1. on the success of
Like Toyin Subair of HiTV said, bankrolling the Koko Mansion was the second biggest risk he’d ever taken in his life (the first big risk he ever took was founding HiTV); the production team was convinced that Koko Mansion was going to be well-received, but nothing prepared us for the huge acceptance it finally received, considering all the negative press the show generated even before we commenced broadcasting – but less than a week later, the media started warming up to the show – and it even got so big that the Minister of Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili came on the show as a guest to meet the mansion mates one-on-one. That’s how big it was, and even bigger. I did a little research, and I discovered that a few days to the end of the show that Koko Mansion had more fans on Facebook than the Fox TV series Prison Break – imagine, Prison Break had 17, 216 fans on Facebook after 4 seasons, while Koko Mansion had almost 18, 000 in less than 6 weeks. That was when I knew we had hit gold.
2. on the concept of the show –
Like I said in the article I posted on our website; many successful eligible bachelors often find themselves in this dilemma – not knowing what qualities to seek in a life partner. It’s crazy, but when you’ve been around, and attained a certain level of success, you begin to get confused by the degree of attention you get from the opposite sex. For men, it could be very challenging, and in Nigeria where many shy away from talking about the ideal woman for fear of being criticized for demeaning or stereotyping women, this question had lingered for so long until D’banj and HiTv came up with Koko Mansion, designed as an open forum to answer this question once and for all. So, basically, D’banj decided to take the bull by the horns on behalf of eligible bachelors to host this search – and in the end, I guess it’s clearer now what the average Nigerian considers to be the qualities of an ideal woman.
Application was open to Nigerian ladies between the ages of 18 and 30, in
4. on the reason why the show didn’t opt for edited periodical episodes –
Prof Dora Akunyili’s visit to the Koko Mansion has already answered the question of how this show helped in rebranding the image of Nigerians abroad – there was no nudity in the mansion, we did not encourage the use of foul language – we conducted the voting process in a free and fair manner – we gave the contestants tasks that were designed to improve their self-esteem and not to demean them. The show has gone a long way to prove that sometimes thinking Nigerian has it own perks – the show was produced by a 100% Nigerian production outfit, hosted by a Nigerian, 100% Nigerian crew, sponsored by Nigerian companies, and broadcast on the platform of a 100% Nigerian company –HiTV
Yeah yeah – people always assume that my passion is poetry, and I’m not saying it’s not, but then I’m familiar with all the modern genres of literature and writing – I actually started off as a playwright back in high school, after which I did a lot of play writing for radio – dealing with the medium of sound alone, and it was challenging but fun at the same time. Poetry has always come very easy to me, and people who know me know I love challenges – my poems basically reflect my experiences – sometimes poetry provides me with a medium to codify some of my thoughts. I believe so much in esoteric romanticism, and as a result my poetry is a dark cloud that heralds the brightest sun shine – sometimes, I think it’s for the initiated, though I was surprised at the main stream acceptance my first book received, I still clamor to maintain my dark appeal – words inspired by dark emotions like anger, anguish, and loneliness.
But when you compare my poetry to my television work, you’d still discover a lot of similarities – sometimes, I let the poet take over me as I impregnate the script with visual metaphors – and when I’m not conceiving some ingenious ways to make an act or a scene appear more foreboding or suspenseful, then I’m looking for very witty ways to inject poetry into the voiceovers – and if you watch and listen very closely to my TV works, it won’t take you time to identify the signature of a melancholic poet. Like on the Koko Mansion highlights, when you hear phrases like “when the clouds of confusion dissolved from the mansion, the members of the winning team got ready to enjoy a well-deserved reward…”, “Afterwards, the Kokolets wrapped up a complicated day with mythical tales by the poolside”, “Hungry limbs can’t fight, but then they can sleep, whine, and cry –and they did…” – some of the lines just give away the source of composition. It was exciting working on Dragons Den, because the producer was a great guy who wanted something very formal and business-like, but I figured if we could write the presenter to be a bit more witty and a little bit more sarcastic so we could give the viewers a fun time – we talked about this, and he was like “okay, go ahead, but I’ll be watching you to make sure you don’t turn the whole show into one big comedy” – and we tried it, adding just the right doses of the elements I mentioned and the show became a hit with viewers. With TV, I always like to think like the viewers – what would I like to hear or see? If it’s a business show, I ask myself, would people really love it if it was too serious? Would it be better received with a touch of witticism in it for the family enjoyment? I always answer these questions before I start typing. But then again, I’d always attribute my success with TV to my romantic streak as a poet, because it allows me to feel before I write. And when you “feel” a TV script – it gives it that poignant appeal that your viewers can definitely relate with.
