It is so unfortunate for Nigerians that why we were hoping for a brighter tomorrow, why we were hoping that our movie industry will be growing from grass to grace, it has rather grown from grass to shrubs.

The Nigerian Movie Industry was once a promising Industry, long time ago Nigerians where enjoying the entertainment from the Industry that stood as the paramount movie industry in the whole of Africa. The Nigerian Movie Industry was once the pace setters when it came to acting and quality and educating movies.

Nigeria once boasted a variety of talents in the Industry, from those in front of the camera to those behind it. Nigeria had talented actors and actresses, directors, producers, editors etc. These factions of talents lifted the industry to great heights and when Nigerians sit in front of their televisions then, they enjoyed every minute spent in front of it.

The likes of Desmond Elliot, Ramsey Noah, Jim Iyke, Pete Edochie, Amaechi Muonagor, Saint Obi, Zack Orji, Gentle Jack, Tony Umez, Sam Loco, Nkem Owoh, Emeka Ike, Olu Jacobs and many more. This crop of actors really lifted the industry with their great acting prowess and the industry has up until now, not realized up to half of those talents. Same goes with the actresses, when the Nollywood still had Genevieve Nnaji, Omotala, Patience Ozokwor, Oge Okoye, Chioma Chukwuka, Chika Ike among so many others.
The Industry’s productions were educating, entertaining, suspense-filled and thrilling when these actors and actresses stood in front of the camera to manifest their talents.

What has happened to the Industry now, we no longer witness the kinds of movies we once went crazy about, movies like The Cats, Missing Rib, State of Emergency, Girls Cot, Boys Cot etc. These movies are far different from what we are seeing in this present day. What we get from the industry now is meaningless, senseless, absurd and useless movies. The worst part of the story is, when you finally decide to purchase the movie, you have to endure 18-20 minutes of movie adverts, before watching the movie you paid to watch, which will end up not lasting up to 40 minutes.

The Nigerian Movie Industry really needs to wake up from their slumber and face reality. The actors and actresses we were seeing as our future stars are falling short of expectations and it is so disappointing.
Ladies who wants to act only has to sell their body to producers in order to get a role, be them good or not. Nollywood needs to Wake Up!
Many Nigerians will rather prefer to patronize American, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian and even Ghanaian movies to Nigerian.

the industry don die since

I decided to read this to see the points to be raised. But after reading this I think you need to get some facts right.. how can you say nollywood movies were 'suspense-filled'? Furthermore, the movies you used as case studies suck big time.. kindly say what was thrilling about those movies biko.. 'girls cot'. 'boys cot' etc.. if for nothing, the new nollywood movies trump all these movies you just called. At least the story is better, work is put into suspense and let's not even compare production between these movies. You may be right about nollywood dying but your points are ridiculous

badinfluence:
I decided to read this to see the points to be raised. But after reading this I think you need to get some facts right.. how can you say nollywood movies were 'suspense-filled'? Furthermore, the movies you used as case studies suck big time.. kindly say what was thrilling about those movies biko.. 'girls cot'. 'boys cot' etc.. if for nothing, the new nollywood movies trump all these movies you just called. At least the story is better, work is put into suspense and let's not even compare production between these movies. You may be right about nollywood dying but your points are ridiculous

By nee movies, I believe you are referring those so called New Nollywood. The OP is referring to the Asaba movies which are direct descendants of those good old movies that we love.

Afam4eva:

By nee movies, I believe you are referring those so called New Nollywood. The OP is referring to the Asaba movies which are direct descendants of those good old movies that we love.

Really?? So you are comparing the asaba movies to the 'so called' new nollywood movies.. those movies had nothing to offer. And you can't compare them to the good old movies.. again, get valid points to drive this argument home

badinfluence:

Really?? So you are comparing the asaba movies to the 'so called' new nollywood movies.. those movies had nothing to offer. And you can't compare them to the good old movies.. again, get valid points to drive this argument home

The new Nollywood movies have more technicalities but they don't have what i call "local content" which is what took Nollywood movies to where it is today. Those new Nollywood peeps think that those African American movies that they produce will replace the Asaba movies. The best bet is there to be a marriage between both.

