20 Years Since The New York Times Named "Nollywood" in 2002

20 Years Since The New York Times Named #Nollywood

Norimitsu Onishi was the Chief of The New York Times’s southern Africa bureau, based in Johannesburg when he discovered the phenomenon of the first indie film industry in Africa in 2002 in the hustle and bustle of Lagos city, the heart and soul of the guerilla filmmakers of Nigeria.

How The Times Named ‘Nollywood’ in 2002

"It’s like Hollywood or Bollywood but in Nigeria — Nollywood!I told my editor."

- Norimitsu Onishi.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/11/insider/how-the-times-named-nollywood.html

The name of Nollywood has become the identity of the Nigerian film industry even though the making of the genre started in the 1980s which I have chronicled in my widely read and shared article, 
The Nollywood Phenomenon: From Analog to Digital - SHADOW & ACT
https://shadowandact.com/the-nollywood-phenomenon-from-analog-to-digital-2

The article shows the evolution of Nollywood over the years and how the digital cinema revolution has made a critical impact in the advancement of Nollywood since 2002.

It is now 30 years since the production of the first Nollywood blockbuster, "Living in Bondage" by Chris Obi Rapu in 1992 written and produced by Kenneth Nnebue and Okechukwu Ogunjiofor. And as we say in Lagos, many waters have passed under the Eko Bridge from 1992 to 2022.

Traditional filmmakers of the old school of filmmaking on celluloid still say Nollywood is video and not cinema. But top people in the global film industry said: Every region has unique stories to tell. And we should encourage them to tell their stories first and not be hindered by the technical requirements for professional film production. That the first thing is to supply on demand, because it was the overwhelming quantity of Nollywood home videos in the 1990s that attracted the rest of the world before the improvements in the quality. 

There have been significant improvements in the quality of the movies as Nollywood filmmakers have been adapting to current developments in filmmaking by using the same digital cinema cameras used by their counterparts in Bollywood and Hollywood following international standards in film and TV productions.

The improvement in the quality of the content has attracted the leading International acquisition and distribution companies, major studios and OTT video streaming services from America and Europe. Netflix, Disney and Amazon are now demanding for the best content in Nollywood and well produced movies have been acquired. 

There have been international productions of Nigerian movies featuring top Hollywood actors such as "The Amazing Grace" of 2006 directed by Jeta Amata, written by Jeta Amata and Nick Moran and produced by Jeta Amata and Alicia Arce with top roles by Joke Silva, Nick Moran and Scott Cleverdon; "Black November" directed by Jeta Amata in 2012, starring Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Fred Amata, Sarah Wayne Callies, Nse Ikpe Etim, OC Ukeje, Vivica Fox, Anne Heche, Persia White, Akon, Wyclef Jean and Mbong Amata; "30 Days in Atlanta" directed by Robert O' Peters and produced by AY Makun in 2014 starring Starring AY Makun, Ramsey Nouah, Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD),Desmond Elliot, Vivica A. Fox, Lynn Whitfield, Karlie Redd, Majid Michel, Omoni Oboli, Racheal Oniga, Yemi Blaq and Juliet Ibrahim; "A Trip To Jamaica" directed by Robert O' Peters and produced by AY Makun in 2016 starring AY Makun,Funke Akindele, Nse Ikpe Etim, Dan Davies, Eric Roberts and others; "Esohe" directed by Charles Uwagbai and Robert O' Peters in 2018 starring Jimmy Jean Louis, Misty Lockheart, Desmond Elliot, Chris Attoh, Bimbo Manuel, Ufuoma McDermott, Toyin Aimakhu, Jemima Osunde and Monica Omorodion Swaida; "A Soldier's Story 2" of 2020 directed by Frankie Ogar and produced by Martin Gbados, starring  Eric Roberts, John J Vogel Jr, Alex Usifo, Akin Lewis, Segun Arinze, Linda Ejiofor, Somkele Idhalama, Michelle Dede, Daniel K. Daniel, Tope Tedela, Baaj Adebule, Samabasa Nzeribe and others; "Christmas in Miami" of 2021 directed by Robert O'Peters and produced by AY Makun starring Ayo Makun, Osita Iheme, Richard Mofe-Damijo, IK Ogbonna, Kent Morita, Raquel Lamanna, Manoj Chandra, Malcolm Burtchett, Nadya Marie, Tanya Price, Barry Piacente and Catherine Olsen and Adah Obekpa's "The American King" of 2021 starring Enyinna Nwigwe, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Andrew Howard and Nick Moran who has been playing prominent roles in the international productions of Nollywood movies since the 2000s to date. 
"The American King" is currently showing in movie theaters in America and coming up next month in cinemas across Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia from February 25, 2022.

It is importan we document the new developments in Nollywood since 2002 to date for film history and film studies. That is why I working on a documentary film on "Nollywood Rising: The New Generation".

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry published since 2013.

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

Special hardcover editions are available for purchase from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

 

Most Americans Not Willing to Pay to Read News Content Online

29 Apr 2011 16:34 Africa/Lagos


Most Americans Not Willing to Pay to Read News Content Online
Even fewer than said they would pay 15 months ago

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, April 29, 2011

NEW YORK, April 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As businesses explore best practices for success in the changing landscape created by the Internet, some companies have discussed charging for access to online content that was previously free. Some media outlets have discussed doing this, and The New York Times recently began charging online readers who view over 20 articles per month. But there may be trouble ahead as a recent Adweek/Harris Poll found that a large majority said they would be willing to pay "nothing" per month to read a daily newspaper's content online (80%). Of the one in five who would pay, 14% said they would pay between $1 and $10 per month while very few said that they would be willing to pay between $11 and $20 (4%) or more than $20 per month (2%).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO)

These are some of the findings of a new Adweek/ Harris Poll, survey of 2,105 U.S. adults surveyed online between March 29 and 31, 2011 by Harris Interactive.

Interestingly, while online paywalls are becoming more common, fewer people say they would be willing to pay to read content online now, than said so in late 2009—20% say they would be willing to pay for a daily newspaper's content online today, compared to 23% who said so in December 2009.

Other findings of the recent poll include:





* Younger adults are more likely than those older to pay for a daily newspaper's content online—over a quarter of adults aged 18-34 say they would (26%) compared to between 15% and 18% of all other age groups;

* Men are more willing to pay than women are—a quarter of men say they would (25%) with 18% saying they would pay between $1 and $10 per month, while only 15% of women say they would pay anything to read a daily newspaper's content online; and,

* The more education a person has the more likely they are to be willing to pay to read a daily newspaper's content online—over a quarter of college graduates say they would pay (28%) compared to one in five people who have attended some college (19%) and just 15% who have not attended any college at all.


So What?

Currently several major publications charge readers for their content online including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and most recently The New York Times . Unfortunately it seems that as these companies are adapting to a business environment increasingly dominated by the Internet, their readers are slower to embrace, or are resistant to, certain changes, especially when it comes to paying for something that has been free for so long. This raises several questions and areas for more research, including: how many Americans rely on the Internet for their news content, how particular are Americans about what publication or source they go to for their news, and, how do people think that media companies with large online presences should pay for the work that they do.


Click here for the complete details.