OK Hollywood, Stop it! No I’m serious STOP IT!

Rant alert! (meaning I’m about to vent and some of this might not make sense because my typing will be fuelled by an intense irritation at Hollywood!) I just posted up on another blog and I got inspired to do a post of my own. I was one of those guys who used to look forward to summer blockbusters. Especially the action flicks. Now, I’m a very simple guy to please when it comes to Action Flicks. All I need are some cool VFX, decent acting, a couple of explosions,
some decent dialogue and I’m good to go. I don’t need Oscar winning stuff. Hollywood used to be good at it. But for some reason they can’t even manage that any more.

It’s as if Hollywood doesn’t want to innovate anymore unless at gunpoint or a director has some kind of clout. Sucker Punch, Battle for LA, or whatever else is playing don’t appeal to me any more. And I’m the guy they are trying to get money from. Also it’s not an age thing. My younger brother who is 10 years younger is also getting bored of Hollywood’s output. It’s like visual effects is all they are focusing on. ‘Throw in some explosions, some sexy women and say it’s 3D and that’s all they need!’ Well …NO! Actually I need a bit more. Not that much more actually. Like I said I don’t need Oscar winning stuff but if you manage to give me good Sci Fi with Oscar winning acting then you are a genius and I thank you. I just don’t like feeling like I’m being robbed of my money and a fool when I’m watching a movie.

And please stop saying a movie is in 3D! Ok, yes, some of the new 3D technology is great but is that all your movie has to offer?!? Really? That’s like saying check out my movie, I shot it with a VHS camera. So? I remember the hype over Avatar when it came out. I bought into it I have to admit. But after a while I looked at that movie again. It wasn’t that good. The FX were stunning but the movie just didn’t cut it for me. I like James Cameron’s work. I love Aliens no matter how cheesy it was.

The funny thing is that if Hollywood doesn’t stop churning out these stupid clichéd movies, the industry will be in trouble. I know what I say doesn't matter to them but what I do will. Once I stop paying for their movies and my brother does and our friends etc stop doing so then Hollywood might get the point.

And another thing why is it when Hollywood sees an original idea THAT WAS SUCCESSFUL, they then decide to alter it and extract what made it a hit in the first place. The new production Akira seems to be the latest example of this.

Ah whatever….Oh yeah , I really hate it when they assemble a great cast for one movie and then proceed give them the worst dialogue ever.
OK I’m done ….for now. But I know I will rant again.

Are Africans Clever Enough to Do Sci-Fi?

Should Africans do sci-fi? I always get surprised and angry when I hear or see that question. This is especially so when it comes from Africans ourselves. I’m Nigerian and my studio is based in Abuja, Nigeria so you could say my experience of this debate has mostly within the Nigerian sphere.
The Nigerian movie industry, or Nollywood, is now world famous. Last year saw the release of the sci-fi Nollywood flick Kajola. I personally was looking forward to seeing this film. I had seen the trailer and thought the visual FX seemed below the ‘amazing’ VFX the producers promised, I still wanted to go and see it to show support. But unfortunately due to the fact that the majority of audiences really hated the movie, it was pulled out of the cinemas within 1-2 weeks of release, I didn’t get a chance to see it.

Yes the acting could have been better and VFX by all accounts and based on the clips I saw was not the best,
even for Nigerian standards. But look at the majority of Nollywood films. You can’t tell me they are of high quality when it comes to technical and creative production. They are still massively popular. This brings me to one of the main reasons Kajola failed at the movies. Many people felt the science fiction theme was not rooted in black or Nigerian culture. That’s why people couldn’t relate to it. I always try hard to be objective and to see the other side of an argument but I really disagree on this one. Now there might be enough people who think that way to prove me wrong. But I still maintain that to think that science fiction is something Blacks or in my case Nigerians and Africans should not do is scary and doesn’t make sense.