Afam4eva:

The new Nollywood movies have more technicalities but they don't have what i call "local content" which is what took Nollywood movies to where it is today. Those new Nollywood peeps think that those African American movies that they produce will replace the Asaba movies. The best bet is there to be a marriage between both.

And what are these 'local contents'? Witchcraft, wicked in laws, marriage disagreement e.t.c

badinfluence:

And what are these 'local contents'? Witchcraft, wicked in laws, marriage disagreement e.t.c

As much as we want our movie people to leave the redundant storylines in our movies, the average Nigerians should be able to relate with our movies. That is what I don't just see in those new Nollywood movies. It's called a Nigerian movie for a reason. So, importing s me plastic actors who are competing on who speaks better English with a foreign accent does not cut it.

Afam4eva:

As much as we want our movie people to leave the redundant storylines in our movies, the average Nigerians should be able to relate with our movies. That is what I don't just see in those new Nollywood movies. It's called a Nigerian movie for a reason. So, importing s me plastic actors who are competing on who speaks better English with a foreign accent does not cut it.

How can't the average Nigerian relate with these movies.. the movies aren't complicated, the story lines are straight forward, just better than what we've been seeing previously

Nawa o, this topic has been repeatedly posted here.

@OP you're still in the twilight world, wake up, our 'now' movies are better than our 'then' movies, but the problem here is that there are so many bad ones out there.

Afam4eva, badinfluence is right, our new NW movies are more original than that of our old NW. Let me ask you Afam4eva, is speaking phonetics not in existence in Naija? And if you see it in a movie you'll be complaining, is acting a movie with 10parts what you're calling original. Why we Nigerians are so fond of those trash called movies is because it's everywhere and cheap, even when we close our eyes we'll see it. Haven't heard the saying that good thing doesn't come cheap.

OP try and see these movies - Confusion Na Wa, Ije, Mr & Mrs, Figurine and A Mile from Home, then thank me later.

Nothing beats the old nollywood. We had seasoned and trained actors. This new nollywood industry(cinema movie) is just trying to mimic hollywood. I prefer some of those good old movies like Igodo,living in bondage etc. Those were the movies that established Nigeria on the movie industry scene. I will make more contributions on this topic...am busy at the moment.

Nwangoma:
Nothing beats the old nollywood. We had seasoned and trained actors. This new nollywood industry(cinema movie) is just trying to mimic hollywood. I prefer some of those good old movies like Igodo,living in bondage etc. Those were the movies that established Nigeria on the movie industry scene. I will make more contributions on this topic...am busy at the moment.

My brother wake up, you can't compare Igodo, Living in Bondage etc with what old Nollywood are churning out now. Do you know how much they used in shooting those movies then? The amount they used in shooting those movies as at then is equivalent to what those old Nollywood filmmakers are still using now to shoot part 1 - 4 in less than a week, how the heck do you think they'll make a quality movie with such amount now naira value has depreciated, in fact movies of then has only part 1 which is why there are new Nollywood movies, the different between movies then is that both bad and good ones are being marketed same way, why there is new Nollywood isn't all about quality production, it is just portraying movies how it's supposed to be portrayed, shooting one part only, then if the audience like it part two comes, even if you want to shoot multiple parts each part will at least makes its own sense. Lord of the rings 1-3, Matrix 2&3, The Hobbits 1-3 etc where all shot back to back, each part making its own sense.

@bolded, we have the worse actors/actress in old Nollywood, those guys only auditioned people they'll collect money from, that's why Ramsey, segun, Uche jumbo, Genevieve, Omotola stepped up and left the old industry for good, New Nollywood? cast rubbish nah, and cinema go reject to screen your movie. The different between old and new Nollywood is old Nollywood represents = we don't care as far as peeps like you will watch but new Nollywood represents = we shoot 'cause it is passion driven and we want the movie to worth our audience time.

Nwangoma:
Nothing beats the old nollywood. We had seasoned and trained actors. This new nollywood industry(cinema movie) is just trying to mimic hollywood. I prefer some of those good old movies like Igodo,living in bondage etc. Those were the movies that established Nigeria on the movie industry scene. I will make more contributions on this topic...am busy at the moment.

