Wednesday, July 30, 2014

PwC Announces Investment To Accelerate Africa Growth Opportunities


PRESS RELEASE


PwC announces investment to accelerate Africa growth opportunities

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, July 30, 2014/ -- PwC (http://www.pwc.com) has today announced it is increasing its investment in Africa and building closer links between PwC UK and PwC Africa, to meet increased demand for professional services as trade activity between the two regions grows.

Suresh Kana, PwC Africa Senior Partner.


The investment is part of PwC’s ongoing strategy to develop high potential markets, and follows the UK firm’s successful investment in Central and Eastern Europe.

Ian Powell, UK Chairman and Senior Partner, commented:

"This is an exciting development which enhances our ability to serve clients across the fastest growing region in the world. Africa has an abundance of natural resources and seven of the world’s fastest growing economies meaning the opportunities for UK business are significant.”

Suresh Kana, PwC Africa Network Territory Senior Partner, said:

“This is great news for our network. Over the years we have built PwC into the leading network in Africa. We now see huge opportunities to build our capabilities further as we will be able to invest even faster in key industry sectors such as Capital Projects & Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Government & Public Sector and Financial Services. We have great teams in Africa and this investment will help us build more local capacity, and create teaming and secondment opportunities.”

As part of the investment, Paul Cleal, PwC UK partner and chair of its Africa Business Group, will be seconded to the African Leadership team and based on the continent.

PwC teams from the UK and Africa have a strong track record of working together to support businesses, governments and NGOs in nations such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia with expertise in fields such as economic development, climate change, education, infrastructure, natural resources, and power and utilities.

The UK is renowned for the strength of its business and professional services sector and this deal is a demonstration of how the nation can play to its strengths on the global stage. This commitment not only benefits our clients and the PwC network, but is also good for the UK and African economies.

Professional and business support services is one of the most successful sectors in the UK economy, contributing 12% of total UK GDP - more than financial services (8.5%) or manufacturing (10%). The sector has grown by nearly 6% a year since Q3 2009 and has been one of the biggest job-creating sectors in the UK economy as well as a major contributor to UK exports.

A 2013 report by BIS – ‘Growth is our business: A Strategy for Professional and Business Services (PBS)’ – recognised the contribution of the professional and business services sector to the UK economy, and highlighted the opportunities in developing markets. Other business services contribute 29% of total services exports and totalled £58.6 billion in 2013, with a trade surplus of £29.3 billion.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).


Contacts
Suresh Kana: PwC Africa Network Territory Senior Partner
Office: + 27 11 797 4312
OR
Hein Boegman: PwC Regional Senior Partner, South Market Area
Office: + 27 11 797 4335
OR
James du Preez: PwC Head of Marketing, Communications & Business Development
Office: + 27 11 797 4367
OR
Lindiwe Magana: Media Relations Manager, PwC
Office: + 27 11 797 5042

About PwC
PwC (http://www.pwc.com) firms help organisations and individuals create the value they’re looking for. We’re a network of firms in 157 countries with more than 184,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services. Tell us what matters to you and find out more by visiting us at http://www.pwc.com.

SOURCE 
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)

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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Forrest Gump Celebrates 20th Anniversary With Exclusive One-Week IMAX® Release On Sept. 5


LOS ANGELES, July 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX), Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB), and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment today announced that Robert Zemeckis' Academy Award® Best Picture-winning Forrest Gump will get an exclusive one-week IMAX® re-release, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the film's original theatrical release in 1994. The film will be digitally re-mastered for the immersive IMAX® format and released domestically by Paramount Pictures in IMAX® theatres starting September 5.

Forrest Gump, which won six Academy Awards including Best Actor (Tom Hanks) and Best Director, will also receive a special Diamond Luxe Blu-ray release from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment September 30. The Diamond Luxe edition features a new sleek and durable collector-style packaging, with a state-of-the-art sophisticated design.
"As a ground-breaking achievement in both cinematography and visual effects for its time, Forrest Gump has become a modern American movie classic," said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment. "We're thrilled to once again collaborate with our longtime friends and partners Bob Zemeckis, Tom Hanks and Paramount. This film deserves a platform like The IMAX Experience® to help make its 20th anniversary one to remember."

