Though he was one of The Kings of Comedy and an mixture of Redd Foxx and Bill Cosby, Bernie Mac proved that he had the heart of an lion in his final role before the comedian-actor’s death last Saturday.
Escape 2 Africa is the sequel to the animated hit movie, Madagascar, in which the Mac provided his voice as Zuba, the father of city lion Alex (Ben Stiller).
DreamWorks Animation SKG head Jeffrey Katzenberg spoke to the Associated Press on Wednesday after reporters saw exclusive footage of the film.
“It’s just so hard”, he stated, “Because we’re still living with it every day, we’re working his creative contribution. As we stand here today, there are animators who are animating.”
[AP]
Bernie died a week ago from complications due to pneumonia in his hometown Chicago; he was 50 years old. Besides Escape 2 Africa, his other final film was the upcoming Soul Men with Samuel L. Jackson and Issac Hayes, who also passed away last weekend due to a stroke.
Katzenberg also stated animation would go on for another month and more production would take another two months. He went to say that Bernie “brought so much heart and soul” into his role.
“It’s been a real loss for us” he continued. “We were so proud of the work that he has done and the contribution that he’s made. And one of the things is that he’s never actually going to ever see what an amazing gift he gave to us.” [AP]
