Nollywood Of Old Is Better Than Nollywood Of Today – Francis Odega

Francis Odega

Nollywood actor Francis Odega has said that he helped build the Nigerian movie industry before it became what it is today. He recently had his say while speaking on the Where Is The Lie podcast, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, one script used to deliver memorable Nollywood movies in the past, unlike now, when one script is used to portray several underwhelming films.

Francis added that he has been in the industry for 3 decades, so he can categorically state that the Nollywood of old is better than the Nollywood of today.

His words, “Back then, one script would give us one unforgettable movie. But now, one script can give you seven bad movies, and that’s not right. Nollywood back then is far better than the Nollywood of today.

I was among of the people who made Nollywood… I have been in the movie industry for 30 years.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.