By Olamide Jasanya
Omoni Oboli’s fame has risen drastically in recent times following the premiere of her movie, Being Mrs Elliot at the Presidential Villa, Abuja and of course more for her choice of outfit for the event, which many said was revealing and untypical of her brand.
In this interview, Oboli tells NET all there needs to be known about her emergence as a director, how she got a shot at Aso Rock and why her famous ‘blue dress’ is not something to be worried about.
How did it feel premiering your movie at the seat of power with the President and his cabinet members in attendance?
I kept asking my assistant if it was a dream and hoped I wouldn’t wake up to see that it was, because I just couldn’t believe that this was happening. I feel it’s a great thing for me, I feel it’s a greater thing for the industry as a whole, it’s not every day you get the president, who is really busy. That day he had gone to I think Akwa- Ibom or Calabar to do some work, and then still got back to Abuja on time to attend the premiere with his ministers, the House of Reps members, Senators, the Vice-President, and the head of PDP. I mean it was such a big thing. It is such a great step in the industry at this time, now that the industry is growing and we have a President who is backing us 110 percent. I think it’s a big thing for the industry, and I think we only have higher to go from here.
The trend has been to take movies to the cinemas for premieres. Why did you decide to do yours at the Presidential Villa?
This is the Presidential screening, but we are still going to have the regular premiere. It’s like doing something and you decide ‘you know what, I want my father to see it, before everyone sees it,’ that was my thinking behind it. This is the father of the nation, I want him to see the movie and give it a nod. This is my first movie as a director and for me that is a very big deal. I saw it as a great step in my career, and I wanted it to go to the highest level. I felt the president of this nation, who is our father, should see this movie first to give it his blessing, then I know that this movie is going to go places.
Did you face any challenges getting the visit approved?
The Nigerian Producers and Marketers Association, which I am a member of, wrote to the Presidency. To our greatest surprise, he agreed. He also commended Nollywood for putting Nigeria on the map, and doing so much for the economy of the country. He agreed that Nollywood is a big part of this nation, and he just wanted to commend us, which was the reason he accepted to view the movie.
Now you have a foothold in the presidency, are you looking to push fully into it?
Honestly, I don’t think I have a foothold, but I think it’s a great thing for the industry, and I just pray and hope the presidency and the government will do more for us, because they already see the industry as being viable to the economy of this nation. The more they support us, the better movies we filmmakers will make.
What was his reaction after watching the movie?
He said the movie was very good and very well done. We showed it at the Presidential banquet hall, of course we showed it on a projector, which is not purpose-built for a cinema and it was good, which was one of the reasons he commended the production.
What is your reaction to the allegation that you deliberately chose to wear a revealing dress because you were going to Aso Rock?
I don’t think the dress is revealing, instead I think the pictures that were sent out – which I didn’t send out – were taken from a funny angle. I don’t think the dress was too revealing and I don’t think I was revealing my vital assets. The dress had a little opening, but I was not revealing anything that was not supposed to be revealed and I don’t see any reason why people would say what they were saying, but the truth is people will always talk. There is no way they won’t have talked about this thing. There are a lot of people who won’t be happy about it, maybe because they would have wanted something like that to happen to them and it didn’t happen, so they looked for something negative to say. We are human beings and we should expect that in life, but the most important thing in my life is the opinion of people who matter to me and what they think. If they think it’s ok, then it is. The people who don’t know me, or those who think I’m negative don’t matter to me.
These people you say don’t know you are the ones who buy your movies. Are you saying in essence that…
I’m not talking about my fans here. My real fans know me and what I stand for. I’m not just talking about my family. My real fans know me and what I stand for. They know what and how I think, because of the way I have been over time and they have been following me, so they know who the real me is, and trust me those real fans don’t think I did anything wrong.
Who styled you and how much did the dress cost?
I styled myself and I’m not telling how much the dress cost. I picked it up at a store in the US.
It was your directorial debut, but you were also the lead actress and producer. How were you able to pull all of that through?
It was the toughest job in the world. When I finished that movie, I wrote an article I titled ‘Tyler Perry My hero’, because you know that is what he does. It was my first time actually and I got a chance to understand what he goes through. It is the most difficult job in the world, because I was directing, producing, and acting. I would get back every day and be drained but I couldn’t just sleep like everyone else in the cast and crew, because I had to sit down and plot the shoot for the next day. Most times, I’d get to sleep for maybe three to four hours every night and come out every morning looking haggard. It’s a tough job but if you can put your head in one place, it is not impossible.
