Monday, 20 May 2013

Ibinabo deserves what she got - Segun Arinze (Between Segun Arinze & Bimbo Akintola PART1)EXCLUSIVE



 Ok before going ahead to read , this exclusive interview was co-ordinated between Segun Arinze and Bimbo Akintola. So you guys will be seeing pictures of both personalities together.  Segun Arinze's is Part 1 and Bimbo Akintola's is Part2
INTRO
Born to an Igbo mother and a Yoruba farther, this enigmatic actor is one of Nollywood’s finest, who true hard work and dedication has been able to bring Nollywood to the limelight. He is one of the very few Nigerian actors whose principles and tenacity has brought him the much deserved respect and the love of his fans. Known as Nollywood ‘’bad boy’’, Segun Arinze has been able to create a strong brand for himself, one I believe will stand the test of time. His sense of humour is something that distinguishes him from every Nollywood star I have come across, his approach to life is yet another. This veteran movie star opens up to DANNYDIGIT in an exclusive, about his career, life and principles. Enjoy!

THE MAN ‘’SEGUN ARINZE’’
There is no masking about me; I’m just simply me Segun. I’m just a simple easy going person and sometimes misunderstood I guess it has to do with some of the roles they see me play. I had to put a stop to that as well because now I’m a father and then my kids watching me play those kinds of roles. We are gradually just getting to the level of understanding the difference between a job and somebody’s personal life. People have a way of insinuating that since you play such roles, therefore you are that kind of person, especially when you play the role so well; for instance if you play the role of an armed  robber so well that means you have the element of been a thief inside you and that is not how it is. All over the world you have actors playing different roles people who are good at what they do, so one has to make a clear distinction of that.

I am very professional, people think because they are close to you they can take you for granted, they ask you to do things and when it doesn’t come out the way they want it, it becomes trouble. You sacrifice your professional name on the altar of friendship. Friendship is friendship, business is business and professionalism is professionalism, that’s the way it should be.

I started acting way back in the 1980s when I was still in secondary school between 1981 and 1982. I was with a guy called Ayo Borowale we started something called Palm Players back then in Ilorin. It was something that was innate in me. In those days you had to be a lawyer, doctor, engineer or you are working in the civil service and if you are not doing any of those you are simply termed irresponsible. This perception was a carry-over from the 70s into the 80s and coming slightly into the early 90s, but with hard work and being focused, things changed and the effect is what we are seeing today. Now you have lawyers and doctors who want to be actors. I have friends who want to go into this field because they think they have what it takes. So that was how it started. I have done countless movies; I will say some good and some very well. I haven’t retired yet from the industry, I recently did some movies but they are not out yet, like family fire, which is still in the cinemas, The Gukas, which was shot in Abuja and will be out in February or early march. I took a little break for myself; I am working on a personal project a series, I had an audition in January and I am looking forward to the end of the first quarter to roll tape. I also started shooting with Tinsel; so far so good it’s been a wonderful experience working with them. There is no chance for error working with the Tinsel crew; I am very impressed with what I saw and experienced so far.

NOLLYWOOD AND I
People say Nollywood has no content, and I ask them; what do you mean by that? They say we keep doing the same thing all over again, but I tell them that even the Americans do that. Stories are recycled; we have a remake of movies and all that. I don’t see anything wrong in what we are doing. The luck we have is that we have stories we can relate to, in the American movie industry what they have is geared towards sci-fi movies, ware wolves, vampires and all these types of movies in my own views are not appealing to family viewing what happened to family values? We have all those nice stories that keep you warm on your couch while you take chocolate or coffee. Our stories show family values that relate to us, extended family issues, matrimonial issues, government and politics and so many other things that relates to us directly. We do have content and the best of Nollywood is yet to come. We are evolving and it’s a good thing and it means if there is no change then there is a problem.


DANNYDIGIT: There is this saying that Nollywood is rated as the third in the world in terms of output. Is this a myth or fact?

It depends on which side of the divide you are, some people say it is a fact because of the quantity of movies produced yearly while some will say it is a fact because we are evolving and the quality is improving. Personally I will say it’s a good thing that we are being rated. We should also look inwards and rate ourselves; I don’t want cosmetic ratings, when I say cosmetic rating I am talking about rating that is given because we churn out movies like rabbits so let’s give it to you, but we will continue to maintain our own standards. I want a realistic rating; rate us because we have the talents and production value as well.  

IBINABO AND ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA
Ibinabo deserves what she got; she deserves to be the President of A.G.N because she won clean, fair and square. We had tried to do an election in Benin and it was forged, we then came up with a new method, instead of having all the delegates come to Lagos, we asked them to stay in their states and on the Thursday of that month, conduct the election and send in your results. So I don’t know where this story comes from, the truth of the matter is; it has come and it is done and people are definitely bound to be aggrieved when things don’t go out their way. We all saw what happened in the U.S.A, Obama was winning and Romney, even to the last minute didn’t give up, because he felt there were still votes out there to make him president. But at the end of the day he congratulated the President and moved on, that is life, try again next time.


CHALLENGES IN THE INDUSTRIES
If asked what I will change in the movie industry if given the opportunity, I will say, ‘’I will go the whole nine yards and say hey! Let’s continue to improve the standard of the movie industry, let’s get everything right, let’s do things the way they should be done; and let’s not do things in a mediocre way. Let’s strive to attain the international standards’’.

LEISURE
I try as much as possible to unwind, see a match or a movie, and listen to good music. If I get to bored I travel to a choice destination and unwind.  But the truth is how many Nigerians can do that, do we have the time to take a break, a holiday and relax, just a few. You see people on the streets, looking frustrated and angry. It is truly sad, we hardly relax, but it will be nice if we can find out time to relax.

MY PROJECTS
I rested my TV programme, a talk show which aired on A.I.T in 2002 called NO HOLDS BARRED’’ I will like to come back with it, this time well packaged. I will like to thank my fans, because any way you look at it, we serve them, they are our bosses and we do anything to make them happy.


FASHION AND I
I don’t like being outlandish or going overboard with fashion, sense style and simplicity. Just make sure you are comfortable and the cutting is very good and not raggedly put together. You must use the right accessories, avoid zany colours. I like to keep it simple. My favourite Nigerian designers will be, Bovi, based in Abuja, I like Modi.

CREDITS : 
GGrandure (for the clothes and accessories)
Okam Photo Studios Ikoyi
Ochanya Mary ( Transcriber)


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