Nollywood’s Biggest Names Have Let The Industry Down – Lancelot Imasuen

Nollywood actor, Lancelot Imasuen, has called out household names like Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade, Emeka Ike, and Jim Iyke for abandoning the country’s movie industry. He recently had his say while speaking during an interview with Vanguard, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, he is deeply concerned over the absence of Nollywood heavyweights when the industry needs them the most, and he cannot understand why they have all failed to give back to a sector that gave them lucrative careers.

Lancelot added that Nollywood as an industry deserves lots of praise for birthing lots of superstars across Nigeria over the years, so it is always sad when he sees the same sector getting rubbished and abandoned by those who should be cherishing it.

His words, “I am calling out the Omotolas, the Genevieve’s, the Emeka Ikes and the Jim Iykes. I am also calling out all of them who benefitted from Nollywood to come and give back to the industry.

As of 30 years ago, there were nothing like big stars. Everybody evolved. Those who chose to be behind the camera like myself as well as those who wanted to be in front of the camera.

Nobody looked down on anybody. Everyone respected all that we were called to do with our talents. But over time, we have seen Nollywood that birthed great names being bastardized, abandoned and ignored even by those who were nobody then.

We cannot continue to allow the house that gave us a name to sink. Nollywood gave us fortune and fame. How come some of my colleagues are so comfortable abandoning the platform that groomed them?

I want to be the lone voice crying for Nollywood in the wilderness. Where are the children who were birthed by the industry?”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.