The new movies aren't attempts at mimicking hollywood, rather they are attempts at raising the standard of the Nigerian movie industry.. and I doubt you've actually seen these new actors. These are people with exceptional talents, some actually passed through film academies. Gone are the days when roles were shared amongst a specific set of people. I'd be happy to recommend some new nollywood movies for you, I doubt you've actually had time to see these movies.

badinfluence:

The new movies aren't attempts at mimicking hollywood, rather they are attempts at raising the standard of the Nigerian movie industry.. and I doubt you've actually seen these new actors. These are people with exceptional talents, some actually passed through film academies. Gone are the days when roles were shared amongst a specific set of people. I'd be happy to recommend some new nollywood movies for you, I doubt you've actually had time to see these movies.

Lol,i've seen enough new movies and there is something off about most of them. I agree that we now have good picture and sound quality etc. But it doesn't appeal to majority of the masses out there.

NMDb:

My brother wake up, you can't compare Igodo, Living in Bondage etc with what old Nollywood are churning out now. Do you know how much they used in shooting those movies then? The amount they used in shooting those movies as at then is equivalent to what those old Nollywood filmmakers are still using now to shoot part 1 - 4 in less than a week, how the heck do you think they'll make a quality movie with such amount now naira value has depreciated, in fact movies of then has only part 1 which is why there are new Nollywood movies, the different between movies then is that both bad and good ones are being marketed same way, why there is new Nollywood isn't all about quality production, it is just portraying movies how it's supposed to be portrayed, shooting one part only, then if the audience like it part two comes, even if you want to shoot multiple parts each part will at least makes its own sense. Lord of the rings 1-3, Matrix 2&3, The Hobbits 1-3 etc where all shot back to back, each part making its own sense.

@bolded, we have the worse actors/actress in old Nollywood, those guys only auditioned people they'll collect money from, that's why Ramsey, segun, Uche jumbo, Genevieve, Omotola stepped up and left the old industry for good, New Nollywood? cast rubbish nah, and cinema go reject to screen your movie. The different between old and new Nollywood is old Nollywood represents = we don't care as far as peeps like you will watch but new Nollywood represents = we shoot 'cause it is passion driven and we want the movie to worth our audience time.

Like i said,i am currently busy at yhe moment. Apart from Oct 1,none of these new movies have left any impression on my mind. Basically, most of them are deviating from what it means to be Nigerian. There is this conscious attempt to appear urban,contemporary and westernized in these new movies. Besides,when i mentioned Living in Bondage and the rest,you can clearly see that i never mentioned the recent old nollywood craps like the royal gate,royal prince stuffs. I would say i prefer the pre nollywood movies of the early 90s to both old and new nollywood.
As for the actors,i would probably vouch for guys like Oc Ukeje,Blossom Chukwujekwu,Tope Tedola,Bimpe of Tinsel and a few others that i've seen in recent productions. The rest of them don't measure up. Am yet to see people that can fill up the place of Pete Edochie, Olu Jacobs,Liz Benson,Bimbo Akintola, Hilda Dokubo etc. I've not seen exceptional talents relative to some of the aforementioned names. These new actors will tell you they all look up to them.
These new nollywood productions are cinema stuffs,you can't slot it in for the average 50yr old person out there and expect him or her to relate to some of these movies. I have seen some of them,like when love happens, love or something like that, alan poza etc. And they have nothing to do with the lives of the average Nigerian on the streets,there is virtually little or no local content. Why are Bollywood, Thai, and Hollywood movies popular worldwide? Cos they stick to what's obtainable within the immediate environment. Both periods should be combined otherwise nollywood aint going anywhere.
New nollywood or not,we have better movies from other African countries,maybe till new nollywood fetches more prestigious AMAA awards,we can truly say that it's better than the old period.

Nwangoma:

Lol,i've seen enough new movies and there is something off about most of them. I agree that we now have good picture and sound quality etc. But it doesn't appeal to majority of the masses out there.