"On behalf of the entire Forrest Gump family, it is with great pleasure and pride that we bring Forrest Gump back to the big screen using the latest technology for the ultimate IMAX experience," said producer Wendy Finerman.
Originally released in theaters by Paramount Pictures, Forrest Gump stars Hanks in the title role, a man who — despite his sub-normal IQ — led an extraordinary life, with a ringside seat to many of the most memorable events of the second half of the 20th century. The award-winning film went on to gross more than $675 million at the global box office, of which nearly $330 million came from North America, making it the highest-grossing film of all time when it was released in 1994.
The film also stars Robin Wright, Sally Field and Gary Sinise in his Oscar-nominated role as the cantankerous Lieutenant Dan.

The IMAX release of Forrest Gump will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

About Paramount Pictures CorporationParamount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees, as well as directly to consumers through WBShop.com and WBUltra.

About IMAX CorporationIMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing.  As of March 31, 2014, there were 840 IMAX theatres (707 commercial multiplexes, 18 commercial destinations and 115 institutions) in 57 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience®, IMAX Is Believing® and IMAX nXos® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

For additional information please contact:

Media:
IMAX Corporation - New York
Ann Sommerlath
212-821-0155
asommerlath@imax.com

Entertainment Media:
Principal Communications Group - Los Angeles
Melissa Zukerman/Paul Pflug
323-658-1555
melissa@pcommgroup.com
paul@pcommgroup.com

Investors:IMAX Corporation – New YorkTeri Loxam212-821-0110tloxam@imax.com

Business Media: Sloane & Company – New YorkWhit Clay212-446-1864wclay@sloanepr.com


SOURCE IMAX Corporation
RELATED LINKS
http://www.imax.com




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Friday, July 25, 2014

The Daily Beast and Instrument Partner to Launch "Read This. Skip That."-Inspired iOS News App


The Daily Beast and Instrument Partner to Launch "Read This. Skip That."-Inspired iOS News App Bringing "Read This. Skip That." to life for a majority-mobile news audience 

NEW YORK & PORTLAND, Ore., July 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- News and culture website The Daily Beast partners with independent digital creative agency Instrument for the launch of The Beast's entirely new iOS app. Now available in the App Store on iTunes, the app is built for The Daily Beast's mobile readers, now the majority of its 17M+ monthly audience.

The all-new iOS app brings The Daily Beast's "Read This. Skip That." mantra to life with an incredibly simple interface that serves up every story with just two options—read or skip. Like an email inbox—or even Tinder for news—this addictive interface allows users to quickly get the stories they want and swipe away the rest. There's no navigation, no categories, no nonsense, just a simple, beautiful feed that helps readers get the journalism they want and get on with their day. "User-centered product innovation is at the heart of who we are as a company," says Mike Dyer, Managing Director and Chief Digital Officer of The Daily Beast. "Building a 'Read This. Skip That.'-inspired iOS app our readers will love required the seamless blend of great front-end design and deep technological innovation. That's exactly why we partnered with Instrument."

In addition to radical simplicity, Instrument focused its efforts on the app's learning capabilities. While other news apps try to optimize their feeds for the "average" user, Instrument built the exact opposite approach, focusing on each individual. As a result, as users read and skip, the app's in-house "Nudge Engine" learns which behaviors, authors and topics each user likes or dislikes and gives them a nudge toward certain content…in The Daily Beast's irreverent, intelligent tone, of course. For example, if you read only political news, a Nudge might say "All Politics and no Entertainment makes Jack a dull boy. So give this story by Kevin Fallon a read." Other nudges include inviting users to follow breaking stories and The Daily Beast authors on Twitter ("Josh Rogin is pretty awesome with a 140 character limit, too."). The Nudge is a simple way to help readers by not wasting their time with "more more more."

