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Banned actors beg for reprieve
...lobby Actors Guild
Some actors and actresses recently blacklisted by movie
marketers are not ready to take
heart and accept their fate and so have commenced moves to have the ban
rescinded, Klieglights can authoritatively reveal. Towards this end, meetings have been held
between some of the affected artistes and some influential members of the
Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN).
Movie industry insiders told Klieglights that the affected artistes hosted a
meeting with some trustees of the AGN last Saturday.
The meeting, which held inside
O’Jez Restaurant, National Stadium Surulere, Lagos reportedly lasted for
hours.
Industry insiders told our
correspondent that the meeting was held after another affected actor, Richard
Mofe-Damijo sent out text messages to other affected artistes inviting them
over to his office to discuss the ban issue. One of the actors, Jim Iyke
confided in a source on a set of a Chico Ejiro film that he got the text but
declined to attend the meeting because he did not want to be seen as being
confrontational.
“They held a meeting with a
couple of trustees and some influential members of AGN on Saturday at
O’Jez Restaurant, National Stadium” the source, who is a respected
film and movie director told our correspondent. “They want AGN to come to
their rescue and broker a truce between them and the marketers led by Charles
Awurum,” added our source.
Our correspondent learnt that though
RMD, Nkem Owoh, Sam Dede and Genevieve Nnaji were absent at the meeting, the
likes of Rita Dominic, Emeka Ike, Ramsey Nouah, Omotola Ekeinde, Stella
Damasus-Aboderin and a couple others attended the parley.
Investigations also revealed the
artistes that attended the meeting picked the bill of everybody in attendance.
“They picked the bill at the
meeting and it ran into thousands of naira,” voluntered a source that was
at the meeting.
However, our correspondent gathered
that the parley did not achieve the aims of the artistes, as it was
inconclusive. The meeting was further rescheduled to hold at the same venue on
Tuesday, October 19 2004.
Even then, findings by Klieg
lights revealed
those that call the big shots at AGN, largely among the trustee member, which
included Ifeanyi Dike and Emmanuel Oguguo, may not be too disposed to the
wishes of the seemingly repentant artistes. Some of them have started to lobby
the marketers not to pardon a couple of the affected artistes while underground
moves are on to extend the ban on others.
Some of those who wanted the ban to
remain klieg lights gathered hinged their reasons on the contention that most
of the blacklisted role interpreters are not registered members of the Actors
Guild of Nigeria (AGN).
“I doubt if AGN will make any strong
case them, especially those who openly rubbished AGN when the going was good
for them. Of course we may make a case for the likes of Sam Dede and
RMD.”
A youthful actor who has been
battling hard to shrug off the gigolo-tag attached to him retorted when we
spoke to him during the week that “is it AGN that’ll give me
jobs?”
Credible source also told us Rita
Dominic has been pleading with industry power brokers for her and Jim Iyke to
be left off the hook.
When contacted on phone, Stella
Damasus-Aboderin did not deny attending the meeting but declined to comment and
directed us to AGN members who were at the meeting.
“I’m not saying I was
not at the meeting but we have been asked not to talk on what transpired at the
meeting. We were asked to direct all enquiries on the matter to AGN
people,” she told our correspondent on phone.
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