Obi Emelonye
Emelonye has finalised work on his new movie – Oxford Gardens, a fully commissioned movie and a collaboration between Africa Magic and the renowned Nigerian director.
In a chat with Naij.com, he spoke
about the movie, what it entailed to produce the movie and why Oxford
Gardens is different from his other award winning movies.
Read below:
Naij.com: What are the challenges you faced during the production of ‘’Oxford Gardens”?
First
of all, I don’t see challenges. I see opportunities. Having said that,
filmmaking is not an easy job and it takes quite a lot to make a
successful film. The first thing that I had to worry about was getting a
great story idea, a unique narrative that would stand out in our rather
crowded industry. A gentleman called Emil Garuba and his team provided
the seed for OXFORD GARDENS and I am grateful to them. The next task,
which I think is the difference between making a film and still dreaming
about it, was to find the money. That is where Africa Magic came in.
They have taken there relationship with Nollywood to the next level,
where they are now co-producing under the AMOF (Africa Magic original
Films) platform. I became a beneficiary of this visionary and highly
strategic content acquisition strategy. It is not a million dollars but
you can ask ‘how much is enough in life’? When you have money, then the
real pressure begins. You have been trusted and you have to deliver.
This is especially so when I have given myself a mountain to climb with
huge set ups and technically difficult scenes, like car flips. But
therein lies the excitement of filmmaking; taking on the world with
brazen courage, guts and not much else. I really enjoyed staring these challenges in the eye before I knocked them down with sheer grit.
Naij.com: Do you think the lack of ”known Nollywood faces” in the movie will affect the popularity of the movie?
Who is a
known Nollywood face? That is the question I asked when I was making
this film. I have worked with a few of the known faces in the industry
and i am grateful to them for what they brought to my various films.
However, when I was casting this film, I wanted an actor that had
international cinema exposure, had a following and most importantly,
could box, so that the boxing scenes can be believable. Ngoli Okafor is
one of the biggest black models in the world. He is officially the most
downloaded black male model in the world. He has featured in huge
Hollywood films, including one with Catherine Zeta Jones. He is a
two-time Golden Gloves heavyweight champion and a fitness expert. You
can see that, with all due respect, none of the ‘known nollywood faces’
can match this profile. Mind you, Ngoli Okafor is also a Nigerian and he
can bring a whole new audience to what we do.
You
see, when I cast my films, I do not put square pegs in round holes. I
cast with my head and not my heart. Beyond performing their roles in the
film, I know we need actors with gravitas and those that can provide
marketing momentum for the film. A few days after the release of our
official trailer, I thank God that God has vindicated all our choices in
the film. It has been immense and I am humbled by all the attention.
Naij.com: Why is this movie different from your award winning movies – ”Last flight to Abuja” and ”Mirror Boy”?
Great
filmmakers need to show their range, their ability to tell different
kinds of stories and make successful films from different genres. Steven
Spielberg has done it. He has successfully tackled adventure, sci-fi,
biopics, comedies, historicals, thrillers…name it. James cameron has
done the same. These are great film minds that i look forward to and I
know that I had to more than a one trick pony to mirror their success.
The Mirror Boy is an adventure that attempted to look at Africa as seen
through the eyes of a 12 year old London boy. Last Flight to Abuja is a
thriller that looked at the snazzy world of aviation with glamour glitz
and unfortunately crashes. Onye Ozi is a comedy that explores
immigration and the concept of the Nigerian abroad. Oxford Gardens is a
film about boxing and not a boxing film. It is a moving love story
wrapped in boxing gloves. If i can make this work, then, I would have
taken huge steps to becoming like my idols. Variety, they say, is the
spice of life.
Naij.com: How has ”Oxford Gardens” benefited from your collaboration with Africa Magic Original Films (AMOF) series?
I
really find it difficult to talk about Africa Magic without sounding
like their head of corporate communications.These guys are responsible
for making Nollywood a global phenomenon. At a time that VHS format upon
which Nollywood was built was beginning to die, Africa Magic set up a
pay Tv platform that provided an alternative and complimentary sources
of revenue for Nollywood producers. But more importantly, they put our
films in living rooms across 40 African countries and started what was a
small entrepreneurial film industry on a path to international renown.
They didn’t stop there. They reviewed their relationship with Nollywood
and decided to revalue Nigerian films by offering more in license fees.
This move made Africa Magic, in most cases, the major source of
recoupment for Nollywood producers; instead of being a complimentary
source. Then they set up one of the most valued award ceremonies to
honour excellence in African filmmaking. The Africa Magic Viewers Choice
awards event has been going on for three year, held in Lagos Nigeria
and dominated by Nollywood films and filmmakers. In fact, i have won a
total of 7 AMVCA awards, at least one in every of the three years it has
existed.
When
it looked like there’s no where else to go, Africa Magic made what
could be termed a stupid decision by most of its shareholders. They
decided, under the AMOF platform, to collaborate with Nollywood
producers and invest in Nollywood films, instead of simply buying rights
in already made films. But this move might be slightly more expensive
in the short term. However, in the long run, it is as strategic as it is
visionary. It would engender a sustainable acquisition model for Africa
Magic and become a vehicle to raise the quality of nollywood
productions through direct investment in films. I am proud to be
associated with AMOF and I can go as far as saying that Africa Magic has
completely intertwined itself with the future of Nollywood and African
cinema by this initiative. It will be hard now to separate the future of
Nollywood from a more influential Africa Magic…so long as they continue
to lead the way in innovative, customer-focused ideas.
Naij.com: Being the first movie about boxing/sports in Nigeria, do you think this will spur other Nigeria producers to toe this line?
I
am not really preoccupied with being first or second. I just felt that
there was a inexplicable lack of boxing elements in Nollywood films,
despite the record of Nigeria in the sports of boxing. Also in spite of
the huge success boxing films have recorded in world cinema where the
likes of Rocky, Cinderella Man and South Paw have made huge box offices
splashes and wooed audiences across the world. So I took a simple story
that centred originally around an actor and infused boxing into it. I
was optimistic that it would work with our people by exploiting the
grit, the sweat, the underdog support, the gore and the excitement that
have made boxing films successful. By God, nothing could have prepared
me for this reception that the film has received, based only on the
trailer. Just like Last Flight to Abuja empowered a new generation of
Nollywood filmmakers to tell technically challenging stories, I believe
OXFORD GARDENS will force some of our filmmakers to take themes, not
just of boxing but many others that surround us and tell compelling
stories out of them.
Naij.com: Does the movie really tell the Nigerian story especially since it was shot in London?
Some people
questioned the films Africa credentials, especially because it was shot
in London and they title is OXFORD GARDENS. but after seeing the
trailer, they can be assured that all the central characters are Nigeria
and the story can retain its complete Africanness, irrespective of the
location for its principal photography. The name also was chosen because
the bulk of the film happens in a park in Chelsea, west London called
Oxford gardens. It sounds different from your usual nollywood title. It
is is snappy and sexy. So why not?
Naij.com: What should your fans expect from this movie?
Firstly,
I don’t have fans oh. That name implies a certain imbalance in your
relationship with people that support you. It can be used to mean that
you are up there and these poor sods are following you, worshipping you.
I respect and appreciate the people that support me more than that. I
call them supporters and not fans. Abeg, I no get fans oh.
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