The Daily Beast app resolves with a stat dashboard that shows users how and what news they're reading and skipping. They can see what categories they read the most as well as how they rank among The Daily Beast readers worldwide. It's a way for readers to know what they've read over time, to see patterns, which can be more valuable than just flipping through a paper or clicking and closing tabs on a browser.
Instrument Partner and Creative Director JD Hooge: "The Daily Beast and Instrument was a solid partnership from the start. Their team had the courage to let us "make the complex simple" which we strive to do on every project. Because of their trust and vision, we delivered an app that stands apart and is actually fun to use."

Download The Daily Beast app in the Apple App Store now.

As of press time, Apple has chosen to feature the app in their "Best New Apps" section—a first for Instrument and The Daily Beast. The iPad version of the app will be released in August.

About The Daily BeastThe Daily Beast delivers award-winning original reporting and sharp opinion from big personalities in the arenas of politics, pop-culture, world news and more. Fiercely independent and infused with irreverent intelligence, The Daily Beast now reaches more than 17 million readers per month. The Daily Beast is based in New York and is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI).
 
About InstrumentInstrument is an independent digital creative agency in Portland, Oregon. We are a multidisciplinary team of strategists, designers, producers, storytellers, animators, creative coders and filmmakers. We combine design thinking and technical craft to make experiences for web, mobile and the physical world. For more information visit weareinstrument.com.

Press Contacts:
The Daily Beast / IAC Corporate Communications
Isabelle Weisman
isabelle.weisman@iac.com
(212) 314-7361
Instrument
Cecilia Doan
cecilia@weareinstrument.com
(503) 928-3188 / @ccdoan
SOURCE The Daily Beast
RELATED LINKS
http://weareinstrument.com


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Thursday, July 24, 2014

iPost Nigeria Rated Higher Than YouTube and Projected to Make US$1 Billion in 12 Months



iPost Nigeria Rated Higher Than YouTube and Projected to Make US$1 Billion in 12 Months


Nigeria’s highly news and entertainment innovation project iPost Nigeria has been rated to become higher than YouTube for interactive videos and projected to make a whopping US$1billion in the first 12 months after launch.

iPost Nigeria, is an awesome news and information innovation project of prize winning Nigerian writer and prolific blogger Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, regarded as the most powerful citizen journalist in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with over 100 million users of mobile phones and tablets and he is the founder of Citizen Journalists Association of Nigeria (CJAN) with a network of over 90 citizen journalists in Nigeria.

The iPost Nigeria’s mobile video app will make it one of the most advanced news innovation projects in the world and also one of the most advanced social media networks for millions of the users of mobile phones and tablets in the world. And it has been short listed for the 2014 Fund for Internet Research and Education (FIRE) Awards, African Network Information Center (AFRINIC)'s flagship grants and awards programme, http://www.fireafrica.org/projects/projects/view/299

It is the first African mobile video app that can be used for live recording and uploading of news and information on the internet from camera phones and tablets 24/7.
iPost Nigeria’s mobile video app will attract the over 116 million users of GSM phones and tablets in Africa’s largest mobile communications market with over 10 million smart phones and tablets sold in 2013 and will increase in 2014.

iPost Nigeria’s mobile video app allows users to record and upload their videos of news and information on events and incidents as they happen from wherever they are in Nigeria and other locations in the world and the billion dollars will be made from monetization of the videos on the Pay Per View (PPV) channel of iPost Nigeria, targeting the booming video film industry Nollywood, the largest African film industry that has made Iroko TV the Netflix of Africa and other online video streaming website making millions from showing Nollywood movies and TV series, documentaries and music videos in the most populous country in Africa. Nollywood boosted the rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria to make the country Africa’s largest economy under “Motion pictures, sound recording and music production,” with a huge increase of N9trillion in size. Analysts stated Nollywood made about N1.72 trillion in 2013.
Robert Orya, Managing Director, Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), said last year, Nollywood ranked third globally in revenue. According to him, the revenue the film industry has generated in the last three years was between $300 million and $800 million. “The global film and entertainment industry generated about $90.6 billion revenue in 2010,” Orya explained, saying “the revenue increased to $102.7 billion in 2012. Most of these revenue streams are from theatrical distribution. North America contributed the largest market share of about 40 percent. Europe, Middle East and Africa accounted for 24 percent, Latin America 20 percent, and Asia Pacific made only 3 percent contribution.”
~ http://businessdayonline.com/2014/04/nollywood-springs-surprise-in-gdp-rebasing-leaps-to-n9trn/#.U9DJtkBx-wc
iPost Nigeria’s mobile video app will allow Nollywood film producers and distributors to monetize the videos with over 80% revenue share and paying only 20% to iPost Nigeria for hosting and content management. It will launch in October to millions of Nigerians and others on the internet.