For me culture is transient. It changes is many ways and is constantly fluid. For example a lot of the people who are saying would say they are devout Christians. Christianity was not part of African culture at a point in time. It was introduced by our colonial masters and missionaries. Or looking at it from another angle those same people loved watching Avatar and Iron Man when those movies came out. Avatar is a classic run of the mill sci-fi and Iron Man combines Sci-fi and comic superhero themes. So why is it so hard for them to accept a true African Sci-fi?

For me to accept that a genre that encourages futuristic and technological thought and creativity can't be explored by Africans is a dangerous road to go down. One of the the fastest growing telecoms sectors globally is in Africa. Those who have access to mobile devices are using them with gusto. In fact it’d be hard to imagine Nigeria now without mobile phones and Blackberries. Africa has a history of technology, mathematics scientists and inventors. I don’t believe that Nollywood’s output should be restricted to the usual themes of love and telenovella like soap intrigues. I know those themes are popular but I think when the right African Sci-Fi movie comes; it will take Nollywood and Africa by storm. It just has to connect with the audience. That's the key.

Congratulations to the makers of Kajola, Pumzi and others for taking bold steps. And thanks for forums like Nairaland and the Black Sciene Fiction Society for helping the cause in various ways. For our part once we finish work on our African kids cartoon Bino and Fino we'll be hoping to work on more Sci fi short films here in Nigeria.

So do I think Africans have any business making science fiction movies? Hell yeah…….. Go Voltron Force….Make it so….Engage warp….!!

We Love Chicken

Ok this is a totally random one folks but I felt this very important issue had to be addressed. It’s inspired by a post on Solomonsydelle’s blog (now in our favourites list). I would, on behalf of all EVCL staff, like to say we love chicken!


Yes that’s right we love chicken. We love it grilled, fried, stewed, KFC’d, boiled, in a shawarma, outside of a shawarma and we will not support any unilateral action to ban our lovely chicken from the tables of Nigerian families worldwide!!!
Normal non chicken related service will be resumed soon.....

Planes, Immigration and Nigerians.

Here’s a short animation inspired by the recent negative publicity that Nigeria has been receiving in the international media. Nigeria has been tagged in a Sony Playstation ad, the District 9 movie and even in a little mention in Avatar (cough and you’ll miss that one). Now with the recent unfortunate airplane bombing attempt by a Nigerian national it seems like the international media has got a new target to attack. Nigeria is now shorthand for anything bad in the international media’s eyes. Travelling with a Nigerian passport was bad enough already but now it’s definitely going to be more ‘interesting’... 

Nigerians aren’t all saints by any stretch of the imagination. I’m not saying that..
. And god knows the country has big issues to deal with. But Americans aren’t all angels. Neither are the British, Russians, Europeans, Chinese, South Africans or any nation for that matter. Nigerians at home or in Diaspora should stop apologising for being Nigerian whether you still have the Nigerian passport or are now a citizen of another country. If you are honest in what you are doing why do you need to hide?

A lot of Nigerians are setting up groups on online forums and social sites with titles like ‘Nigerians are not Terrorists’ or ‘Nigerians Love Peace’. To me this misses the point and also is slightly scary. Has our national psyche been reduced to a level where we feel we have to apologise for everything a few Nigerians do so we can be let into countries such as the U.S. or U.K. etc? Some Nigerians are even changing their names now.

Those countries and more have proven terrorists than we do. This is our first case. Those countries also have fraudsters, corruption, prostitution, mafias, racism etc. But I don’t see them apologising to us and other countries in that manner. When a U.S., British, E.U., Chinese etc citizen comes to our country, they are treated like kings. In my opinion that is because, for good or bad, those countries have the confidence to fight for their corner in a smart and strong way.

I have nothing against those countries. I lived in the UK for a long time and still love London as a city and will always do. They are just doing what they have to do to further their cause. I believe we have to do the same and play the smart long term game. On a general level, that means a strong confident Nigeria that looks inward to solve its problems before demanding respect and help from others. Media is a powerful tool in achieving that. International media houses are free to report in any manner they wish. And of course it’s not; say CNN’s or other media outfits, responsibility to report wonderful things about Nigeria.


