FEBRUARY 21, 2015 BY ADEMOLA OLONILUA 0 COMMENTS
Tai Balofin
Describe Tai Balofin as a jack of all trades and you may not be wrong. Scholar, show promoter, movie producer and also a journalist, he is many things rolled into one. In this interview, he tells Ademola Olonilua about his career and family life
As a scholar, how did you get into the entertainment industry?
I started very young as a newscaster before graduating into film making. Basically I wear three hats; I am into entertainment, I am a scholar and I am a businessman as well. I have bachelors and master’s degrees in Mass Communication. I have an MBA and PhD in Business administration. I also have a PhD in Mass Communication in view.
I teach film and cinematography. I have produced several films. I have acted in over 60 Nigerian and Hollywood movies combined together.
What attracted you to cinematography because it seems it is an obsession for you?
It is what I craved for even as a child and I had the chance to study it in school. I was a very talented kid while growing up.
I remember the first time I read the news on air in NTA, I accompanied my sister there and saw people auditioning to be newscasters and I was just laughing at them. Someone asked me why I was laughing and I said they were not doing it right. The man challenged me to try it out and I did it very well. I started reading the news that day. I was about 15 years old then.
As a teenager, how did you feel casting the news on national television?
I would say it was fun. On the first day I was to read the news, I was a bit stunned and did not say anything until they signalled to me to start reading. Immediately I started reading the news, that was it. I began broadcasting even before I gained admission into the university to study Mass Communication.
Some people underrate the Nigerian movie industry especially when being compared to its foreign counterparts. What is your assessment of Nollywood?
On March 7, 2015, I would be in Budapest, Hungary to talk about the challenges in Nollywood. I have reliable information and statistics on the disparity between Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood. The event in Budapest is three in one; they would show my latest movie, Fire in the Bone; I was invited by the government of Hungary to receive a national award because of my experience in the field and I am also presenting a paper on the 21st century Nollywood which is majorly about the challenges we face.
According to my statistics, Nollywood produces about 2,000 movies a year and what it grosses per annum is not up to $20m. Bollywood produces about 800 movies a year and they gross about $3bn to their economy. The United States of America produces about 600 movies in a year and they gross close to $57bn. You can see the disparity.
Part of the problem Nollywood faces is that there is no financial back-up because it is not a bankable industry. In US, it is a bankable industry and the market is there. On an average in US, they spend about $47m to produce a movie and you can imagine how much they make in return because the outlet and the market are there. They have the facilities; the banks are there to look at the scripts.
As a banker, if I know that after I give you $2m, you can recoup $50m, I would gladly do business they think with you. In Nigeria, banks are afraid to support creative works because the market is not there. We have the market but we have not been able to work on it.
What can stakeholders do to make the industry bankable?
Stakeholders have to go back to the basics and do a lot of research. They have to talk to the people because part of my random sampling is to survey who the audience of Nollywood are, what are they doing wrong and what are their perspectives. When you look at it from the perspective of the audience, which talks about the basic individual theory, they have a choice. The audience should have an opportunity to say if a movie is good or not.
It is good for the stakeholders to look at the agenda setting theory and come up with a strategy. They should ask themselves these questions; what is the content of the movie? What is the market that would be used to sell the movie? How would they be able to spend N10m to make N500m? We are not making megabucks and it is a serious issue.
But most stakeholders have blamed part of the problem on piracy?
Piracy is everywhere, even in America. It is a virus that has eaten deep into the very fibre of Nollywood market and it is a big deal. There is also what is called ‘conspiracy theory’ which is very deep.
Nigeria is a mafia when it comes to piracy and it is a very difficult battle to fight in the country. In the US, they have issues of piracy but they are dealing with it. I often ask about laws and policies that protect intellectual works in Nigeria but I have realised that there are none. I believe it is part of the government’s job to come up with such policies. A lot of wonderful laws guard against theft of intellectual properties in the US but there are none here and it is a big issue. Government has a role to play in this regard.
Often times, producers claim that actresses seduce them to get roles in their movies, have you ever encountered such?
