Bovi Explains His Controversial Call-Out of Nollywood Director
First, the only time the director was not on set was when he wasn’t feeling fine, and he left the DP to direct the scene. I didn’t just relax; I had to provide my input. Now, the truth is that I can direct, but I’m not trained as a director. I don’t understand the professional language, so that is why I have not attempted it, but I know what I want in a picture.
I spoke up because, in the buildup to that moment, I could perceive an aggressive person, and that was the energy we were getting. This movie was made by three executive producers, me, Moses Babatope, and Idris Olorunnimbe, that’s (Country culture, FilmOne, and Temple). FilmOne brought the director highly recommended. So from the day production started, there was this problem of the vision of the writer versus the vision of the director, and that was where we had issues.
The director kept saying he wanted us to have meetings, and I felt we had had enough meetings. The issues were basically the director trying to change certain things on set as against the vision of what the writer was saying. It was a funny mix of horror and comedy, and I didn’t want to lose that essence. I kept saying we were not making horror movies; we were making a spooky movie. There were elements I was seeing, and I didn’t like it. And I kept saying, “Please follow the description in the script.” I think the director came on my set with the energy of an executive producer and director like it was his project. I think he was thinking, “Where is Bovi coming from? I have been doing this for years.” I kept running back to my executive producers, saying, “You guys are not on this set; I’m on the set, and it’s driving me nuts.” But I took it in my stride because any set that has a director and writer, most of these things tend to happen. It’s why most directors don’t have a writer on their set, and writers end up being directors so that they can transfer that vision as they want it. That was where we had issues.
I managed to comport myself till we ended on set because I thought it was cool. In the buildup to the release, there was no mention of this project by this guy. You know every movie starts with the director’s name, and this director asked that his name not be put there. When we started to market and push the project, he refused to identify with the project. He never participated, never posted; he basically shied away. This was exactly what the executive producers also complained about. And then Moses said that he told him I said with or without him, the project would be a success because it’s in God’s hands. And then I said, “Did he also tell you that I said even me who conceived the vision, with or without me, the project will be a success?” He said yes.
And then the movie goes on to gross more than 100 million in the box office, and he is posting about it all of a sudden, and I lost it. I really lost it.
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