Nollywood takes a leap!

I saw Through the Glass. I liked it but what I liked more was Stephanie's Okereke's tenacity. I doff my heart for her. She has really done well. Survived a near death accident, went to New York film School, made a film and saw it through cinemas. It grossed 10 million, the highest any Nigerian film had ever done. And then came the Figurine, that just left me feeling good for a long long time. Well done Afolayan and the entire team of Figurine. Good job. Not just the movie but the entire package, He thought out of the box, took a big risk but it paid off. He has taken Nollywood to a whole new level. The movie is still in cinemas and is expected to gross even more than Stephanie's film.

The next big one is Guilty Pleasures. It's already out in America but will be hitting the cinemas in Nigeria from the 29th of November. It is a must watch. Not just because it's from Emem Isong and Desmond Elliot, both of whom are my family(lol, yes, I know I am name dropping) but because it's really great. It thrills you from start to finish. If you don't watch it for anything else, you must watch it for Ramsey's Stellar performance. He deserves an oscar for that one, he was at his best.

DISTRICT 9 AND THE NIGERIA FILM AND VIDEO CENSORS BOARD

Just a quick question,how did the movie get past the bulging eyes of the Nigeria film and video censors board? They censor Nigerian movies before they are released into the market and foreign films before they are shown at cinemas so how did District 9 get past them to be shown at Silverbird cinemas?
The things D9 said, we dare not try a quarter of it in Nollywood, Censors board would ask you to yank it immediately so why did they approve D9 for the general public. Is this a case of double standards? Wouldn't it have been simpler to simply dissaprove the movie from day one than to now run round banning it?

A one time winning short story of the commonwealt short story writing competition was titled: Bill Gates goes to Hell. The States or Gates family decried the title, and the award had to be withdrawn so everywhere people do not take kindly to their names being used negatively.

I think it was highly irresponsible of the movie makers particularly at a time when emotions are still raw from the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa. What exactly was neil Blokamp hoping to achieve by this? To start a war? I know that as writers, we want to make a statement but they are subtle ways of saying things. The use of the name Obasanjo was a very cheap jab. But I guess Neil has gotten his cheap popularity.

OPRAH MAKES UWEM AKPAN ONE OF THEM

Say you're one of them, a book I am still searching for, has just been chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club.

This is great news, particularly as the sales of the book will sky rocket. Nigeria will also instantly claim him.

" He is our son" our leaders will be quick to say, in the same way that they cling to Obama, forgetting that he received little or no recognition from here.

Even after Akpan won the commonwealth writers prize earlier this year, very little if any coverage was given to him.

It is the first collection of short stories Oprah has ever chosen and she says each of the stories left her gasping.

Congratulations to Father Uwem Akpan for a well deserved recognition and Congratulations to Oprah as well for choosing this great Nigerian talent.

WORLD BANK SUPPORTS NOLLYWOOD

Succour seems to have arrived for the ailing industry-Nollywood. According to a report in Punch newspapers, World Bank will be disbursing $20m to Nollywood and the Music industry in Nigeria.

For Nollywood, the money will be contributed towards funding movies, training for existing and newcomers in the industry and also for distribution.

Distribution has been the major setback in the industry. Nigerians are ready to buy these films but apart from a few outlets, they are hardly available for purchase giving pirates a chance to reign supreme. Africa magic, a cable station dedicated to African films also benefits hugely from the lack of a proper distribution network in the industry as thousands of viewers subscribe to the station.

The Nigeria video and film censors board early in the year came up with some plans for distribution but these plans are yet to be realised. It is our hope that World bank will keep its word despite the many challenges they are bound to face.

Ramsey Nouah

It's not what you think.

Absolutely amiable are the first words that come to you when you first meet him. He has no airs. None.

Ramsey Nouah is one of the A-list Nigerian actors. His good looks and suaveness make him a favourite among the women. The screen has the ability to make humans look larger than life, but on set, Ramsey is like the rest of us, eating ordinary food and doing ordinary things. He is also very corporative, doesn’t spend hours arguing with the director or complaining about some irrelevant details as most of the stars are wont to do. Mr. Nouah just gets on with his job.He has a good word for everyone often accompanied with a smile. Ramsey can’t resist music, whenever he hears a tune, he swings to it often causing laughter among the other cast and crew.

Mr. Nouah is so real you completely forget he is a star until the director screams ‘action’ and he transforms into a completely different person depending on the character he is playing.
Ramsey Nouah was born in 1973 and has been in Nollywood for ten years. King of Money (1993) was his first movie. Ramsey has worked hard at his craft and the difference between his first movie and his recent ones are very obvious. He is happily married with kids.

Nouah does not like the press and avoids them as much as he can. However, Shllye Shonoike of WOW magazine succeeded in squeezing a long interview from him. The magazine is on news stands and has a sensational looking Nouah on the cover.

Pete Edochie Kidnapped?

Pete Edochie, popularly known as Okonkwo from his great performance in 'Things fall apart' has been reportedly kidnapped in Onitsha. As at press time, no demand for ransome had been made. Recently, there have been several reports of kidnappings in the Eastern part of the country. Now that a popularl person has been kidnapped, one hopes that the coverage it is already generating will force the government to beef up security in the nation.

Nollyarts sympathises with Edochie's family and prays that he will soon be returned to them unhurt.

A more detailed report on Edochie's kidnapped can be found here.

Say you are a child witch.

This piece can be found on nigerianstalk here.