Lasun Alagbe
Veteran actor, Kanayo O Kanayo, has provided an insight into the dynamics of movie business.
According to him, the face that sells on YouTube may not sell on other platforms like Netflix and Showmax.
Kanayo notes this as he stresses the need to discover and nurture new talents for Nollywood instead of relying on old hands alone.
In an interview in ‘The Punch’, Kanayo states: “No, you don’t regulate. It is an open market economy, so you don’t regulate what people charge. If you can’t afford one, go for the one you can afford. It helps to build new artists. There are some people in the industry now that if you want to shoot with them, they would say they can only grant you one day (to shoot), and would charge about N1m to N1.5m. For someone of them, if you contact them June, they would tell you they don’t have any available date until the next February. So, that gives one the option to start discovering new talents.
“On this note, I also want to say to those in the entertainment industry that we should start discovering those who would act as back-up (to established stars). That a person’s face ‘sells’ a movie on YouTube does not mean it will ‘sell’ on Showmax, Amazon Prime, or Netflix. It is not good for the industry, but it is also an opportunity to start discovering those who are not under the wings of those guys (established acts). To sum it up, regulation of price doesn’t happen anywhere in the world.
“What I am doing through my production house is to give opportunities to those who are not really popular. I am losing money not, but I will gain it later; it is just a matter of time. If it doesn’t work on YouTube, it will work on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Showmax, or any platform where you would put your film and make your money. Let those who are reigning now enjoy their time; but, it is not forever.”
