BY DAVID AJIBOYE

Sex is gradually becoming the bane of Ghana’s growing movie industry as it has become an impediment between young professional actresses and their career.   According to sources in the movie industry, sex has become one of major problems affecting the smooth progress of the industry as every year, more and more young actresses have to go through the sex ordeal before they can get a role to play.

Those actresses who wouldn’t engage in such an act have to abandon their acting dreams for different careers, hence the domination of the  industry by a few faces.

Some movie producers and directors, our sources disclosed, “have been exporting their bedroom amorous tricks with their wives onto the movie field by demanding sex from these potential young actresses before giving them roles to play. They always tell the girls that big stars in various movie industries around the world also had sex with their bosses before they were able to climb to where they are now.”

L-R: Jackie Appiah, Nadia Buari

The worst of it all is that, after having sex with some of the girls, the producers and directors at times renege on their promises, giving several excuses for their inability to fulfill those promises. While professionally trained actresses are often thrown out because they would not give in to the demands of their ‘bosses’, their colleagues who have not had any form of professional training are quick to surrender because they want to be seen on TV at all cost.

When contacted, Mr. Nii Odoi Mensah, President of the Ghana Actors’ Guild, confirmed the story. He said the issue had come to the Guild’s notice but it was difficult to track down the perpetrators especially as the ladies involved would not like to come out publicly to talk about it.

“In every organization, we have such few bad nuts who would engage in all kinds of activities. It is not nice and I must emphasize that, those involved should stop. A young, beautiful girl once complained to me that a producer wanted to have her in bed before he gives her a role to play but she refused and that was the end for her.”

Mr. Odoi Mensah continued that the problem was one of the contributory factors to the dominance of many school dropouts in the movie industry. “If you look at our industry now, it is full of many school dropouts because of these anomalies. When you look at Nigeria’s industry, it is full of professionals and university graduates,” he said. He therefore called on producers and directors to help bring sanity into the industry, stressing that it is not right to have sex with a lady before giving her a role in a movie, or make young actresses and actors pay for audition and location fees.

By David Ajiboye.

African Movie Star seizes upon a timely occasion to make their debut in the Nigerian social and entertainment arena by hosting a bash to recognize, thank and honor Toyin Adegbola (a.k.a Asewo to re mecca ) for her 25 years of active life in the entertainment industry.

Among the dignitaries, to mention few were, Oba Adeyemi Alaaafin’s wife, Wasieu Alabi, Pasuma Wonder, Taiyi Currency, Honorable Diran Odeyemi, Olori Adebayo Faleti, Barrister Sarafadeen Ali, Tunbosun Odunsi and Honorable Tunde Jinadu. Veteran Broadcaster Yemi Farounbi, presented the African Movie Star award to the stage legend.

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By DAVID AJIBOYE

Nigeria’s popular actress Rita Dominic will pay a visit to Malawi with an aim of promoting DStv’s Africa Magic and Africa Magic Plus channels which beam African movies mainly from Nigeria.

Her trip is sponsored by Multichoice Malawi Limited in conjunction with Sunbird Hotels, Nation Publications Limited and she is expected to arrive in the country next week.

The 34 year old actress is expected to arrive in the country on Tuesday and will attend cocktails in Lilongwe and Blantyre. During the cocktails the Nollywood superstar will sign autographs, pose for pictures and present prizes.

Dominic, who is single, is featured in over 30 movies such as Stolen Heart, Street Life, To Love a Thief, Fate of a Liar, Paint of Love, Love Paradise and Lean on Me among others.

Despite being single, Rita says she has a taste for  “what I find attractive in a guy – cool, polished, intelligent and 100% dress sense.”

She first appeared in a movie in 1999 and has risen in fame together with other actresses and actors like Oge Okoye, Ini Edo, Omotola Jalade Ekainde, Jim Ike, Monalisa Chinda, Emeka Ike, Desmond Elliot, and Genevieve Nnaji among others.

She was quoted in the local media that she was looking forward to seeing Malawians.

“I am told that Malawians are warm-hearted people and I can’t wait to see them.” Dominic said

The superstar is expected to leave the country any day after the 15th May 2009. This is the first time for a Nigerian movie star to officially come to Malawi.

The Nollywood drama queen has come a long way in the industry right from her days on TV programs such as Children’s Variety (on the NTA), Junior Opinion.

From the time Rita Dominic was about three years old attending YMWCA nursery school Aba to Constitution Crescent Primary school in Abia State, Nigeria, it was obvious she was destined for fame and craved attention at the time, mostly because of her unique singing and dancing talent.

Rita, who’s hobbies include acting, singing, watching movies, reading and traveling, graduated from the University of Port-harcourt with a BA (1-honours) Degree in Theatre Arts in 1999.

She hails from the Abiah Mbaise local government area in lmo State and belongs to the Royal Waturuocha family. Blessed with stunning looks, Rita enjoys spending time with her friends and family when she is not on a movie set.

Nigeria’s Nollywood surpasses Hollywood as world’s second largest film producer-UNESCO

By David Ajiboye.

The Nigeria film industry otherwise known as Nollywood has overtaken Hollywood and closed the gap on India, the global leader in the number of movies produced each year, according to a new United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report released today.

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics  (UIS) survey, Bollywood, as the Mumbai based film industry is known, produced 1,091 feature-length films in 2006. In comparison, Nigeria’s moviemakers, commonly known as Nollywood, came out with 872 productions, all in video format, while the United States produced 485 major films.

“Film  and video productions are shining examples of how cultural industries, as vehicles of identity, values and meanings, can open the door to dialogue and understanding between peoples, but also to economic growth and developement,” said UNECO Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura.

“This new data on film and video production provides yet more proof of the need to rethink the place of culture on the international political agenda,” he added.

The three cinema heavyweights were followed by eight countries that produced more than 100 films: Japan  (417), China (330), France (203), Germany (174), Spain (150), Italy (116), South Korea (110), and the United Kingdom (104).

Key to Nigeria’s explosive success is Nigerian  Filmmakers’ reliance on video instead of film, reducing production costs, and, as the survey points out, the West African country has virtually no formal cinemas, with about 99 percent of screenings in informal settings such as home theatres.

The survey also revealed that about 56 per cent of Nollywood films are made in local languages, while  english remains a prominent language accounting for 44 per cent, which may contribute to Nigeria’s success in  exporting its films .

According to the study, US movies continue to dominate cinema admissions around the world, and all of the top ten films seen in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Namibia, Romania and Slovinia were US made.