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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde Has the Sexiest Accent in Nollywood?

Jordan Burchette noted the 12 sexiest accents in the world for CNN Travel on November 30, 2012, and he ranked the Nigerian accent as the 5th hottest in the world.
Burchette described the sexy Nigerian accent with the following words.
Dignified, with just a hint of willful naiveté, the deep, rich “oh’s” and “eh’s” of Naija bend the English language without breaking it, arousing tremors in places other languages can’t reach. Kinda makes the occasional phone scam worth the swindle.
Sounds like: The THX intro with teeth


 He named King Sunny Adé and Queen of Nollywood, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde as the famous tongues of the sexy Nigerian accent. But I don't know if the millions of fans of Nollywood movies have been wowed by Omotola's accent since Reginald Ebere's "Venom of Justice" shot her to stardom in 1995. And I have heard her sweet accent many times since I met her earlier on locations before she married pilot, Captain Matthew Ekeinde in 1996.
Is the accent of "Oh - m oh - t oh - l ah" the sexiest accent in Nollywood?


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Sight Read Like a Pro in One Day!


Do you want to learn how to sight read? Are you an instrumentalist?
 Do you want to know about music certification and studying music; home and abroad? 
You can learn how to read sheet music in one day. 
In August MUSON School of Music will host the SIGHT READ LIKE A PRO WORKSHOP.

A 2- day workshop that aims to teach musicians, those seeking to study music, music teachers, music students choristers, instrumentalists and freelancers how to read sheet music from different genre such as high life, jazz, contemporary etc.

The instruments of focus are keyboard, piano, saxophone, trumpets, bass guitar, lead guitar, voice(singers), drum, percussions, and orchestra instruments; with each instrument will have a dedicated MUSON/ABRSM (London) trained facilitators selected from the MUSON Alumni.

Dates : Friday 22nd August & Saturday 23rd
Time: 9am prompt.- 4pm
Fee: N5,500

Churches /bands/group registering 5 or more people gets 10% discount. Also, first 50 participants gets 10% discounts and other freebies such as registration for music exams, free music books and instruments accessories

costs will cover instruction materials, certificate of participation, and light refreshments. Registration closes a week before workshop date.

Topics such as* The MUSON diploma school / applying to study music abroad by Marion Akpata; MUSON/ ABRSM Graded music exams/certification * understanding Soft wares for sheet music notations and general playing/singing technique .The workshop will conclude with a jam session exploring music of diverse genres.

Participants can register online at 
www.iyeartsfoundation.org/sightread, pick forms at MUSON Centre Lagos,afritictkets.com, naijatickets,  ariyatickets.com ,quickteller.com and Music shops in Lagos.

Please call 07066018665, 08025062682. 08038057066 , 751DB456  for more information.