How much did the movie cost?
I’m not sure if I want to give out an actual figure, but it cost quite a bit of money because it was a big project. We shot in Lagos, Ekiti and Asaba. You can imagine moving a big production, cast, crew, production bus, equipment, van and all that from one city to another. The logistics cost a lot of money; we could not squeeze it into a tight budget.
You began acting in 1996, took a break and returned in 2006, produced your first movie in 2007 and now you are premiering your directorial debut. Did you set out for it to be in this order?
At the very beginning I didn’t think I was going to become a director, I just wanted to act because I love acting and that is my day job. Acting is still my first love, but having been on many sets with many directors, I began to feel like I could actually do this because I write scripts and I have given away one or two of my scripts and I wasn’t very satisfied with how they were treated, so I thought to myself, ‘what if I actually treated this script myself?’ but I didn’t want to just do it. I needed some form of training in it. I didn’t get any training to become an actor but I’m not naturally talented to be a director, because it’s a very technical job, so I decided to go to the New York Film Academy, to take a short course in digital film-making, which qualifies me to be a director. After that, I had confidence I could do it and even after that, it took me about three years, because it’s not just about getting the education.
Having tasted all the areas in filmmaking, what is the next thing you might be trying?
We are going to be doing more movies but you never can say never, maybe tomorrow I could sing, but right now I don’t have any intention of singing.
How do you feel to the assumption that actresses that go into production do so out of fear of one day becoming irrelevant because of the new actresses on the scene?
If we don’t have new people coming in everyday, how is the industry going to grow? I don’t know, but if there is anybody that is sitting at the edge of their seat because we have new people coming in they are sick, and that is the truth. It doesn’t make sense for you to sit down and think you are going to be the only actor or actress, are you going to be in every movie? It’s not possible, do you know how many movies come out of Nollywood every year? I cannot be in 2000 movies; I don’t even want to be in every movie. There has to be more people coming in everyday, we don’t even have enough actors, and that’s the truth. We don’t have enough actors who are actively pursuing their career in acting.
You said in a recent interview that your greatest achievement so far was winning two international awards. Were you in any way implying that Nigerian awards lack credibility?
That was not exactly what I’m saying, what I’m saying is that sometimes people vote without even seeing the movie, so they are voting for someone they like. The award organizers may have the movie and seen it, but the public probably haven’t seen the movie, so they are voting for whosoever they like. The reason I said that was that those people don’t even know me, I wasn’t even at the festival, they don’t know me from anybody, those people just watched the movie and thought oh this person deserves an award, although I wasn’t even there, so to me that was a big thing.
Why are you yet to appear in a stage play?
They always ask me that. I will. I want to, but I just don’t have time right now. I did stage play in secondary school, but its something I will do later. For now I just don’t have the time.
You seem to have encouraged all your children into acting, one has even won awards, is it something they wanted to do or your making?
One of them wanted to and that is the one winning the awards, but the other two are not really interested. The reason why they were in Being Mrs. Elliott was because I needed to use kids, and they were the only ones available, so I was like, sit down, you are going to act, they were like no mummy, and I said do it like this. It’s so difficult directing kids, especially when they are not that interested. The one interested [in acting will go] to summer film School for kids, because it’s something he really wants to do. He has also done a Kunle Afolayan film.
Lastly, you have always said your house is your favourite hanging spot, is that one of the tactics you adopt to stay out of scandal?
No I’m a home girl, that’s the truth. I know that a lot of people think that I have this squeaky clean image, but the truth is I feel it’s a lot of pressure to put on somebody, I think nobody is a saint, so I feel like they have put me under undue pressure, like oh she is squeaky clean, but there is nobody that is squeaky clean and that is the truth. I want people to see me for who I am; I am just this regular person like every other regular person out there. But fortunately and unfortunately I’m in the limelight so everything is magnified out of proportion. It can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing at the same time, but it’s a life that I have chosen, so I can’t complain, I just have to take the good and the bad, because when the good comes, I don’t complain.
