General News | 4 November 2006 18:57 CET

NOLLYWOOD MOVIE PRODUCERS SHUN ANITA HOGAN

Following her alleged involvement in a pornographic movie titled “Mapouka in Naija,” Nollywood producers are now reluctant to feature actress Anita Hogan in their movies for fear of negative reactions from movie buffs and the general public.

The Akwa Ibom State-born, Ebony skinned, tall and beautiful actress who spoke to the press in Lagos recently, confirmed that the scandal had affected her negatively. “It has affected my career, I have not done any movies since then, producers are very careful because they don't know how people will react if they feature me in movies, I would say the scandal hit me career wise, very negatively,” she said.

On her involvement in the pornographic movie and her nude photographs, the actress said the whole thing was a mere set up by some people who demanded money from her but she refused to pay, so that was their idea of getting even with her. “The name used is mine, the face is mine but the body is not mine, I leave people to their imagination and judgement,” she said.

The actress who recently got married to Ted Mak, a Dutch from Holland, disclosed that her husband's face was also in the nude pictures but definitely not his body, adding that the same way her face was fixed on a different body was what they also did to him.

The graduate of Theatre Arts from the University of Uyo, who also holds a masters degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, explained that when she heard the story and saw people passing round the publication, she was so shocked that she had a miscarriage and lost her three months pregnancy.

She noted that her fiances now husband did not take it seriously, same for her family whose only worry was why she should be the one chosen for the infamous act.

According to her, her sister did not give the pictures a second look because her sister knows that she has tatoos in her body but the body used in the pornographic movie and nude photographs have no tatoo.

Anita a product of broken home said that the situation never affected her negatively. The daughter of an Army Colonel described her childhood as nice, but challenging. She maintained that her parents got separated when she was small, but she has a wonderful stepmother and a sweet mother and non of them is jealous of the other however, the separation has made her unnecessarily defensive of herself.

On her sojourn in Nollywood, she said acting is inate in her and a calling. According to her, she joined Nollywood on her own accord, nobody brought her to the industry and since she started acting she has featured in many films but none of them gave her the breakthrough she needed.

The beautiful actress stressed that she became more known after the Gulder Ultimate Search.

According to her, Gulder Ultimate Search is one experience she would always cherish in her heart. The strength she possesses which even surprises her was actually instilled in her at Obudu Cattle Ranch. “The whole experience left me stronger, wiser and I will say tougher. I will always thank God for being a part of Gulder Ultimate Search,” she added.

Commenting on the Nigerian movie industry, Anita said Nigerians are expecting too much from Nollywood. She contended that Nollywood is just 13 or 14 years old, no matter how much we expect, it is still a young industry, it is going through the normal teething problem and the normal age problem that a 13 year old person should have.

“Nollywood cannot be bigger than its age just wish for it to grow, become stronger, accommodate and develop more people and bring out films with better quality,” she said

Other sites The Nigerian Voice