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| Lasun Ray |
Lasun who spoke with this reporter during the audition of an upcoming movie held at the Ariya Garden of the Kwara Hotels, Ilorin, said given the envious position Kwara state occupies in the entertainment industry in the country there is need for a steady stream of popular faces to be fed into the main stream of the industry from the state.
“I am ready to introduce new faces into the industry through this movie. There are talents that are waiting to come into limelight which I have seen through this audition. You know acting is an obvious thing if you are doing it right you will know.”
On what percentage artistes in the state should expect from the proposed movie, he said, “this is a movie of international repute so I am not concerned about where you come from. Somebody has also asked this same question and told me that movie makers who come into the state to shot films usually give insignificant roles to our people here but my answer is that I am not concerned with where you are coming from as long as you can do what I want.
“My aim is to make an international movie that everybody will be proud of so there is no sentiment here. This is a movie of about 5000 cast and I can assure you that everyone that came for the audition will have one or two things to do.”
The movie producer also revealed that he is shooting the movie in Kwara so as to showcase the goodness in kwara. “I brought the production down here so that the whole world can see what is happening in Kwara state. So that when we say ‘it is good here’ they will understand why. We want to exhibit the beauty in this state, our culture, tradition and even the peace we are enjoying. So we decided to bring it down here. This is an international movie that has all the trapping of being a blockbuster; it is 75percent English while Yoruba and Igbo languages share the remaining 25%.”
Speaking on unity among artistes, the veteran actor called on artistes, especially of the Yoruba genre, to unite and work for the progress of the industry. He pointed out that the industry to move ahead artistes, who are members, must be ready to work and not engage in frivolous search for power.
In his words, “What I will just tell artistes especially Yoruba artistes is that we should do the real job which is our calling; it is your job that will lift you. Like I use to tell them, I was not born into theatre politics, I was born into the real acting stuff so I always advocate that we do the real job we have chosen for ourselves.
“Every one of us must be committed to this industry wherever we are. We should be good ambassadors and strive to excel then and only then can we all excel together. If you see anyone that is doing well in any field you rarely see them fight for posts this is because there is nothing to fight about if we strive to excel in our individual career.
“If you exhibit your talent the best way you can and I also do mine the industry will be the better for it. For an example Adeyemi Afolayan is known for love stories, Ogunde is known for mystical stories, Ray Eyinwunmi for his acting acumen and so on. This was how the people of old laid the legacy that built the make believe industry in this country. So I see no reason why there will be no unity.”
Lasun who explained that he is not concerned about association revealed that he is only kin on producing a movie of international repute and which will add greatly to the profile of the Yoruba movie industry.
He also faulted the recent celebration of Nollywood at 20 saying it is not a true reflection of the entertainment industry in the country. He explained that that it is a great fraud to say that Nollywood just clocked 20years when veterans like Ogunde, Afolayans, Eyinwumi and many others have dominated the entertainment sphere since 70s.
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| from the audition |
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