The stories they adapt are
unbelievable! It’s like they think we, the audience, are a bunch of
illiterates- even illiterates will not sit down and take in the crappy
storylines we are always fed with each time a new Nollywood movie comes out. I
wonder when we will get to the level of producing edgy movies and story lines
that are so fresh ‘out of the box’. We no doubt have very good screenplay and
our actors have managed to strike the chord and broken legs with their mastery of
the performing arts concept, but sadly, that is not enough to bring the ‘cup’
home deservingly.
It is so sad that Ramsey Nouah has been
stereotyped as a lover boy in every Nigerian movie and Patience Ozokwor is a
labeled impious mother in law or seditious wife. When will we get to the level
where Patience Ozokwor will act as ‘Mamma Mia’ like Meryl Streep did or where
veterans like Olu Jacobs, Justus Esiri and Pete Edochie will do their own
‘Bucket List’ like Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson? These are realistic
storylines. When will we get to produce pragmatic college (university) movies
where real youngsters are used not Rita Dominic or Chioma Chukwuka acting like ‘fresh
out of secondary school’ girls? It upsets me more to see that Nigerian producers
cannot even take a cue from our endless reality shows on dance and other stuff
and make movies out of them.
We have wonderfully talented dancers in
the Nigerian youth, yet the best one director came up with was Ramsey Nouah and
Rita Dominic…two people with, perhaps no history of dance whatsoever! The movie
was dense! I could go on and on about this thing, but then again, will they
listen? Won’t they go ahead and lift the storyline of a Bollywood movie and do
a sorry remake of it? We have access to the best media technology as it
advances, yet some directors would rather record on VHS (the oldest form of
video recording alive-cassette)…I want to be an actress…I want so badly to be
one! But most times I cringe when I see how stars interpret their roles…it
almost looks as if they don’t have a clue what the character is about. That
gives me such a headache!
People have jeered at me to stop
criticizing Nollywood and feature in my own movie so they can see how I’d fare,
but that on its own is a different ball game entirely. I don’t want to act as
someone’s younger sister or daughter of a single parent or all that crap.
Puhlease! I am young and edgy and upbeat and I love ‘Twilight’. I guess I just
told you the kind of scripts I am looking out for; I love ‘A walk to Remember’,
movies that will pull families to the cinemas with hankies and tissues and so
much love to go around. I was so moved by the fact that Goodluck Jonathan gave
a huge sum into the movie industry and honestly as much as I want the wad to,
at least pass through my purse, I pray a loud prayer that God should open doors
for me and speak to the imagination of these directors and producers and cause
them to find favor in the sight of sponsors and ultimately make Nollywood
serious competition for Hollywood and then hopefully, MS word will correct
nollywood to Nollywood and we’ll all live happily ever after. To God be the
Glory…The end...or is it the other way round?