I just feel they should not pretend to be objective and factual when they are not. One only has to watch the recent reporting on the bombing attempt to understand this. First it was an attacking frenzy on everything Nigerian and how we are corrupt etc. When it turned out that the family of the young man actually warned relevant authorities and Western security agencies could be at fault, the media had to alter their direction on how they were reporting the issue.


Yes, travelling will now be hell and humiliating for many, especially our respected elderly. But I’m not apologising for being Nigerian to anybody. That’s just ridiculous.


Adamu Waziri


EVCL

Nigerian Sci-Fi Movie

Here are stills from an idea of a sci-fi/magical movie based in Nigeria that we’ve been toying around with for a while. It is an idea that came way before District 9 before anyone comments. The idea itself is nothing new to be honest. What’s interesting is the angle of how it would work in the West African

context.

Actually, would it work at all? District 9 shows the world is ready for new spins on the sci-fi/Alien based in Africa. But of course you ask is South Africa typical of most African countries? By that I mean it is quite well developed technologically and in infrastructural terms compared to the majority of the rest. For example, is the general Nigerian audience ready to believe it as an arm of the army or police well trained enough to deal with an Alien threat like the American forces did in Independence Day?

I personally think it’s a feasible project but the context is all important. We can’t just copy stories done by Hollywood wholesale and expect it to work. But also I think it is important that some films that come out of Africa show us in a ‘High tech’ light as we have enough stories showing us in a backward ‘low tech’ way.

Adamu Waziri

Nigeria and District 9

District 9 has definitely got Nigerians talking because of the way we were portrayed in the movie. As a science fiction enthusiast, I was really looking forward to this movie. The short film it was based on called ‘Alive in Jo’burg’ was an interesting one if you were in the visual effects field. Then word started to reach me about its portrayal of Nigerians. Some were even saying we should boycott District 9. As usual, the internet forums were blazing the trail. I thought I’d reserve judgement until I saw the film. Wherever possible, I like to form an opinion based on fact rather than just jump on a popular bandwagon for the sake of it.

After watching the film, here are my thoughts. Of course it wasn’t nice to see us portrayed in a negative light. But that’s stating the obvious. I can see why our Minister for Information decided to step in, demand an apology and ban cinemas from showing it. I didn’t agree with the move but I can see why she did it. I my opinion she picked the wrong target. There are several reasons why I hold this view.

1: There are crooks from Nigeria in other countries. It is well within citizens of that country’s right to use that fact in anyway they wish. We do the same and have done so in history. At no point did the movie say ALL Nigerians are crooks.

2: Nollywood, our indigenous movie industry, has portrayed us in a much harsher light to both national and international audiences. There was a time where you couldn’t get Nollywood movie that didn’t include one of the following or a combination of them; fraud, juju/witchcraft, armed robbery, incest, adultery, cannibalism and of course our favourite, corruption. Nollywood has been pumping out thousands of movies with these themes for years with no real opposition from the general public or any Ministry. I must point out not all film makers in Nollywood do this but the majority do and I am yet to be proved wrong on this.

3: Banning films sets the wrong precedent; in fact it can be dangerous. Let us the public debate the issue. We are mature enough to do so. In fact our Minister has succeeded in giving the movie more publicity which I’m sure she didn’t intend to do.

4: If you analyse the movie, you’ll find that the biggest ‘bad guys’ are in fact the South African based arms company.

I think a more effective way of protecting or promoting the Nigerian image globally is to have a vibrant, respected, highly trained, creative, effective, well financed and subsidised media production sector. We can then do the rest. We can produce documentaries, films, cartoons, music, and stories telling the modern Nigerian story to us and the global audience. It won’t all be good positive but you will definitely get a more balanced view.

We need to look at our media and entertainment sector and honestly ask ourselves are we where we should be to really compete globally. In my opinion the answer is no. However, we are heading in the right direction but that is mainly due to amazing trailblazers who are tirelessly working around the clock. We will need a lot more government help and intervention to really get us there. This is where the Information Ministry can really be of genuine help.

Let the public deal with District 9, Sony PS3’s and all the other distractions.

Adamu Waziri  (Director EVCL)