I don’t see that as a big deal because anywhere in the world, if a woman is looking for a job they sometimes use what they have to get what they want. The bottom-line is that they deliver. Even if they sleep with a producer, if they do not deliver, the job is not going to be done. I have heard of it happening but I have not experienced anybody flaunting their body at me to get a role in my movie.
At what point did you decide to travel to America?
I have been travelling since I was young. As a matter of fact, when Dele Giwa was murdered, I did a documentary on him to unveil the killers. I was privileged to travel to the US. I was in Fordham College to talk to some of his professors and to look at his intellectual prowess, how brilliant he was when he was learning journalism. I have written books in the field of Mass Communication and several academic publications. Since then, I have been shuttling between Nigeria and various countries.
Don’t you think that at this stage in your journey, you should stick to one profession?
I don’t see a separation or difference because what I practise is what I teach. Practising it and educating those that love the industry is a passion for me. I impact what I practise into others and it is a piece of cake.
With a schedule like yours, how do you have time for your family?
My children are grown, so I am not babysitting anyone and I have time to move around like I want to. I have travelled worldwide and I have not stopped.
So where is your next destination?
I premiered my movie, Fire in the Bone, in New York and London; it is going to Germany before we come and premiere it in Nigeria. I have to promote it because it is my duty to make sure that it gets to the market. My latest work, Ogboni, is making waves right now in Nigeria. It was an adaptation of my book titled Stunted Fortune of the Fraternity. It was adapted for a Yoruba movie and now it shows regularly on DSTV.
We learnt that the marketer didn’t pay you a dime for that movie.
Yes it is true. The marketer stole my money. The movie sold out, it was in high demand. The marketer that I gave the film refused to pay me my money and he made a lot of money from it. He confessed to me that he made megabucks from the sales. He would have made at least N25m from that movie for the first print run. He made several runs after that and it is sad. This is what producers face in Nigeria. I spent nothing less than N3m on that movie.
Was there no agreement between the two of you and why didn’t you take him to court?
We have an agreement but I am exploring all arbitration; taking him to court would be a last resort. I am a gentleman but it is long overdue because this happened since 2001. It is an abuse of privilege.
How did you meet your wife?
The moment I saw her I told her that she was my wife. I am a chief in my village and one day, my king called me to pick him up at JFK airport in America. He came in company with my wife who was his sister-in-law and immediately I sighted her, I told my king, ‘thank you for bringing my wife’ and they started laughing. When the king left for Nigeria, she remained in America and stayed in her mother’s house at Coney Island. We started talking and one thing led to another, we began dating and eventually got married.
Some women are normally skeptical about marrying entertainers. Did your wife have any reservation about marrying you?
I publish a magazine, US African Eye, and at one point, it was being distributed in Nigeria. My wife told me that one day she saw my magazine. Out of curiosity, she said she saw the picture of a very handsome man and wished that man would be her husband. Years later when we met, she did not know it was me till she saw my magazine again and was amazed that I was the one she was hoping to marry.
Is any of your children following in your footsteps in terms of career choice?
Yes. Even though my first child is an accountant, to my surprise he is also a television presenter and has his own show. At a point when I was doing my television show, Wheel of Fortune, my son’s show was also running. One of my children is also seeking admission to study Mass Communication.
How were you able to act on Broadway in America?
I was able to do that because I understudied Broadway. I took the epic movie, Sango, to Broadway. I am also a show promoter and I have taken a lot of Nigerian entertainment gurus to America. I have taken the likes of Shina Peters to America and I promoted him over there. I have promoted the likes of Majek Fashek, Orlando Owo, late Sunny Okosun, Obesere, to mention a few.
I thought about putting a Broadway show together and I discussed it with Arik Air and the airline sponsored it. I came to Nigeria to look for big talents. I was the one that took the likes of Jide Kososko, Liz Benson, Regina Askia, Kanayo .O. Kanayo to America for the first time to introduce them to Hollywood. This time around, there was greater demand so I took big actors like Sanyeri, Muyiwa Ademola, Bimbo Oshin and it was a huge success in Washington D.C and New York. It was a wonderful feeling and they loved it.
source:PUNCH
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