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Monday, November 12, 2007

Femi Branch - From MTN Advert to Nollywood

Femi Branch on the marble

My first big step in acting was when Professor Ola Rotimi took me under his wings and told me ‘young man I think you have a future in this thing’. He made me into a project along with some other people like Jude Orhoha and others. He took interest in us and mentored us and that really gave me the footing, the strength that I have in what I do. Since then it’s been fun," he laughed, with a mien that suggested he was battling with nostalgia.

"I would like to think it takes less acting skills to do commercials, but it is acting all the same because its like you playing a part, trying to be someone that you are not; trying to convince people that okay I use this product, or that I have spent so much time testing the product and I’m recommending it to the audience."
"Stage is not financially gratifying as screen but it is something that most of us who are passionate about still take every time out to do and, most of the time when we do we don’t consider the financial side of it.

"We do it because we love doing it and we want to keep it alive. And I’m hoping, before the end of the year, to still be involved with at least two stage productions and to be able to commit more time and resources to stage later in my stage productions, because I write stage plays and produce,"

"I think Femi is worlds apart from Oscar Lord Williams. When it comes to romance, actually you should ask whoever has been a victim of the romantic side of the real me, my wife – Ibitola - being a good example. I’m more attuned, more sensitive and more romantic; more loving than Oscar Lord Williams though they share some similarities.

"Oscar and Femi share the same dedication to their job, commitment to vision. So, it’s not all negatives about the young man called Oscar, there are some good sides to him though his perceptions are sometimes a little weird,"

Friday, November 9, 2007

Fortunes Changed Liz Benson Fortunes


Her appearance in the television serial, Fortunes, in 1993 changed the course of her life. The TV soap brought her fame and fortune. At about the time of her spectacular rise to stardom, the Home Video as a medium of entertainment had become popular. Coming to movie prominence with Glamour Girls in 1994, Liz Benson has appeared in so many home videos that her face is better known than that of any other actress. Some of the movies where she played the leading role include True Confessions, Shame, Yesterday, Evil Men 1 and 2, Trial, Pureman, Scores to Settle, Izaga, Chain Reaction, Sunset in Africa, Stolen Child, Burden and many more.
A resolute and courageous lady, Liz lost her husband (Samuel Gabriel Etim) when she was in her mid-20 and unlike some women whose world would crash after the demise of their husband, she has faced life struggles and successfully raised the three children all alone as a single mother. She has made a huge name for herself in acting.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Bimbo Akintola Journey into Movies

I went into the movies because it’s an area I felt I had great talents for. Right from childhood, I had felt for the arts. It was very difficult for me to do other things. Even though my father didn’t trust I could live and survive, put food on my table with theatre arts, I was very much interested in it and it was not until I couldn’t do anything else that my father allowed me to go for a diploma at the University of Ibadan before I then went on for a Bachelors of Arts degree in the same area of study.

First movie

I had found myself doing several movies even though I tried to restrict myself or I would be seen doing everything without rest. I love my holiday very much and would take out time to rest. Theatre is a whole lot of mental work, so one must be very careful. The first movie I did was Owo Blow directed by Tade Ogidan. One of my old school mates at the University of Ibadan, Bassey Okon Esanetok had taken me to Lola Fani-Kayode who was then preparing me for Family Ties and I got a role in the soaps. It was after that that I got a call from one of those who featured in Family Ties that Tade was doing Owo Blow and I met with him.

Other movies

After Owo Blow, I went ahead to do Out of Bounds with RMD; Back to life, The Gardener, Diamond Ring with Tade again. I was also in other Yoruba movies like Ibu Ika, Iwa Eda, Ogede Didun and so on.

It is difficult to count the number of movies I have done. I could say I have been extremely lucky because it is only God that gives favours. I did The Mourning After with Jimi Odumosu. This was very tasking because I played a widow and was really traumatised. I had to cut my hair to do that movie. I was in Dangerous Twins with Tade Ogidan again.

Excerpts from Vanguard Newspaper 2006


Journey into the movies

Dedicated to the memory of Teslim Olamilekan Suleiman (1992 - 2005) [Click Image to read about him]