And what's off about them.. it doesn't appeal to the masses? Probably because they are so used to those redundant movies of old. Movies that are produced under a week, flooding the market. Please tell me what makes a good movie and how you can compare a movie like 'Igodo" to 'the figurine'

New nollywood sucks,they all have the same storylines..... films based on royalty or the occult.. The only good set of movies are October 1 Figurine Half of a yellow sun

Nwangoma:

Like i said,i am currently busy at yhe moment. Apart from Oct 1,none of these new movies have left any impression on my mind. Basically, most of them are deviating from what it means to be Nigerian. There is this conscious attempt to appear urban,contemporary and westernized in these new movies. Besides,when i mentioned Living in Bondage and the rest,you can clearly see that i never mentioned the recent old nollywood craps like the royal gate,royal prince stuffs. I would say i prefer the pre nollywood movies of the early 90s to both old and new nollywood.
As for the actors,i would probably vouch for guys like Oc Ukeje,Blossom Chukwujekwu,Tope Tedola,Bimpe of Tinsel and a few others that i've seen in recent productions. The rest of them don't measure up. Am yet to see people that can fill up the place of Pete Edochie, Olu Jacobs,Liz Benson,Bimbo Akintola, Hilda Dokubo etc. I've not seen exceptional talents relative to some of the aforementioned names. These new actors will tell you they all look up to them.
These new nollywood productions are cinema stuffs,you can't slot it in for the average 50yr old person out there and expect him or her to relate to some of these movies. I have seen some of them,like when love happens, love or something like that, alan poza etc. And they have nothing to do with the lives of the average Nigerian on the streets,there is virtually little or no local content. Why are Bollywood, Thai, and Hollywood movies popular worldwide? Cos they stick to what's obtainable within the immediate environment. Both periods should be combined otherwise nollywood aint going anywhere.
New nollywood or not,we have better movies from other African countries,maybe till new nollywood fetches more prestigious AMAA awards,we can truly say that it's better than the old period.

Oga so until there's a scene involving a witch doctor, a Nigerian movie isn't depicting culture. There's something called evolution dude, and that's what's going on. You can't just conclude that the average Nigerian's life revolves around divination. 'living in bondage ' is an epic.. a good one. But that doesn't mean all nollywood movies should stress on the same theme. And the fact that these new actors look up to the older ones doesn't make them lousy actors. Even hollywood evolved if you don't know, moreover their diversity in movies is a key role to their success. Your point about a 50 year old Nigerian holds no water.. likewise your "local content " angle. Sit down and watch these movies again. Get the message, take note of the cinematography, watch the actors. Take your time. Maybe you watch movies like you watch music videos

MJBOLT:
New nollywood sucks,they all have the same storylines.....
films based on royalty or the occult.. The only good set of movies are
October 1
Figurine
Half of a yellow sun

Mr I.T.K about nothing.. the storylines are far from royalty and occult. Do you even understand the eras under consideration??

badinfluence:

Mr I.T.K about nothing.. the storylines are far from royalty and occult. Do you even understand the eras under consideration??

Mr over sabi..

pls mention the eras..mtchewww :-/

MJBOLT:
Mr over sabi..

pls mention the eras..mtchewww :-/

That's what you should have bothered to find out before chipping in.. read all contributions then you should understand.. if you don't.. too bad

badinfluence:

Oga so until there's a scene involving a witch doctor, a Nigerian movie isn't depicting culture. There's something called evolution dude, and that's what's going on. You can't just conclude that the average Nigerian's life revolves around divination. 'living in bondage ' is an epic.. a good one. But that doesn't mean all nollywood movies should stress on the same theme. And the fact that these new actors look up to the older ones doesn't make them lousy actors. Even hollywood evolved if you don't know, moreover their diversity in movies is a key role to their success. Your point about a 50 year old Nigerian holds no water.. likewise your "local content " angle. Sit down and watch these movies again. Get the message, take note of the cinematography, watch the actors. Take your time. Maybe you watch movies like you watch music videos

Am simply stating my views,you don't have to rub yours in or force me to swallow them. If you don't apperciate my opinions on both eras,then simply walk away. All old nollywood classics did not revolve around divination and witch doctors. And i never said that all of the new nollywood movies are bad,there is always a sort of 'am trying to mimic hollywood feel around in it'
You can't compare the technology in some of the new movies with the oldies because we have better technical skills at the moment. I already stated that before. I have only seen better cinematography,picture and sound quality,better costumes and makeup in the new movies but they don't have a large appeal to most people out there.

badinfluence:

