The Evolution: From Hollywood, Bollywood to Nollywood

Production crew filming a Nollywood movie. The third largest movie industry in the world.

Everyone knows Hollywood and I’d like to think that much of the cultured world knows Bollywood (Indian movies kind of like Slumdog Millionaire). But now there’s Nollywood, which is the Hollywood equivalence of the Nigerian film industry.

Slumdog Millionaire movie Trailer.

I ran across an article in the New York Times this week, Of Nigeria, but Casting a Wider Net, Nollywood Seeks a Hit with ‘Doctor Bello’ by Kirk Semple that talks about the booming Nigerian movie Industry, where it actually states that it’s the third largest film industry in revenues in the world. This is pretty exciting for Africa.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with real African movies, not Hollywood movies with Black actors portraying Africans, these are 100 percent African movie productions. The movies are funded, produced, directed, and edited by Africans.

American Boy, a popular Nollywood movie.

 

 

Although I personally enjoy watching Nollywood movies, they’re pretty low budget. The actors are not that great, the story lines are outrageous and for the most part pretty predictable, and the shooting and editing is amateurish.

But I still can’t get enough.

I enjoy watching Africans act. They are funnier, wittier, and more animated than American actors. It may be that there is less creative direction or a complete lack of any direction. Whatever it is I like it.

Many African actors play the same type of roles. Take for example my favorite African actor Van Vicker. He is so damn sexy with nice pillow soft lips, a hot chiseled body, and a real smooth talker. Okay I digress, but you get the picture.

He always plays these romantic heartthrob roles, where he rescues a poor servant girl or gets cheated on by a heartless woman. Oh yeah, and that phrase “heartless woman” is commonly used in Africa movies. I’m sure that there are even several Nollywood movie titles with that phrase. These are the type of strange attributes of a Nollywood production. Full of bad actors and bad story lines

Still, you should try to watch an African movie, you might get hooked. Just keep an open mind, and don’t take it too seriously. It’s good entertainment for a boring Sunday afternoon. My friends and me enjoy having African movie nights. We eat, drink, chill, and watch crazy African movies, preferably something with Van Vicker.

The New York Times article caught my attention, first, because it was talking about Nollywood, and second, it announced the industry’s attempt to expand its market into the United States. The article is centered on the newly made Nollywood movie Doctor Bello, and it’s director who hopes it will become popular with American audiences.

Not to be a pessimist, but with actors like Vivica A. Fox and Jimmy Jean-Louis, who are casted as leads in the movie, good luck. When was the last time they were in any record-breaking movies?

Vivica A. Fox

Jimmy Jean-Louis

I understand what Nollywood is trying to accomplish but I don’t think they’re going about it the right way. It’s going to take a little bit more than a bunch of C-listers to make Nollywood appealing to a broader demographic.

The article also explains how unorganized a typical Nollywood film production is. The entire production is rushed from the filming to the editing, and the budgets are extremely tight with the predicted market-crossing movie  Doctor Bello estimated at $500,000.

I think everyone should try to watch an African movie. The movies are mostly in English, but some of the actors’ accents are a bit heavy. It’s best if watched with an experienced African movie enthusiast. Yes, we are out there!

Here are a few of my favorites that you can watch on Youtube:

• Early Marriage part 1&2
• Jealous Husband part 1
• Broken Affairs part 1&2

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Want to Test the Strength of Your Relationship?

Do a DIY project together!
It will test you and your partner’s nerves but worth it in the end. Trust me, we did one.

Putting a bed like this together with your partner is a pain but worth it in the end.

Mr. Skunge and me put an IKEA bed together like this one for our bedroom. We were so enthusiastic about doing it ourselves. We have put things together before but not to this extent, I mean it’s a bed!

First off, it came in a tall slender box, which surprised us. We didn’t know how a queen size bed could fit in one box, which alone should have alarmed us. Instead we found it fascinating and kind of funny.

Once we brought it home we got straight to work, laying all the pieces out and assigning tasks. Me reading the instructions and holding up lite pieces while Mr. Skunge drilled them in.

Everything was going great, at first. The bed looked like it was coming together nicely, until we got to the step where we had to attach the headboard to the frame and realized we had it in backwards. That was really discouraging. We had to unscrew everything, and do it all over again from step one!

That’s when the blaming started.

I don’t know who started the blaming first but someone did not read the instructions properly, and it wasn’t me.

Halfway through the bed being completed, the frame was crooked. After some more blaming, we realized someone did not screw one of the screws on correctly and it wasn’t Mr. Skunge.

Three hours later…Wow it looks like a bed!
Mission accomplished.

The frustration was over, and we felt pretty good about ourselves. We added the mattress, and relished in the feeling of lying on a bed we put together ourselves, together as a team.

Now it’s your turn.
What DIY project do you guys want to complete together?

It can be anything involving steps, as long as it’s something you both will use. DIY Network, Ana-White.com and our favorite Ikeahackers.net all have some great ideas. Look through some ideas and add your favorites to a Pinterest board.

Don’t get carried away.

Listen, I’m not trying to get people to go out and build a house, just simple small projects like putting together a table or building a chair. But if you are into building big elaborate projects together than go for it.

Just have fun!

Putting anything together either with someone or on your own can be irritating. But don’t take it too seriously. My suggestions are to make it fun by having snacks like pizza, wine and candy. Then put on some music. Whatever type of music that will make you feel relaxed. We enjoy listening to a Pandora station we made, which is a combination of world and Jazz stations (Just reply to the post to find out the name of the station). Make sure to do it on a day or afternoon that the both of you are free and can commit to without any distractions. Oh and put the cell phones on silent.

I really believe you can learn a lot about your relationship when working on a project together. Try a DIY project with your partner and let me know how it turned out on a reply below. Or if you already have a DIY project experience with your partner, I would love to hear your story.

Sometimes I wish I were a dog

Yeah! I know this sounds crazy, but if you knew my dog Pearl you would wish you were a dog too. She’s a 3-year old shih-poo, and gets away with everything under the sun. Although I contribute to the spoiling, I did not initiate it, I promise! My mother is the culprit, with constant babying and special privileges. I mean, the dog has her own spot on the couch next to my mother, where no one is allowed.

Well, that was then!

Now, for the past few weeks, things have changed for Pearl. Me and my husband, who I will call Mr. Skunge, have recently moved out of my parents home into our own apartment 10 minutes away. Pearl, who is actually my dog, has been adjusting to a new home. It has been difficult for her, since she lost all those special privileges and treats that my mother has lavished her with for the past 3 years (weekly baths and grooming, ham and turkey snacks from the deli, afternoon naps together on the couch). But I have seen improvement, and we’ve got her on a new system, which I think she likes.

Pearl’s New System:

I take her out and feed her in the morning, and Mr. Skunge takes over in the afternoon when he comes home from work. I know she likes this system because everyday after 5:00 she waits by the front door for him to come home!

Well we will see how she continues to adjust as time goes by. I’ll keep you guys posted.