I’m Never The Producer’s Favorite, But Directors Love Me – Chimezie Imo

Nollywood actor, Chimezie Imo has come out to share how being vocal on set has shaped the way he is perceived in the industry. He recently had his say while speaking with Chude Jideonwo, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, while he really believes that some may view him as problematic due to his vocal nature on set, he mostly hear people say good things about him, and that is very surprising.

Chimezie added that he just cannot overlook or ignore when people get disrespected on set.

His words, “Here’s a little gist, one of the directors of Shuga back then had seen the cast and saw that I wasn’t in it, and she said that she wasn’t going to direct if I wasn’t in it. I remember showing up on set and everyone was surprised. I always think people think I’m problematic so when I hear people say good things about me, I’m surprised.

I’m very vocal so I always feel people think I’m problematic. I fight for people and I think I need to stop that because it has put me into trouble. When I see someone being disrespected I don’t know how to let it go

When I see people not being treated well, even on set, I can’t ignore. Maybe because they don’t have a voice and all. For example if I’m a lead and a sub lead is eating less than me, I’m asking why.

I know it’s none of my business and all, maybe it’s something I need to work on. it has backfired a lot of times that’s why I’m always surprised to hear the feedback. I’m not the producer’s favourite but I’m the director’s favourite.”

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.