Nollywood filmmaker, Femi Durojaiye has cleared the air on the extortion allegation against him, saying he never meant to exploit actors as claimed.
As reported on eelive.ng, star actress and producer, Kemi Lala Akindoju, called out Durojaiye and accused him of exploiting aspiring actors by demanding money in exchange for film roles.
Akindoju tweeted on Saturday, February 6, 2021, after a post Durojaiye shared on Instagram attracted reactions among actors.
In the trending post dated January 29, the veteran actor had asked upcoming actors to pay ₦35,000 to join his ‘movie projects’.
Akindoju referred to Durojaiye’s actions as fraudulent, maintaining that actors need not pay to audition or get a role in Nollywood.
But reacting to Akindoju’s claim in a statement sent to eelive.ng, Durojaiye said he has consistently been advocating for job creation among actors.
The veteran actor said his call for payment for film roles is an advancement of his commitment to reduce poverty and introduce prosperity for actors.
He further explained that contrary to the exploitation and extortion claim, what he was trying to do was to crowdfund.
Read his statement below:
For several years, I have been a very visible, consistent and committed advocate for a pragmatic change in Nollywood, especially in regards to the betterment of the lives of actors.
I have also consistently advocated that Actors Associations must be directly involved in creating work for actors, which legitimises their collection of dues.
It’s my principled and unwavering stand on this matter over the years that is beginning to cause a paradigm shift in thinking and which has won me the deep respect and trust of many forward-looking industry practitioners.
It is a shame and it’s unacceptable that Nollywood somehow has managed to create an army of poor actors whose fortunes cannot change if we continue doing things the same way we use to, and callously abandon them to the harsh vagaries of the demand and supply of our industry. It is in our power to change this ugly narrative for the better.
This is why I have unapologetically and consistently called for job creation as a panacea to reduce poverty and usher in prosperity. Those who seek personal prosperity and genuinely the prosperity of others, must brace up, roll up their sleeves, educate themselves and apply various business models to create jobs to lift actors and other talents out of poverty.
It is common knowledge that Actors and other talents have often complained of poor pay. This circumstance will never change until there are plethora of jobs available, and talents can now choose which production to work with based on pay and other personal considerations. Nollywood is a business and therefore talent fees will always be subject to the economics of demand and supply. It is imperative therefore that jobs must be consistently created to drive up fees. There’s no other way.
I wish to address our business model at Project 100 – Beyond Acting which has successfully produced the first of several of our Movies in January 2021. Although it took a while to start, it has finally taken off to the glory of God.
What we did was to simply employed a business model called Crowdfunding.
Crowd Funding is a legitimate worldwide recognised business model used in funding projects, including Movie Projects.
It must be understood that the popular business model where a film Producer solely provides the funds, is just one business model. There are several others, including Crowdfunding, which is used in jump-starting projects.
At Project 100 – Beyond Acting, we recognise the importance of hands-on training, and currently use it. Hands-on training, otherwise known as on-the-job training, is used in all industries the world over and its effectiveness is empirical.
In Nollywood, many visible actors have no formal or informal training in performing arts, but by consistently plying their craft before the camera they got the confidence and the proficiency they needed to become Stars. This is an undisputed fact.
We at Project 100 – Beyond Acting are currently deploying same technique of training. We believe in the dream of every actor and patiently give them the platform and opportunity to fulfill their dreams.
This is not saying that formal and informal training aren’t necessary. It is. Many producers who now operate government certified film schools, established them after several years. Sometimes it takes years of diligent hard work to achieve anything of value.
Our Movie Projects at Project 100 – Beyond Acting, predicated on the sound business model of Crowdfunding, is distilled into an initial unit of 100 talents coming together to contribute N35,000 each to create a production pool fund to consistently fund Movie and Television productions which they will participate in for them to achieve their personal objectives.
We at Project 100 – Beyond Acting have created a credible platform that has produced the first of many of our Movies, which was recorded between January 3rd to 7th, 2021, and which pulled together a number of veteran A-list actors, experienced crew and a number of new talents, one of which played a lead role. Many more Movie Projects will follow for as long as talents desire it and seek a betterment of their lives.
It is instructive that all those who participated in our first Movie, including those who missed out, remain enthusiastic and can’t wait for the next Movie to start.In the years to come, we shall deploy other recognised business models and a combination thereof to consistently create jobs, prosperity and fulfil dreams.
I see a greater Nollywood capable of creating enormous wealth for the benefit of all practitioners. But I also understand the natural resistance of people to change and reluctance to embrace a new vision. I believe that with time there will be an equilibrium of minds where more people begin to think alike, embrace new visions, new ways of doing things and take action to create wealth for all.