Oga so until there's a scene involving a witch doctor, a Nigerian movie isn't depicting culture. There's something called evolution dude, and that's what's going on. You can't just conclude that the average Nigerian's life revolves around divination. 'living in bondage ' is an epic.. a good one. But that doesn't mean all nollywood movies should stress on the same theme. And the fact that these new actors look up to the older ones doesn't make them lousy actors. Even hollywood evolved if you don't know, moreover their diversity in movies is a key role to their success. Your point about a 50 year old Nigerian holds no water.. likewise your "local content " angle. Sit down and watch these movies again. Get the message, take note of the cinematography, watch the actors. Take your time. Maybe you watch movies like you watch music videos

As for the actors,i've only been able to pick out a few of them with exceptional talents that can stand side by side with actors of old nollywood. Just like you mentioned that some old actors got roles based on long legs,the same way some of these new incompetent actors get roles too.
Besides,half of the new movies have a blend of old and new actors in order to achieve relative success. Figurine had Omoni,Ramsey and Kunle. It only takes a special talent(new) to carry some of these new movies. Living funeral had to bring in Liz Benson. Like a said, a very exceptional talent is Oc Ukeje,i saw what he did in White Waters' and it was commendable.
Both eras should be combined,that's how a successful film industry grows. A nice blend of local content and good technical skills will do wonders.

badinfluence:

And what's off about them.. it doesn't appeal to the masses? Probably because they are so used to those redundant movies of old. Movies that are produced under a week, flooding the market. Please tell me what makes a good movie and how you can compare a movie like 'Igodo" to 'the figurine'

Igodo is a classic Nigerian movie. Figurine is a contemporary Nigerian movie. I expect you to reel of the names of epic movies of new nollywood and not something like figurine.
When i mention old nollywood am not referencing the movies released after 4 days with 5 parts. Pls read and understand.

Nwangoma:

Igodo is a classic Nigerian movie. Figurine is a contemporary Nigerian movie. I expect you to reel of the names of epic movies of new nollywood and not something like figurine.
When i mention old nollywood am not referencing the movies released after 4 days with 5 parts. Pls read and understand.

Now i get you, you were actually comparing 90's movies with today's movie shey? But let's be real here, 90's movies has come and gone let's think future, 'now' movies are better than 'then' movies in terms of everything, it is just that the very bad ones are everywhere making one hard to stumble upon the good ones unlike then that we have few filmmakers and there are no much money compared to now, i myself has been a victim of watching bad overrated movies like Last flight to Abuja, Mirror boy, 30 days in Atlanta etc but these movies i mentioned can never be used in comparing any 90's movies, 'cause the 'now' movies are up to the task of thinking outside the box unlike the 90's movies that tells the stories we can just relate with not to wow us, now Nollywood have a zombie movie, science fiction etc we are the 2nd movie production industry in the world, we need to be telling stories the world will relate with not only Nigerians.

I don't really get this "Nollywood is dying" posts flying all over NL. The problem with some Nigerians is dat de do not want to evolve into the latest trends happening in the world. How can a sensible human being compare the likes of Igodo n Living in bondage to d likes of October 1 n phone swap? No doubt those "old" movies r classics but really? The new Nollywood movies(not d pound road aba made movies) r better much more better dan d old ones in any category u see fit to compare ,whether it be d actors or d storylines or d film production. Some of d comments here r plain ridiculous ,y'all read Nigerian thriller novels or the romantic ones but when d story moves to d screens u call it westernized ,WTF? Must our movies be all about a wicked mother-in-law who decides to use witchcraft to kill her son's wife or about gangsters kidnapping n living in uncompleted buildings or worst still d incessant family wahala dat involves d man cheating on his wife. We r in d age of digitalization as most ppl hv a smartphone n laptops with dem so if a movie decides to follow dat trend den it is an "American copy copy" movie. There r many genres in movie making n u r free to choose any.

Rather dan aimlessly criticizing d new Nollywood movies we should encourage dem by...

- Going to cinemas to patronize dem

- Constructively criticize the various parts that needs improvements

- Stop patronizing d Alaba film pirates; this will encourage more film producers to pump in more cash into a better film making experience n also help push some of our novels to dis producers for adaptation.

My two kobo

I don't understand this 'hard talk' by some people on this thread. We are all here to share our opinions cos we have different mindsets.
If you say the new movies have better technical productions,then i agree with you. If you say it has more appeal amongst the youths,then i agree with you. If you say the new movies display the essence of what it means to be Nigerian/African,then it's a No.
Are all the 90s movies bad? No.
Are all the new movies worthwhile? No. Some of them are as crappy as the old nollywood movies.

