Ghana Slams $1,000 Fee On Nigerian Actors. | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Saturday 3 July 2010

Ghana Slams $1,000 Fee On Nigerian Actors.

























 There are indications that the cordial relationship between the Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood and its counterpart, Ghana’s Ghollywood, has hit the rocks as authorities of the Ghanaian movie industry have said that Nigerian actors will no longer be allowed to work in their country unless they pay a fee. In a statement sent to the Actors Guild of Nigeria [AGN] Board of Trustees, said henceforth, any Nigerian actor participating in any of their productions will be compelled to pay $1, 000 (One Thousand dollars) or risk losing the job.

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This development, according to the Ghanaians, is to give ample opportunities to their local actors, and as a result, develop their movie industry to an enviable height. They are of the opinion that their Nigerian counterparts seem to be dictating the pace in the Ghanaian movie scene, and they want to address the issue before it gets out of hand.


Confirming this information to P.M NEWS on phone yesterday morning, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria, Prince Ifeanyi Dike, said he and his executives are already addressing the issue. He said that he was shocked when he received the information “because I never believed such decision could come from the Ghanaians. Nollywood has done a lot to improve their movie industry and what they have done now is a clear indication that they are ingrates. How could the Ghanaians insist that Nigerian actors must be paying $1, 000 before participating in their productions?


“A lot of our popular artistes have been calling me on this issue and I have assured them that we are going to make the necessary moves. It was Nollywood that made Ghanaian actors like Van Vicker, so it is absurd for them to be creating hurdles for our own actors now.”


Prince Dike, however, stated that part of the resolutions made by his board is that if at all, any Ghanaian actor must act in Nigeria, such actor will also be compelled to pay $2,000 (two thousand dollars). Meanwhile, as the number of foreign actors plying their trade in Nigeria’s Nollywood continues to increase, the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, has called on the Nigerian Film and Video Marketers to curb the excesses of these foreign actors.


The authorities of AGN reiterated that movie marketers, producers, directors and other stakeholders should avoid giving prominence to foreign actors at the expense of their local counterparts. Star actor and National President of AGN, Segun Arinze, said he is not opposed to the use of foreign actors in Nigerian movies, but it should not be at the expense of the local talents.


According to Arinze, Nigerian movie producers should be cautious of the influx of foreign actors, especially the Ghanaians, who seem to be getting more roles and better remuneration in Nigerian films. He, however, urged the producers to “embrace an 80 percent local talent and 20 percent foreign in our films.” He said “the current situation is worrisome to AGN as our talents are left wasting away. More disturbing is the situation where our own actors are not engaged in jobs outside the country, making our efforts not reciprocal.


“AGN appreciates the contributions of our foreign colleagues to Nollywood but when the home grown talents are wasting away, we should have a re-think because we are equally talented.”


Source: Bayo Adetu - PM News.

14 comments:

F said...

I think it is fair to try to protect your own... Countries do it with their economies all the time... $1,000 is a bit steep, though... Another means of restriction should have been adopted- like a mandatory guild membership of some kind. Maybe an association you have to be a member of based on a small periodic membership fee instead of such a massive one-off payment...

Sisi Yemmie said...

Well I hope Nigerians also charge a fee too for Nollywood

Anonymous said...

Isn't this against the ECOWAS principle of free trade and so on ...

Anonymous said...

Very simple, charge them as well.

TKB's thoughts said...

I guess they just protecting the interest of their people, no qualms about that

Anonymous said...

What nonsense! Nigeria should impose the same fees on their ppl here. Imagine tiny ghana! 1st they imposed $30,000 fee on nigerian bizmen now this; all in contravention of the ecowas protocol. Whereas we're busy building their movie & banking industries. We should simply reciprocate

Anonymous said...

Scratch my back and I scratch yours too....that what I'd say...

Unknown said...

All I'm saying is: we supported Ghana in the World Cup.

Funny how we remember solidarity in selected issues.

Anonymous said...

this is a classic cause of the first signs of xenophobia where they start to use money to scare us from their country, when that doesn't work then, they move on to violence a la South Africa.

i don't blame them, i blame Nigeria. if we developed our country we wouldn't have become losers to these people. we have told them that we are incapable of doing anything right. look at their movies, they are 10 times better than the shit we put out every second.

like i wrote before, i don't blame them; i blame us.
ECOWAS don't care because they are a band of money grubbing round bellied idiots.

Anonymous said...

All this buahaha everyone they talk 9ja no get shame. We started the movie industry in Africa and Ghana has taken African movies to another level sote they come they charge us $1000 to shoot film and act in Ghana knowing nigerians they will pay that fee because we got no shame, just like the Americas stole Fela birthright from use and made millions with it. To top it all off this bloody Nollywood actors would start arguing about being the first to see Fela on Broadway no shame at all

Anonymous said...

Alicia says...

@anonymous July 7 6:59 pm

are you living on cloud 9 or what? what level did Ghana take their movies too? WHAT LEVEL? is it those people they call actors that can't act, their yellow paw paw fever, or their soft-porn movies that are bringing them to new heights? which one?
please! most of their popular movies involved Nigerians behind the scenes.
IMAGINE THEM ASKING FOR 1,000 DOLLARS, IT IS INDEED A BIG INSULT!
is it all their royalty movies with the same storyline, shakespeare-like English, and rip off of "Coming to America"
the movie Beyonce, that was copied from a Nigerian movie called "Victim of Love"
or Heart of Men that was first a bollywood movie, turned nollywood movie, turned ghanaian movie, or what?
or 4 play, that is just like the likes of the movie Reloaded?
abeg, tell me!
yes they have good quality movies, and so does Nollywood.
you cannot compare those Nollywood movies done in 2005 and before with bad quality in sound and picture.
If the "another level" means bringing immorality to the screen, then i will agree.
if not, GET OUT!

Richinon said...

Do me I do you, who go vex?

Anonymous said...

Anon @7:03am, you are on point! Ghana movies suck! I don't watch them at all. Ghananians cannot act and speaking good English does not a good movie make. In their quest to be westernized, i.e., cursing, soft porn, alternate lifestyle (gay),etc., Ghana movies lost that African touch that make Naija movies distinctively ours. Besides, Nollywood made Ghollywood. All the Ghananians did was copy. If anyone should be paying, Ghana should pay Nigeria. In fact, Nigeria should assess a $5,000 fee on Ghana actors every time they wish to appear in a Nigerian movie.

Anonymous said...

u guys r even going far let them sell eir yeye movies in ghana lemme c how much ey will make from it any ways i trust 9ja we slammed them with a 2k dollars fee

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