Many folks really misunderstood where I was coming from when I posted about the Mandela movie. My opinion is, when playing Legendary figures like Mandela, Sankara, Selassie, MLK, they should use local talents from those communities to play those people. Nigeria figured out that they needed nigerians in their movies and now Nollywood employes hundreds of thousands of people and the market is growing world wide especially in Africa. If they wanna make a movie about PELE, I would prefer they get an Afro brazilian whom we never see on the movies to play PELE based on similar experience and help nature talent and inspire other Afro brazilians. If the wanna make a movie about MLK, they should definitely get African american and not someone from South Africa or ghana, when they wanna make a movie about Selassie they should get a lead actor from Ethiopia. By doing this it helps nature, inspire and build a stronger industry that would end up employing locals the way Nollywood in Nigeria or Bollywood in India. Indian are not gonna fish for someone outside Bollywood to play Gandhi for them. Its about expose and building Local talents, not a bout hating or being divisive. This is the third movie about Mandela and they never had any South African lead actor when I know for sure how there are many great actors/actresses in S.A. This other actors they bring over are already rich/wealthy and have many more Jobs lined up for them, lets stop being greedy and encourage expansion of talents across board without someone being labelled hater. If they were to make Nkrumahs movie, I would prefer they get a ghanian actor to do it. And the excuse of business point of view is not working either, all those bIG Movies stars in Hollywood had breakthrough by being thrown into the scene and people still went and watched. Its about the story line not who its in it. Anything to do with Mandela will created curiosity among people around the world in spite of who is acting in it. I am not the one for division evidently, but I am for Empowering and creating Opportunity where its needed most, not necessarily piling up all the goodies on individuals who are already doing well with or without the movie. There are places I have turned down opportunities because I was picked over a local guy, and I turned it down to create space for the second pick who was local person. Its that spirit of all of us and not me me me! all the time that can create more opportunities here in Africa. I hope this clears things out
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 19:33:33 +0000