I GOT LESS THAN $5 FROM MY FIRST MOVIE -NKIRU SYLVANUS

By David Ajiboye

Nkiru Sylvanus could be said to be one of the very few actresses who have climbed the ladder of success through dint of hard work. She emerged on the scene in 2000, in the movie, Cry For Help.  Her above interpretation of her role in that movie has not only left a lasting impression in the heart of producers, it has left her permanently in the consciousness of Nollywood fans. In a recent exclusive interview with African Movie Star, Nkiru opened up on how it all started.

According to the fair-skinned actress, growing up in Aba, Abia State and having to watch actors and actresses on television opened up a new vista to what lays ahead for her in life. And that when it came to choosing a career, acting became the first choice on her mind. This, she said, was because she found out that she stands to make a name for herself quickly through acting than any other profession, and the money involved was also another incentive that made her take to acting.

Hear her: “I need to make a name for myself through acting, and the money I stood to make so I can take care of myself  were all I considered while making up my mind on the career to pursue. And when I did, I found myself picking up movie roles quicker than I expected.”

Nkiru went down memory lane and told us how her strict family background has kept her focused since she emerged on the movie scene with the hit movie. According to her she grew up in a family of seven with a policeman father who installed discipline and brought them up with very strict and proper manners in her and her siblings, which has always kept her on her toes.

“My father was a disciplinarian and the discipline he gave us is what has kept me away from silly controversies that surround most of my colleagues in the industry.”

According to her it was a herculean task convincing her father that she wanted to become an actress. “It was not an easy task but in the end, I had my way. He gave me his blessing but not without the strong warning that I should not forget where I’m coming from.”

Known for her roles as a crying actress in most movies she has featured in, we took her up on why she takes up the roles of one who is too emotional, and she revealed that she does that because film producers and directors have always casted her for such roles because, according to her she does it well.

“Producers like to cast me in roles where I cry a lot; they give me emotional or romantic roles to interprete and since I’m earning my money, I just have to do what they instruct me to do.”

For an actress of her caliber who ranks as one of the prettiest faces needed in most love movies, you wonder what could have been her opening fee in the industry in 2000. Beaming, she said it wasn’t much and that at the same time, it couldn’t have been anything more  than N5,000 but that what mattered was that, she was ans is still happy doing what she has always wanted to do in her life.

“It is a long time now, but I want to believe that it was about N5,000, but I wasn’t doing it for the money then, but for what I believed I wanted to achieve and looking back today, I think I’m happy that things have gone on well for me in Nollywood,” she admitted.

To some artists, taking part in a movie depend on the script and Nkiru is no exception to this rule as she said that as she said that she accepts any good script that has a story to tell and lesson for the public from the movie, when it goes into the market.

To her, ” I will take movie scripts that will impart positive lessons on the society and make me a better actress; I will never accept scripts that do not meet such requirements. I refuse such without thinking twice .”

In one of the movies she has been in titled, New Jerusalem, Nkiru played a rather queer role of a wayward  girl whose mother was a religious woman  in the day and, by night a criminal; a role many have not stopped asking why she took up.

” I had wanted to do something different from the crying girl stuff that a lot of people have associated me with, ut at the end of the day, I was surprised that many of my fans started judging me by that roles. I was disturbed that my fans thought that I am actually the girl I played in that movie, New Jerusalem but away from that, I’m just the girl next door who is down to earth and can do anything to please my friends.”

Nkiru also confessed that it has been only through hard work that she has been able to keep her head above board in the industry, as she is not one of those who cut corners to attain undue popularity in the industry.

According to her, ” I have been able to get where I am today because I believe in hard work and I am not like those who would want to cut corners to achieve success and I owe it all to God for guiding me to where I am today.”

With her beautiful look and fair skin, which usually attracts most men to her it is natural to want to know how she copes with the attention from the opposite sex. Nkiru said it is all about being diplomatic and that is what keeps the men close enough but far away.

” I deal with men in the proper manner without being rude but many would  still not understand why I would not date everyone who comes my way.” she said, while revealing that she is not ready for any serious relationship for now because she’s taking her time to find the right person and would know when the right man comes her way.

Asked if she would consider dating someone in Nollywood, Nkiru said her colleagues in the industry are humans, and if any one of them comes with genuine intention of settling down with her, she might consider the person.

On her most embarrassing moment, he said it was the day when someone came from behind while in a shopping mall in Enugu and lifted her up and spun her in the air to the surprise of onlookers.

