
“I was honored to know Mr. Belafonte as my friend, mentor, and collaborator in the struggle for justice,” Legend said in a statement. “He was an incredible human being who lived a monumental, revolutionary life. He was the epitome of an artist and activist who set a standard for me and so many others who stand on his shoulders. I count it a privilege to be entrusted with the role of Harry Belafonte in this special film.”
Belafonte advised Simon during the making of 1986’s Graceland, given the expected controversy of working with South African musicians during Apartheid and many artists’ related cultural boycott of the country. Simon had recently participated in the “We Are the World” charity single, and Belafonte and producer Quincy Jones encouraged him to go there with the approval of the African National Congress. Makeba and trumpeter Masekela accompanied Simon on the Graceland tour despite the controversy.