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Monday, July 21, 2014

Nollywood Associations Without Libraries


 Nollywood Associations Without Libraries: What A Shame

What makes an office is more than an office address. And it is also more than having a desk, chair and computer and other must have components depending on what the office is meant for. For institutional bodies such as academic and professional organizations, having a library is a must, because it is the knowledge base of the association or organization. And the definition of a library by Wikipedia says it all:
A library is an organized collection of sources of information and similar resources, made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material, and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both.[1] A library's collection can include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, microform, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-books, audiobooks, databases, and other formats. Libraries range in size from a few shelves of books to several million items. In Latin and Greek, the idea of bookcase is represented by Bibliotheca and Bibliothēkē (Greek: βιβλιοθήκη): derivatives of these mean library in many modern languages, e.g. French bibliothèque.
Therefore, any credible association or organization must have a library and especially more so for those producing intellectual property such as books, movies, etc. And the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) clearly defined it as follows:
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish.
For many years in Nigeria, intellectual property has been fragrantly abused by copyright infringements in various forms and ways and we often point accusing fingers at piracy. But in most cases, the worst pirates are not the ones making unauthorized duplicate copies of works of intellectual property, but the consumers who patronize them and keep them in business and believe it or not, majority of Nigerian artists, artistes and others producing and distributing artworks, books, movies, musical productions and etc are among the largest consumers of pirated works.
The Nigerian hip hop artiste lamenting about his pirated jingles (called singles) is in fact the same person buying pirated Nollywood movies on the street and the same Nollywood producer whining over the crimes and evils of piracy is the same person buying pirated music on the street. So, their hypocrisy is even worse than the piracy of their intellectual property. And I bet you that they must be wondering how I have managed to control and prevent the piracy of my NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®.

Content management is imperative in control and prevention of piracy of intellectual property. Therefore, having a functional library of your intellectual property is the first step in the control and prevention of piracy, because the monitoring and evaluation process of your intellectual property will increase the appreciation by their preservation. But do you know that there is not a single updated library in Nollywood? The only place you can find functional libraries on Nollywood are the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), National Film Institute, Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN)'s Training School and Nollywood Studies Center. But the major problem of these libraries is they don’t have good librarians and so their libraries are not regularly evaluated and updated, because they don’t have the required budget for collection of new books. 99% of these libraries cannot boast of the latest books that film students, film scholars and movie buffs need for their compulsory studies and reading pleasure on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

How many of these libraries can have an exhibition of books on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry? Of course, I know that majority of the so called independent film schools in Nigeria don’t have libraries. What most of them are doing is simply running ad hoc seminars and workshops on acting, directing, script writing and movie makeup and not film schools in the definitive terms. Majority of them don’t have qualified teachers and so cannot conduct formal examination and certification and end up producing apprentices and not educated film graduates and scholars. Many of the graduates of these mushroom film schools in Nollywood cannot even write a term paper on “Acting for Beginners”. .

None of the loudest so called professional associations or organizations in Nollywood has a library. The Association of Movie Producers (AMP) that even has a very intellectually articulate and eloquent speaker as the President does not have a library, except he wants to call his small private library the association’s library. The Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP), Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP), Motion Pictures Association of Nigeria (MOPAN), Screen Writers Guild of Nigeria (SWGN), Association of Films Video Producers And Marketers Association of Nigeria (AFVPMAN) and other nondescript affiliates don’t have any library. And even the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) does not have a functional library!


The millions of naira they would have spent on having functional libraries have been spent on hosting and attending awards events where they can show off their latest fashion styles and trends on the red carpet and grin at the TV cameras so that they can see themselves in the local trashy gossip tabloids and blogs for their cheap bragging rights and tickle the fancies of their petty egos. Even without having libraries, most of the members don’t read! In fact, majority of them don’t even read the books authored by their fellow members and that is really pathetic. If majority of them have bought Nollywood Till November: Memoirs of a Nollywood Insider by their fellow member Charles Novia, the book would have made the top 100 books on Amazon and even the highly coveted Bestsellers List of The New York Times. And this bitter truth speaks volume of their intellectual ignorance which is seen in their lack of intellectual comprehension of the critical issues on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.


 Intellectual ignorance is a common malaise in Nigeria, because without apologies, majority of Nigerians are actually intellectually retarded. But the producers and custodians of intellectual property should be role models for the inspiration and motivation of the majority of their fans to see them as good examples worthy of emulation in the appreciation of our reading culture. But when they don’t have functional libraries and don’t even read their own books, then they are bad role models and not worthy of emulation by their millions of fans.
As our Messiah Jesus Christ said, "If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." (◄ Matthew 15:14 ►).