The  actress, who grew up in Aba, said there are certain habits one overgrows in life and one of the such is the tendency to exhibit the character traits some people who live in Aba are known for.

“If it were about five years ago, I can answer you straight away that I would spoil for a fight with anyone who crosses my path, but not anymore now,” she said smiling.

As a romantic person that she is at least in movies, Nkiru said she’ll do everything for love except killing herself. Though a fashion freak, Nkiru revealed that she’s not choosy, and that she shops everywhere she goes be it Lagos, Enugu, Italy, London or Paris.

Recalling the first time she traveled abroad for holidays, Nkiru says she was surprised seeing so many of her fans who came out to have some nice time with her, an experience which gladdened her heart seeing people outside Nigeria appreciating her for what she is doing in Nollywood.

On the qualities her dream man must have, she said, “My man must be hard working, industrious and God-fearing and above all, romantic.” This she said, is because she believes in her man being the centre of her world and would want to remain hopeful that the right man would come her way.

I DON’T BELIEVE IN SEX FOR ROLE-UCHE ELENDU

David Ajiboye caught Nollywood actress, Uche Elendu Igweanyiba at a location recently and here’s what she shared. Excerpts:

How’s life and the acting career treating you?

Cool. The acting career is fine as well, although I’ve been on a littlle break since I got married in February. I traveled. I have not been around; I took some time off to be with my husband because he lives outside the country and I also have to take care of myself.

How is married life treating you?

Well so far so good. I am still very young in marriage but so far so good, no bitte rexperiences yet. And I hope it goes on like that.

How did you meet your husband?

Funny enough, my husband was a fan of mine. He just kept calling me and all that. At first I was like ‘uhn…’ you know the usual thing. Sometimes, he will call and I will tell my Personal Assistants to pick the call and tell him that I am busy.

I didn’t know he was so serious. He saw me on screen and just said, this is my wife and so he was bent on seeing me and getting me no matter the situation and I really gave him a tough time, but he was really bent on meeting me at all cost.

One day he actually came to my base in Owerri and that day, I was less busy and bored and I said okay come over to my house, let me see who has been calling me and all that. Then he came and got to talking , I found out that he is my kind of person; very interesting, calm, and all that. From there we just got hooked up because we knew we were meant for each other and here we are today.

Precisely when did you get into the acting profession?

I did my first movie in 2001/2002 but after that movie, I left the industry to face my studies squarely. I wrote my final exams and after then, I came back in 2004.

What is the title of the movie?

Fear of the Unknown.

How did you feel acting for the first time alongside professionals?

I did not really have any stage frieght or camera shyness. The experience was really nice because I was working with a very accomodating people and with the way I got into acting: It was my friend’s father that produced the movie.

My friend asked me to help her deliver a letter to her father, Larry Koldsweat and I went there and I met him with Olu Jacobs and we got to talking and they were like this girl is going to make a good actress.

They gave me a script to read, I read it just like a joke and they said they will give me a role in their movie and incidentally, I was on holidays and I said, well  let me just give it a try and I went and I did it well because I was working with a very accommodating people like Edith Jane Azu, Olu Jacobs and Francis Agu of blessed memory. It was really a very nice experience and that was why I made up my mind to go into acting fully.

What is one good thing that acting has done for you?

If it wasn’t for acting, do  you think I would have found my husband? (laughs) Sometimes I just sit down to think about it, you know. If I was not an actress, would he have found me? But maybe he would have because God says for every woman, there is a man. So that is one good thing acting has done for me.

Another thing it has done for me is that, it has made me realize who I am because with exposure, you get to see a lot of things.  If  I wasn’t an actress,I probably wouldn’t have known that I could handle some certain things because I would not have been exposed to them. It (Acting) has opened a lot of doors for me. Acting is my career and it has done a great deal for me.

What about marriage, what good has it done for you?

Marriage has given me a sense of  responsibility. It has made me fulfilled as a woman.

So, is your husband romantic?

(Laughs) Well, he is. To me he is. He is just my kind of man.

Who is your kind of man?

My kind of man is gentle, understanding, and tolerant because I have a lot of mood swings. He also have to be God-fearing and hardworking and my husband is very hardworking. He doesn’t give up, he always gets what he wants.

Does he watch your movies?

A whole lots, he does.

How does he reacts to your sexy roles, when you are been kissed or smooched on the set?

