Filmmaker Jade Osiberu Disagrees With Actors Getting Lifetime Royalties, Offers Possible Solution
The Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood, has over the past few days been filled with conversations about actors earning lifetime royalties from the movies they feature in.
On the popular microblogging platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), an X user identified as Femzy made a post stating that veteran actor Kanayo O. Kanayo has proposed that the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) see to the enactment of lifetime royalties for actors.
"Popular Nigerian Actor Kanayo O Kanayo, Has proposed To the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) to Consider implementing a Law Where all Nigerians Actors & Actresses will be getting lifetime Royalties Payments from Any movies they are featured On, that’s uploaded on any streaming platforms, & Establish an Agency that will guide and make sure the policy is being implemented Nationwide, He said this will help alot of Actors & actresses to Earn from their talent for life, Because most of them go extremely broke after they stop getting roles from movies."
Quoting the tweet, filmmaker Jade Osiberu affirmed her agreement sarcastically, suggesting that the AGN should also see to a law that mandates all actors to contribute their money to cover the losses a movie producer incurs during the course of the movie.
"I agree jare. I think the association should also implement a law that when a producer makes loses on a project, all the actors and crew come together to contribute to cover the losses incurred. May be for actors, you can contribute by how many scenes you featured in so the leads pay the most and then day players and extras pay the least. For crew, it can be by seniority."
Osiberu further emphasized that she had previously offered actors the opportunity to invest in her movies in order to help manage costs.
According to her, the conversation surrounding royalties should be focused on every sector of the movie industry, in order to ensure that everyone gets a fair share.
She stressed that filmmaking is a capital-intensive project, pointing out the numerous risks involved, while stating that every player needs to understand the industry.
"By the way, I've put it here sarcastically cos I thought we were all joking. The conversation has some nuance. I was one of the first producers to offer actors in my films backend deals and even ask them to invest so we building together. I think these conversations should be had in a way that takes into consideration of all stakeholders POV and industry realities. I get that everyone wants to look out for themselves but filmmaking is one of the most capital intensive art forms. In an industry like ours that still is figuring out and building infrastructure, its carries it own risk. Any single player just looking to earn without thinking about the whole value chain and ecosystem needs to settle down and really learn about their industry."