INTERVIEW: Acting alone cannot pay the bills in Nigeria- Ann Njemanze

Anne Njemanze is a veteran Nollywood actress famous for starring in the classics RattleSnake", "And true Confession:" and her starring roles in "Domitilla 1 & 2" in the late 90s.

The actress also played the role of Inspector Sankey in the hit series Tinsel.

The actress, who was previously married to actor Segun Arinze, has also starred in several Nollywood films.

In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, she talks about movie remakes, aspirations and Nollywood.

PT: Other than Tinsel, we haven't seen you in any other mainstream movies lately. Is there a reason for this?

Anne: Again, maybe because I find that most of my time is taken up with work. First, at that time, Nollywood was coming, so we had a lot of free time, so we just left grad school. What are you waiting for? We were everywhere, and when things got busy, we got into the business to reach more assets, and that's literally what it is. And of course recently I've been in some movies like the last two years, but I can't tell you if it's very regular. You have to be careful what you choose and how you choose it, especially when you're on a platform like Tinsel.

PT: Now that you have to be careful about the roles you take on, what do you choose besides Tinsel?

Anne: Quality

What does this actually mean?

Anne: Practically, it means telling good stories and being the true ambassador of Nigeria, which means a lot to me.

PT: Being in some of our greatest classics, Silent Nights, Domitilla. Would you appear in the Domitilla remake?

Anne: I heard it was on, they told me they were going to do it, but I didn't see anything about it.

PT: If approached to be part of it, are you willing to do so?

Anne: It depends on the logistics available.

PT: Logistics, what does it mean?

Anne: It means the word Logistics. Let's assume that's fine with me. OK. It's good if it's convenient and convenient if everything works well. Why not. It's a beautiful.

PT: What do you think of the trend of classic Nollywood remakes?

Anne: Not every classic should be brought back as a remake. I think a few of them went on the floor. I watched two of these movies - I can't name names, but I was unimpressed. Not with the acting, not with the staging, not with the story. When you do remakes it should be better, or if not better it should be a modern take on what the classics are. Why introduce mediocrity into all of this because you want to join the remake class? If you don't do it right, don't do it.

PT: Who would you blame for this trend?

Anne: There are many ways. I won't blame a lot of actors because you give what you see in the scripts and what the director says he wants to see. We shouldn't take out the garbage as much as we want to make money. It's a bandwagon, a trend all over the art industry. People go, Oh, that's what's happening. It's a trending love story, so let's make a love story. This shouldn't always be the case. So it's a whole bunch of things. If I was a producer and wanted to put my money in to do a remake, it better be worth it; if not, don't bother. Like I said, some things, classics and relics live on as they are in their original form. Just live it that way. It's nice. People can come back to it and still relate to the message in it rather than making a remake which is a sham.

PT: Is that why you pay special attention to the films or productions you act in?

Anne: I pay special attention to them because it's only natural that we tell the right stories on the right platform that matters.

PT: Historically relevant movies seem to be all the rage right now. Do you think this is a trend that will last a long time?

Anne: As always, everything is trendy. It's a step. It comes, it goes; something else will take over. Something that's not going to be lost in a story is good stories, original stories and African stories, and you can't lose value with that. Something else will take over. I'm waiting for cartoons to take over.

PT: There's also a tendency for actors to get into production...