(NIGERIA) Delectable actress, Jennifer Eliogu, says it the way she feels it and will not be dragged into her alleged marital problems which made the headlines a couple of years back. But one thing the busty actress is passionate about is her new movie and song, both of which were released recently. She spoke with Tope Olukole
The last time we spoke, you said there is another side of you people don’t know. Is that the new song you released?
I am happy you mentioned that because every time I say that music is my first love people don’t understand. A lot of people are like ‘we hear that all the time, but you conducted an interview with me in 2008 and I mentioned this and it’s taking almost five years for it to come to reality. I’ve always wanted to do music but I had to take things one step at a time. Get established in the film business, then you can move on to other things.
You sampled somebody’s song; did you get his permission?
Of course! Actually he is late, that is, Celestine Ukwu. I got permission from the Copyright Society of Nigeria, and Premier Music which is managing his estate. So I did the right thing.
Why is it not receiving serious airplay as expected?
Well, it’s a slow but sure thing. First, you have to go round all the radio stations to make sure that they get a copy of this and I know that so far; we have visited six of them in Lagos, three in the East and another three in Abuja. It’s a gradual thing and it takes a little time for it to sink in because people first know me as an actor. Now I am crossing over to music, there is always this doubt, ‘can she or can she not do it’, but I know that with time they will understand that I have come to stay.
Give us a synopsis of your last movie.
It’s partly a true life story and fiction. It’s a story about love and betrayal. As much as we entertain, we also educate and the story has some moral lessons for the girl child between 8-15. Censors board rated it 12 and so it’s child friendly. We did a little bit of sex education and no smoking. It’s a story that I am proud of.
You said part of it is a real life story, was it a personal story?
It’s somebody’s story. A young man who lost his wife and is left with two children to take care of and he is faced with the challenges of finding another wife who will also be a mother to his growing daughters. We were able to add few things to make up that story. I worked with one of the best directors. It might not be the best but for a first film coming from an actor and a director of his capacity I think we have something to be proud of. The picture quality was okay as well as the sound. I featured some notable casts like Ebere Okaro Onyuike, Kennet Okonkwo, Habibat Lasisi, Thelma Okodowua and some up- and- coming actors. It makes you feel good that you are doing something you have passion for and you are able to create employment for a couple of people.
Why is it that most actors; especially the younger ones don’t get to interpret their roles well, yet the directors leave them on set. Is this the director or the producer’s fault?
I think everybody shares in the blame. First, from the angle of marketers because everybody is now a marketer, once you have a couple of millions you can now shoot your movie and want to force anybody you want on the director. Maybe, the director has respect for the marketer or because he wants the job since he has to put food on the table, he will now compromise professionalism and professionalism will tilt to favouritism because you want your brother, girlfriend to be part of the cast. As a director, if somebody says to you I want this or that person to play the lead, you should be able to say no! Stand your ground; give him back the script and his money. By the time we begin to stand our ground and bring professionalism to this, it will stop. So, I think the producer, the director and the marketer all share in the blame because some of the marketers have little knowledge about movies. For them, it’s an investment, technicality of making movies is not what they are interested in but their returns but as a director, it’s your job because the film belongs to you. There are people that schooled as directors; who know their onion and you can’t do that to them. I know some of them who are strict and have passion with what they do. The likes of Andy Amanechi, Lancelot Imaseun and Teco Benson. These are people I have worked with and I have a lot of respect for them. You can’t push them around.
You’ve had your first shot as a producer, what is it like managing other artistes since they say you are troublesome on set?
Ha… I don’t believe this! I am just hearing this for the first time from you. No paper has ever written that I make trouble on set. Some will say I am a snub, cocky or arrogant; it all comes with the job and I cannot be friends with everybody. But as for troublesome, it’s impossible because I keep to myself. I am a blunt person and I won’t speak behind your back. The truth is that I have never known anyone who will say that Jennifer is a troublesome person. The only time I will ever argue on set is when you want to make me do what I know that professionally it’s not right. I remember one instant vividly but I won’t mention the name of the director. There is a line in the script with very bad English and director wanted me to say it the way it was written and I told him that I will not say that because I am an English student. We argued to a point they have to bring dictionary and even called another director who said it’s not correct.
Little things like this, people might just see it as face-off but I am only excising what I know. But if that’s what they see as having face-off I think that’s being shallow minded.
You’re face is no longer consistent in movies, what’s the problem?