Well, managing my career and my passion has not really been easy – but it’s been fun to watch the multiple personalities come to active play. For me, I think the bedrock of being a good publicist is having the ability to write compelling stories – weaving an interesting and oftentimes poetic tale around your client’s product is what makes your press releases more attractive to the various editors who come in contact with your press kit or press release. So, oftentimes, my publicity business borrows a great deal from my passion as a poet and a writer. But then when the inner core of the poetic dragon is activated, my mind becomes an overheating furnace that seeks to cool out in the confines of my own mind – at this point I escape from the world, choosing to sink into the beautiful arms of nature – the moon becomes a muse to me, flowers speak to me, and the sun feels like my strength – in a nutshell, I transcend into a deeper realm – a realm of dreams, imagination, and creative possibilities – a world where I am king with the ability to create lives that will touch lives. And when I put on my suit as a publicist, I can be found shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries in posh night clubs, and fancy restaurants that the writer in me has no taste for – but then the publicist handles the deals very maturely. Sometimes I surprise myself at the transformation – and sometimes it’s difficult to get in and out of the publicist character in quick succession, but most of my clients know this, and that’s the reason why they only call me in on very special occasions when an expert is really needed – so I guess they prepare themselves for the quirky nature of the guy they hired …now I’m laughing at me.
I’m greatly influenced by my dynamic childhood experiences…or lack of it. Secondly, I think of myself as proudly Nigerian, who believes that
I think the problem of Africans not being well represented in the media, or in fact I should say the problem with African writers not being well represented in the media lies in the fact that the Africans should begin to accord more respect to their writers – if the writers get the respect they deserve, and at least live at par with their Western counterparts, they’d be more adventurous in churning out more pro-African stories – because then they know that they won’t go hungry if they did. Here, the writers are being hijacked by corporate organizations and put behind a big desk – what time would they have to feel and experience the
Well, crossing over to the mainstream for African professional is always a challenge, but I’d like to talk about crossing-over for the African writer – the African media oftentimes underplays the role of writers in television and movies – you need to have a published novel to gain recognition – oftentimes, they would only give you attention only if you were published abroad, or have received an award abroad or something – but then it shouldn’t be so. Our television industry is growing rapidly in Africa, and writers who have worked in this industry deserve to be so recognized as the novelists and poets – because our critics our in millions of homes – criticizing our works or enjoying them tremendously – the spotlight should be cast on the tremendously talented individuals who script some of these shows that are intended for the family viewing pleasures – for some of us TV writers, we write bestsellers every week – because we sell to millions of viewers who have the option of switching channels, but if they choose to watch our writing, then that’s a phenomenal success story. But then again, I guess it’s not peculiar to Africa or even
I’m driven by a primal desire to tell life-changing stories. Stories that would make you ponder and reflect on your existence, and how you interface with your fellow humans. I’m driven by the challenges of living in a society that still idolizes the footsteps of the white man who colonized them. I’m driven by the pain and agony of being an intellectual in a society where intellectualism is synonymous with peasantry. I’m driven by anger – to prove that with creativity, imagination, and vision, anything in this world is possible – and that’s what keeps me going.
I admire the works and personality of Wole Soyinka – he is a fearless literary dragon whose pen has as much venom as his personality. He’s a man with moral courage – a writer with deep imagination, and a great sense of responsibility. He has constantly aimed for a greater, better, safer, more equal
I am proud to be a Nigerian. I am proud to be African. Like I said earlier while citing the reasons why I adore the works of Wole Soyinka – writers owe it to the motherland to use their gift to fight for her future – to fight injustice, promote brotherhood, extol virtue, and banish corruption with the venom of their bleeding quills. The pen they say is mightier than the sword, and if African writers can take advantage of the internet – and write to fight those situations that plague us as Africans – write to interact with our brothers in the Diaspora to come back home and join us in building a more vibrant continent for our children. Then
Individuals like James Amuta have contributed copiously to our entertainment needs, and i have no doubt that this is the beginning of a better time for our entertainment industry...from here, we wish him the very best.
No comments:
Post a Comment