(Laughs) It is funny because all thew while, I’ve not noticed anything different in his reactions when he is watching my movies. But recently there was this movie I did and I was in some  romantic world  with a colleague of mine, we were just sitting down  watching the movies and we were gisting and laughing and all of a sudden, he was so interested in that part.

I was trying to draw his attention away from the scene but he was so engrossed that all of a sudden he just became quiet and went to his room.

I did not want to talk about it so I did not know if he felt jealous about it that he reacted that way or maybe because there were other people who were probably watching to see his reaction.I really don’t know. My husband is cool with my job. He loves my job and he doesn’t really have problem with it.

Have you been faced with any embarrassing situation for playing a particular role in a movie?

I really don’t get embarrassed by my fans because most of the time, I know what to expect from them so I don’t find it embarrassing although, some other person may find it embarrassing. I can remember one occasion after I did a movie titled, Last Occult, where I’m played a very occultist witch goddess. Then I was talking with a friend, I was actually kidding with her, I was telling her that I will deal with her and behold a woman emerged from nowhere and called her to a private discussion, warning her to be very careful with me, that I am a very dangerous person.

She told her that I am a goddess of an occult that I could actually harm her, that she saw me in a movie that I did and she knows that if I did not have anything to do with occultism, I would not have been able to act that part that well. My friend and I started laughing when she told me, but I did not find it embarrassing because I expect somethings like that from fans.

How many movies do you have to your credits?

Sincerely, I have lost counts but I know that I have more than fifty movies to my credits.

When you started out on your acting career were your parents supportive?

My mom was supportive from the start but my father at the beginning was not very happy about it. When I did my first movie, my mom and Ikept it to ourselves.  We did not tell my father because he was tranferred to Port Harcourt then while we were in Lagos and I begged my mom not to tell him. So I went and shot the movie.

When the movie came out, my dad was at home  one day watching tv and he saw the preview and saw somebody like me and he was like, “Is this my daughter? No, it can’t be”. And because there was no hint; he never suspected anything like that until he saw the big banner in Port Harcourt and he saw my face there.

He called me and asked me if we did any film in our school because he felt I would not leave school for anything. Then I had to tell him the truth, then he spoke to my mom and he was not happy about it. That was why I have to go off the scene after my first film before returning in 2004. After I finished and he saw that I am becoming  successful in what I do, he did not have a choice than to support me and now they are both in support of everything.

What is your view on sexual harassment?

There is sexual harassment in every sector of life. In the banks, corporate world, anywhere you can think of, it is there. It does not only happen in Nollywood. I have never experienced any although I have been hearing of it.

I don’t also see it working because after sleeping with whoever to get the role, and the person is not good enough for the role, nobody will want to throw his or her money away because of some minutes of sexual pleasure.

So whoever is playing a role has to truely merit it. The person has to be able to deliver and sell the movie. Many different people work on a movie; like the director, producer and all that so it will not work because movie making is not a one man thing. I don’t believe in sex for roles; I don’t think it works.

By David Ajiboye

“I made Blood Diamond in Sierra Leone.”

Teco Benson, Nollywood’s film director of repute, is just one of the few Nigerian film directors who have had the opportunity of working outside the shores of Nigeria, a rare opportunity his hard work and experience in churning out first class movies provided. Noted for his knack for action movies, Taco, an avid critic of the failings of Nollywood, maintains that one of the biggest problems in Nollywood is that it parades mediocre in the mold of professionals. He spoke with AfricanMovieStar. com on this and other issues. Excerpts.

On Nollywood, celluloid format and international film standard.

In Nigeria, we make our film on video because the films are only watched in the homes. It doesn’t make sense making a film on celluloid and at the end of the day you still transfer it to DVD.  When the cinema culture died, what was known as the first film industry, which solely fed the cinema sector died too.

The attitude of the typical Nigerian man apparently protecting his family for fear of getting corrupt  or being attacked by armed robbers also contributed immensely in killing the cinema culture. Thus, Nigerians saw the advantage of television and decided to start making movies on video with the coming of VCR. They realized that they can actually shoot these films and sell them on video compact discs and cassettes.

All the cinema houses in Nigeria died and got converted  to churches and some of them to warehouses. You see people are having false impression about Hollywood. My last movie was done in 35mm and that’s the highest. Next to that is HD which is aiming to take over in the next five years. George Lucas shot on HD and  a lot of people are doing HD. Steven Spielberg is contemplating making his film on High Definition.