I have featured in a lot of movies that taught morals with good story lines and affected lives positively. At this point in my life; after 16 years, I am not in the movie industry for how much I can make. You don’t give me junks scripts and you want me to jump at it. Right now I consider a lot of things. I work first for a beautiful script that makes a lot of sense, story that has content. Secondly, I look at your cast; it doesn’t have to be people I have worked with in the past because all these come to make a good movie and thirdly the director. If you have a good story and you have a young man who is experimenting and because you think you will pay him less, he is going to turn the script inside out, I wouldn’t be excited to work with such a person. I want to work with a director who tells me what he wants; not somebody because I am a star, everything I do goes because that’s what happens on set. Some up – and- coming directors do not know how to assert their positions. Finally, if the fee is not attractive, I don’t bother because you find a lot of people shooting movies with little and they will tell you ‘abeg’ let me just give you small money. But there are times you see a good script and you just make up your mind to be part of the story. I have shot a couple of films in the last one year and for every script I picked lead or minor role, it doesn’t matter to me; I make sure the script is worth the trouble.
Who keeps you on your toes anytime you are on set?
Nkem Owoh cracks me up anytime you are on set with him. You give time to do the laughing before you get to the real business because everything he says is funny. He is just a clown, he cracks me up. For acting, I know that some of them give you delivery that makes it easy for you. I have worked with RMD, Jim Iyke, Ramsey and a lot o others who give you your lines the way that is comfortable and sometimes they don’t say exactly what you have in your script, they cue you in a way that they don’t throw you off balance.
You controversial dress style. Do you do it because you want to flaunt it, make somebody jealous or make heads turn?
All of the above. You flaunt it if you have. Life is beautiful and I believe in expressing myself and I like to wear things that I am comfortable with and I don’t wear them because I want you to notice me . If you have been seeing me for the past 16 years and I still whaoo….. you, I don’t know what you want to make of it. I know that I am not used to dressing indecently.
There was this incident that I went for an award and I wore this pretty nice dress and expensive too. When you wear a new dress you have all those packages and you feel okay with yourself but after a while; the dress will loosen up and you find out that it’s not holding the way it should in some places, and of all the pictures that was taken that day, someone took a particular picture that was not really nice and I am talking about that particular day.
I agree, but I know that I could not have stepped out of my house like that. But you know how it is; people are always looking for reasons to nail you. You have a lot of my pictures in the internet and aside from that picture; you wouldn’t say you have seen me dress indecently. This thing happened in 2008 and I don’t believe that six years after people are still losing sleep over this.
But some got tempted to look at it?
You can only look but you can’t touch. You are sitting in front of me, am I indecently dressed? My brother, this is showbiz and sometimes you let some things go. Yes! If I spent 16 years of my life in this industry churning out good movies and producing my own and I have an NGO that’s doing very well for the less priviledged and I am into music, why would people dwell on one negative incident?
You’re a mother and if you can’t show that good example as a mother, what do you want people to learn?
I agree I am a good mother, wife and a friend. Let me put it this way that it was my minute of madness. Everybody has got it. All I am saying is look at the brighter side of life. I am still a role model to a lot of young people. I go around doing motivational speech; I don’t encourage indecent dressing and I organise youth events every month. There are times I use myself as example when I go out to talk to sex workers and young girls.
Let’s look at the concept behind the NGO and the people you have been able to reach out?
The NGO started like a joke. Sometime in 2008, we began to reach out and in 2010, I thought it will be important that we legalise it by registering it. Sitting on the board are just two Doctors of Education: Dr. Mrs Enuemeh and Dr. Mrs. Iruebe. The idea was not just to set up an organisation because it’s in vogue; we formed it because I felt the need to reach out to people. You see, we don’t have money as artistes, forget all the hype, what we have is goodwill and I am looking at using it to reach out to people. The NGO is called Initiative for Development, Empowerment and Absolute Stability (IDEAS) and over the last three years we have been able to reach out to the physically challenge because we always have programmes for them every year where we bring them together talk to them and encourage them to seea ability in their disability. We also reach out to the disabled in the streets and twice in a year we make packed food and share to beggars on
the street. We also reached out to the female prisons. I am a woman and I am not encouraging crime. I believe in a second chance and so going to the maximum prison in Kirikiri to tell them to open up and talk about their crimes and give them hope, makes them know that where they are is a correctional facility and that there is still life after prison. We gave out sanitary pads, toiletries etc to them. We also visited the flood victims; we encouraged them with words, played with them and gave them food items. Every year we organise programmes for the youths – what we call development programme – because I don’t believe that the poverty of the purse is the problem but the poverty of the mind. We need to encourage the youth and make them change their mindset and let them know that they need to develop themselves and not depend on an anybody.
What’s the most priceless gift your spouse has given you?
My children and nothing can be better.
Any nasty thing fan ever said to you?
I don’t know if it’s nasty. Somebody called me and said he has my picture in his bathroom. He called me with an unknown number and said, ‘every morning, before I go to work, I do look at you’ and I was like, you are crazy. I hear terrible things. (NEWSWATCH TIMES)
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