Ihuomadinihu:
I don't understand this 'hard talk' by some people on this thread. We are all here to share our opinions cos we have different mindsets.
If you say the new movies have better technical productions,then i agree with you. If you say it has more appeal amongst the youths,then i agree with you. If you say the new movies display the essence of what it means to be Nigerian/African,then it's a No.
Are all the 90s movies bad? No.
Are all the new movies worthwhile? No. Some of them are as crappy as the old nollywood movies.

Sorry* this the same person,let me continue from where is stopped.
Yes,some of the new movies are simply overated and crappy. They can only boost of goodlooking fellows,posh locations, better audio and sound quality. But they are as corny as the old nollywood sector. Take the Last flight,for instance,that was an attempt to tell a story about flight mishaps and they failed woefully. While watching it,i felt they were trying to rip off American Airforce 1 movie. Let's face it,Nigeria is not ripe enough enough for such movies. Technologically,we are not there yet. The movie was a total mess,the plot was just there, the CIG effects were messy and hillarious. Wetin concern Nigeria and Technological and Science fictions. Are these stuffs obtainable in Nigeria at the moment. Can we boost of well equiped security gadgets on our streets and airpots?

You want nollywood to produce futuristic movies. Is there any sign that Nigeria is technological advanced? Nowadays, every author is now part of new nollywood. B grade actors like Chika Ike and Joselyn Dumas jump into movie production,release a movie and call it new nollywood movie. At the end of the day,it's just a technological upgrade of the old nollywood,period!
Nollywood has been here for a while,for God's sake. I expected them to release it's own version of the Trans Atlantic slave trade and journey to the new world movies.

parrotibaba:
I don't really get this "Nollywood is dying" posts flying all over NL. The problem with some Nigerians is dat de do not want to evolve into the latest trends happening in the world. How can a sensible human being compare the likes of Igodo n Living in bondage to d likes of October 1 n phone swap? No doubt those "old" movies r classics but really? The new Nollywood movies(not d pound road aba made movies) r better much more better dan d old ones in any category u see fit to compare ,whether it be d actors or d storylines or d film production. Some of d comments here r plain ridiculous ,y'all read Nigerian thriller novels or the romantic ones but when d story moves to d screens u call it westernized ,WTF? Must our movies be all about a wicked mother-in-law who decides to use witchcraft to kill her son's wife or about gangsters kidnapping n living in uncompleted buildings or worst still d incessant family wahala dat involves d man cheating on his wife. We r in d age of digitalization as most ppl hv a smartphone n laptops with dem so if a movie decides to follow dat trend den it is an "American copy copy" movie. There r many genres in movie making n u r free to choose any.

Rather dan aimlessly criticizing d new Nollywood movies we should encourage dem by...

- Going to cinemas to patronize dem

- Constructively criticize the various parts that needs improvements

- Stop patronizing d Alaba film pirates; this will encourage more film producers to pump in more cash into a better film making experience n also help push some of our novels to dis producers for adaptation.

My two kobo

Very well spoken.. we need more people like you for better appreciation of the movie industry's evolution

Nwangoma:

Sorry* this the same person,let me continue from where is stopped.
Yes,some of the new movies are simply overated and crappy. They can only boost of goodlooking fellows,posh locations, better audio and sound quality. But they are as corny as the old nollywood sector. Take the Last flight,for instance,that was an attempt to tell a story about flight mishaps and they failed woefully. While watching it,i felt they were trying to rip off American Airforce 1 movie. Let's face it,Nigeria is not ripe enough enough for such movies. Technologically,we are not there yet. The movie was a total mess,the plot was just there, the CIG effects were messy and hillarious. Wetin concern Nigeria and Technological and Science fictions. Are these stuffs obtainable in Nigeria at the moment. Can we boost of well equiped security gadgets on our streets and airpots?

Last flight to abuja has its faults.. but trying to imitate Airforce one is not one of them. The storylines are very different.. please re-watch airforce one. And you also need to be open minded about the growth of science and technology in Nigeria. Also, it's CGI not CIG. I'd recommend you watch 'gone too far' and give us feedback