Why The Concubine movie will beat Things Fall Apart – Steve Eboh
Tony Adibe, Enugu You produced an adaptation of Elechi Amadi’s popular novel, “The Concubine”, but up till now the film is not yet out. What is the cause of the delay? The movie is not yet out for many reasons. One, you look at the market in Nigeria today, it is hard for you to […]
Tony Adibe, Enugu
You produced an adaptation of Elechi Amadi’s popular novel, “The Concubine”, but up till now the film is not yet out. What is the cause of the delay?
The movie is not yet out for many reasons. One, you look at the market in Nigeria today, it is hard for you to do a film of that magnitude and push it into the market without people pirating it. Therefore you have to consider the market very well before releasing it.
Two, it is not just one small film. I am talking about a whole big project that needs some extra professional touch before release because it is an adaptation of a great book. If you dish out substandard work, you will not be doing justice to the source material. But in the next two months, the movie should be out.
How much did the project cost you?
I can only tell you it is one of the most expensive movies shot in Nigeria.
Can you rate it with the adaptation of “Things Fall Apart” produced by NTA?
Yes, but you know the adaptation of “Things Fall Apart” was a government project; it was actually by NTA where they have everything, the publicity, the outlet and so they did everything for themselves. But in terms of quality, “Things Fall Apart” could be said to be OK as at the time the adaptation was produced, but if you talk in terms of quality today, I don’t think there’s any way you can compare the two. So we are far above “Things Fall Apart” for now.
You are also reputed to be involved in an NGO which fights against sickle cell disease. Did you suffer the problem in the past?
Yes, we look at African health-related problems. We did a movie on sickle cell anaemia which was released in December 2010 and we were even given an award.
We have another movie coming up, focusing on cancer. So we’ve discussed it with some organisations and we are trying to bring it out as fast as we can because presently cancer is eating deep in Nigeria in particular.
Why did you go into this area?
I don’t have any deformity or sickness. But I’ve been around people who do and I know how they suffer. I am a very emotional person; when they suffer the pains and I see them, I appear to have pains myself. So I believe health is important, particularly when it concerns Africans.
Are there some things you may regard as the high or low points in your career in Nollywood?
Well, there are many. I can say that I am a complete film-maker. I am the first film maker that has gone into adaptation of novels, as in “The Concubine”. I don’t think any other film maker has gone into adaptation of any book here in Nigeria. The low points are when I miss some of my friends who are now dead. I feel so bad when I lose any of our colleagues.
My ambition in the industry is, like I said earlier, I’m not just thinking about myself; I’m thinking about others. A lot of us have gained so much from this industry in terms of money; in terms of popularity; in terms of recognition; in terms of award; in terms of acceptance; in terms of travelling all over the world. But what do we leave for others coming behind us? One of us just won election into the House of Assembly, Tony One-Week. But after all these, what do we leave behind for those coming after us?
What kind of books and music appeal to you?
Well, I read more of spiritual books. I used to read books by Lobsang Rampa a lot. But these days I read more of motivational books. And when it comes to music, I listen more to reggae music. I can listen to reggae from morning till night. But I love other kinds of music particularly the ones by Nigerian hip-hop boys. Nigeria has wonderful artistes and I love them.