There are currently over 50 books on Nollywood, including, "Nollywood: The Video Phenomenon in Nigeria" by Pierre Barrot (2010), "Viewing African Cinema in the Twenty-First Century: Art Films and the Nollywood Video Revolution" by Mahir Saul and Ralph A. Austen (2010), "Moviedom…the Nollywood Narratives: Clips on the Pioneers" by Shaibu Husseini (2010), "Nollywood Video Film: Nigerian Movies as Indigenous Voice" by Uchenna Onuzulike (2010), "Representations of Nigerian Women in Nollywood Films" by Naomi Brock (2012), "Global Nollywood: The Transnational Dimensions of an African Video" by Matthias Krings (2013), "African Movie Time: Watching Nollywood, Ghallywood and Beyond" by Lipamboli Molongi (2014), "NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® SERIES (Nollywood Reloaded Book 1)" by Michael Chima Ekenyerengozi (2013).
 The most expensive book on Nollywood is Nollywood by Pieter Hugo, (2009).
It is sells between US$152 and US$325 a copy! It is more than twice the hardcover price of the second edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® SERIES.

Any Nollywood association or organization without a functional library is a disgrace to the Nigerian film industry and the nation. Because, it would be a great embarrassment for students, scholars and visitors coming to these associations and organizations for news and information on Nollywood to be disappointed by the absence of libraries for essential publications on Nollywood, the largest film industry in Africa.


 ~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® SERIES.



 


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Saturday, July 19, 2014

President Goodluck Jonathan's U.S. Event Cancelled

 President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria.

The National Press Club of the United States of America has cancelled the special press luncheon planned for President Goodluck Jonathan on July 31, 2014, in Washington, D.C.
He was scheduled to talk about the challenges of fighting against the Islamist militant group Boko Haram and global terrorism.

In a June 26 op-ed in Washington Post, Jonathan said his government has spared no resources in its search for the kidnapped girls. He said the nation's efforts will not stop until the girls are returned home and those who took them are brought to justice.
He said he plans to urge the United Nations General Assembly in September to establish a U.N.-coordinated system for sharing intelligence and special forces to confront terrorism wherever it occurs.

The event has been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.








The National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists with more than 3,300 members worldwide representing every major news organization. More than 250,000 people visit the Club each year to attend more than 2,000 events. The Club was founded in 1908 and is on the web at press.org. - See more at: http://www.nigeriansreport.com/#sthash.F40LeOvj.dpuf



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Iheoma Nnadi Wins 2014 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant

Behold Iheoma Nnadi, 19, winner of the 2014 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant held Friday evening of July 18th in Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
She models for Boss Models in South Africa.



The 27th edition of MBGN was held at the ultra-modern Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre on Friday, July 18, with 31 gorgeous girls representing their respective states.Miss Iheoma Nnadi represented Akwa Ibom state.

Each of the girls scaled through zonal competitions to earn her place in the grand finale of the most prestigious beauty pageant in Nigeria.  Over the last 27 years, the pageant has maintained its distinctive style and refined taste, remaining the most recognizable and consistent beauty pageant in Nigeria.
It has produced winners who have excelled in all walks of life both in Nigeria and internationally.

MBGN, organized by Silverbird Group for the purpose of sending representatives to international competitions, was originally known as Miss Universe Nigeria and was renamed MBGN after Silverbird obtained the license to send delegates to both Miss World and Miss Universe. As a result, the MBGN 2014 winner will represent Nigeria at the Miss World competition to the held in London, UK, the first runner-up will represent Nigeria at the Miss Universe competition while the second runner-up will represent Nigeria in the Miss Tourism International competition.

- See more at: http://silverbirdtv.com/mbgn/mbgn-2014and-winner-isiheoma-nnadi#sthash.Kbku7b9V.dpuf


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Friday, July 18, 2014

Who is To Blame for the Piracy of Half of a Yellow Sun?


Who is To Blame for the Piracy of Half of a Yellow Sun? 

