Hollywood did not support LIONHEART enough – Genevieve Nnaji

Nigerian actress, Genevieve Nnaji has shared her experiences seeking partnerships in Hollywood after the success of her film Lionheart Despite the movie’s acclaim and Netflix’s $3.8 million purchase, she found limited support in Hollywood, realizing she was viewed as a commodity rather than a creative partner. She expressed her desire to build a thriving industry […] The post Hollywood did not support LIONHEART enough – Genevieve Nnaji appeared first on Ladun Liadi's Blog.

Naijamerit

Jun 19, 2024 - 10:40

Nigerian actress, Genevieve Nnaji has shared her experiences seeking partnerships in Hollywood after the success of her film Lionheart

Hollywood did not support LIONHEART enough – Genevieve Nnaji " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/ladunliadinews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Lionheart-1-768x480.jpg.webp?fit=300%2C188&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/ladunliadinews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Lionheart-1-768x480.jpg.webp?fit=640%2C400&ssl=1" class="size-full wp-image-260568" src="https://i0.wp.com/ladunliadinews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Lionheart-1-768x480.jpg.webp?resize=640%2C400&ssl=1" alt="Hollywood did not support LIONHEART enough - Genevieve Nnaji " width="640" height="400" data-recalc-dims="1">

Despite the movie’s acclaim and Netflix’s $3.8 million purchase, she found limited support in Hollywood, realizing she was viewed as a commodity rather than a creative partner.

She expressed her desire to build a thriving industry in Nigeria, telling authentic African stories, rather than conforming to Hollywood’s perspective.

Genevieve Nnaji praised initiatives like Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) for providing necessary support for Africa’s creative sector, enabling the continent to own its narrative and showcase its talents.

Her passion is to see Nollywood rival global film industries, telling stories that resonate with African audiences.

“For the first time, I realised I was a commodity. I thought, you know, given what I had done with Lionheart, and all of that, I was going to have an opportunity to do more. Getting there and having the kind of support, that obviously CANEX is bringing on board, but I thought I could find it in Hollywood. That was not quite the case,” she said.

“They wanted what I had but for their benefit. It was all about their story. It was all about how, even if it was our story, I could make it more authentic to their own understanding of whatever Africa is because they did have a lot of literature in their archives.”

“But I am Nollywood. I could have gone to Hollywood a long time if I wanted to. But I had a dream to build an industry in Nigeria that could rival it. That’s because I’ve always believed in that. I have always believed that we were capable of actually owning an industry like that, that told our story for our people. I wanted that. I respect what Hollywood is doing. I respect what Bollywood is doing and I felt like Nollywood had an equal chance at it,” she said.

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