HD is virtually the future of film in the world. I’ve made a future film on celluloid and I am planning another one on 35mm which is the film I said I was making for the international market.

Any plan to relocate to Hollywood?

I am not desperate about going to Hollywood to shoot. Though I would have enjoyed working in their well  equipped studios because it will in no small way enhance the input in the kind of movies I am noted for, that is action films. Everything I would need to come up with a blockbuster action movie are on ground there. Here we struggle because of the technology gap. We use the little we have to achieve what we have been able to achieve.

In the movie King Kong, the machine that was installed inside the animal had a remote control which controls the mouth and all parts of the body. If they wants him to open his mouth, they use remote control. I tell you the truth, I believe in this country, I don’t believe I have to run away or travel out of this country for my film to make meaning. Can you see the machines that we use here, we can’t even create ordinary razor blade. That’s the only thing I enjoy when I get there. I can stay here and make a movie if I get the support. I can get all the experts that will help me achieve the technical support.

My own vision is not to go to America to make movies because they are jealous, they are so protective of their industry, that is why it was difficult in the past for any film from other countries to win the Oscars Award.

By David Ajiboye

“I intend to be in Nollywood for a long time,” says actress Tonto Dike.

“I’m so sorry for the delay and recourse I have made you go through, sir,”  Tonto Dike, the fast rising Nigerian actress, who was one of the first housemates of the Next Movie Star, pleaded as she settled down in her Murano SUV and pleads with the director of the film on which location she was to have this chat with African Movie Star.

That the screen siren has done pretty well for herself in the movie industry is more like understatement as she has also been able to get some of the best of things in life for herself – a car and a good apartment.

Quite enthusiastic and passionate about what she does, Tonto seems ready to stay the course in Nollywood.

“My only reason for being in Nollywood is my increasing passion for acting that comes with every passing day. I wake up every morning yearning to do more in the industry. My interest developed many years back and it has been increasing daily.”

“To be serious with you, I intend to be in Nollywood for a long time,” she said.

The Port Harcourt-born vixen took the movie industry by storm just three years after her participation in a TV reality show, Next Movie Star. As a contestant in the reality show, she impressed quite a number of people with her skills and after emerging as the first runner-up, she took her chances in the industry and today she’s one of the most sought after.

” I think it was just God’s timing. God has everybody in mind and he has a particular time He wants you to hit it big. God and my talent have been responsible for the rise in my career within a short time. These things have been working for me like magic and it has been my strength. It has nothing to do with my beauty; in fact, beauty is the last thing that helped me in Nollywood because I believe if  I had no talent, after one or two movies, I would have been kicked out. The beauty is just a complement,”  Tonto said candidly.

The petrochemical engineering graduate of the River State University of Technology was quick to speak up when the issue of the opposite sex was brought up.

In her words: “I don’t think I’ve had any contact or brush with obsessed male fans or admirers, in fact,  all I know I have fans who love and appreciate me just the way I love and appreciate them.”

On marriage, she said:  “I won’t get married because I want to please anybody, I would only do it when I feel and know that the time is right. I would be waiting for God’s time to tie that knot when it comes but for now, I’m not rushing into anything that I might later regret. I only pray that my parents are alive to witness it all when it eventually comes.”

So, is she saying there isn’t any man in her life at the moment even with her wealth, fame and beauty?

“See, there are many boyfriend materials, but what about the husband materials? It’s just the same way with guys. I don’t want something I would do and in the next few months, it’s over or I’m out, so I want to be very careful before going into it, so that I can do it well.”

“At present, I’m not even thinking about any man because I don’t even have any! All I’m concerned about at the moment is my career and that for now is my priority!”

Why would she study petrochemical  engineering despite her love for the arts?

“I’ve always loved the oil sector and petrochemical engineering came as the only course I could read despite my love for acting. It remained with me all through my years in school because my father wanted a job that could pay my bills, something that is serious.”

“But I know that acting is far more serious than people take it to be and, in my third year I decided to start off the burning desire and here I am today.”

What would the light-skinned actress be doing when she eventually retires, pick up a white- collar job?

“There is no possibility of me working as a petrochemical engineer, but maybe doing contract or something. I doubt I want to leave Nollywood anytime soon.”

With the number of movies that she has taken part in since in 2006, Tonto must no doubt be smiling all the way to the bank.

“We thank God. I’m not doing bad and I give God the glory,”  was her tarse reply.