"Half of a Yellow Sun", the most expensive Nigerian film since the emergence of the phenomenal Nollywood is currently being pirated on the street and on the internet. It is the tragic fate of this film that was largely financed with loan from the US$200 million Entertainment Intervention Fund of the Nigerian Creative and Entertainment Industry Stimulation Loan Scheme (NCEILS) run by the Bank of Industry in Nigeria and the world premiere was in the Special Presentation section at the 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2013. The film also screened at other international film festivals with both public and private premieres in the UK and Nigeria with commercial screenings at cinemas in the UK. But the public screenings have been delayed for months in Nigeria by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) until a week ago when it got the much awaited approval among 77 movies and rated “18”. And the movie is expected to start screening at the cinemas in Nigeria from August 1, 2014, when the movie is already officially streaming on PANATV.com for US residents and will begin online streaming from Monday August 4, 2014 for UK residents. Then the official release date for the Blu-ray / DVD is July 29, 2014, but the DVD of  “Half of a Yellow Sun” is already selling on Amazon.com and pirated on YouTube with the title of "[Hexok Movie] Watch Half of a Yellow Sun Full Movie [[Netflix]] Streaming Online (2014)" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iTNr84kk4M). This is piracy, because only PANATV.com has the right to play it online for US residents. And the worst case is the fact that the film is being pirated by several CD/DVD vendors on the streets of Lagos and other cities in West Africa and the producers of the film are doing nothing about it.


Piracy is destroying the Nigerian film industry and all the stakeholders are to blame with the exception of those who have been reporting the inadequacies and shortcomings in Nollywood, Kannywood and other integral components of the Nigerian film industry. But the title chasers are more desperate for setting up their self appointed committees to represent Nigeria at coveted international annual award events in America and joining international associations instead of addressing the economic sabotage caused by piracy, the most common enemy of progress of all producers of movies and other forms of entertainment. And the news reporters in Nigeria who are employed to report and expose the rampant crimes of piracy are more interested in collecting brown envelopes and as the proverbial saying goes, "He who pays the piper dictates the tune". So, it is not surprising that when intellectual works are being pirated openly in public, the news reporters prefer to only gossip about it in their newsrooms and rendezvous pubs in town.

What causes piracy of intellectual works is poor content management by the producers and distributors who fail to implement the available anti-piracy strategies and tools and the incompetent administrators in government. 

Many filmmakers and distributors in other countries are working in cooperation and support with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) that “believes in protecting creative works and the people who make them. Whether you’re making a film, writing a book or recording a song, the amount of time, effort, and investment is more than a passion – it’s also someone’s livelihood. For America’s creative sector to thrive, intellectual property laws must protect the hard work of creators and makers while ensuring an Internet that works for everyone.” But filmmakers and distributors in Nigeria have no defined plans for the control and prevention of the piracy of movies and in fact willingly offer their movies to those who undervalue the financial worth by repeatedly broadcasting and recycling them on cable TV networks and public TV channels. They don’t even care how many times and locations their movies are broadcast once they have been paid as little as US$2,000 (two thousand dollars) only and then their movies are pirated in other locations outside Nigeria.
Is the US$2,000 for one broadcast on TV or for life broadcast?
Only a fool or retard will give his or her movie to a distributor online or offline for just one-off payment of such a pittance in Nigeria and do nothing as the same creative work is circulated widely for the entertainment of millions of cable TV subscribers and public TV viewers in other countries in Africa. And while the stars are enjoying the stardom of their continental and global celebrity status as famous household names, collecting millions as appearance fees and more millions from endorsements as brand ambassadors, the producers are left at the mercy of dishonest distributors and pirates. And to worsen their predicament, the Nigerian government has failed to sign bilateral co-production treaties with other countries to promote and protect Nigerian movies in international markets as many other countries have done.


This is not the first time I have addressed this monstrous economic sabotage by notorious pirates, because it was reported in the first edition of my NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® SERIES since 2013. But ignorant and nonchalant stakeholders prefer to compete for bragging rights over titular pursuits and government handouts. And until they show that they are serious stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry, the economic sabotage by unrepentant pirates will continue to rob them of the rewards of their labour, except they have decided to give up and join the enemies of progress and become shareholders in the billion dollar piracy of movies for their mutual benefit.  


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor, NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® SERIES.
 

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