EBEREONWU LAST INTERVIEW BEFORE HE DIED
He looked radiant and happy throughout what turned out to be his last interview on earth. Ebereonwu, award winning script writer and top movie maker, who died in auto accident last Friday never gave signs of his imminent demise. After speaking with this reporter for over an hour at the popular O'Jez Night Club, Surulere Lagos, Ebereonwu died shortly afterwards, while driving home around Alaka area of Lagos. His untimely death, however, dealt another blow to Nollywood, which had barely recuperated from the recent death of its key practitioners such as J.T Tom-West and Francis Agu.
Below is the text of the interview in which the late writer and movie producer relayed his last wish, vision, mission, pains and gains for Nollywood. He also spoke on his late mum, who is billed for burial soon.
Releasing Salt and Pepper
Well, it took me a long time to come out with it because I have been trying to make a change in Nollywood, especially concerning comedy movies. The Nigerian comedy scene is dominated by dirty backgrounds, local villages and ugly faces. But with my new comedy movie, I simply showed that we must make a change of the business.
My comedy movie is what I would call comedy without comedians, because none of the known comedians featured in it. I did that basically because, I wanted to tell people that there is nothing like comedian, what you have is a good script. It is a situational comedy and there is no star. As a movie maker, I have gone beyond stereotyping comedians.
Acceptance of Salt and Pepper
I am very grateful to Nigerians who appreciate good scripts, artistes and stars. It's been a wonderful experience and the movie is doing well in the market.
Between Salt and Pepper and Piccadily
Piccadilly was a world class movie which came ahead of its time and till date, it remains the best script ever churned out in Nollywood. Honestly, I don't know how I wrote that script, but I'm of the view it was made possible through divine intervention.
I hope to return to the market this year. What I have done now is to return the Piccadilly era and merge it with modern day comedy and style.
It took me this long to come out because many producers pay me to write what they want and not what I want as a script writer. But Salt and Pepper is 100 percent mine, I wrote it professionally without any interference.
How I missed my mum
Everybody says his or her mum is the greatest on earth and I am not left out in that. Part of what I am today, I inherited from my late mum. She was a great artiste in my village. She was a leader of women, a singer and head of all creative activities. She supported me when I started as every other people was strictly against me. We have fixed her burial date for May 12 2007. She was the engine room of my creative ability. And now that she is gone, I can never lose what she gave to me because I have already inherited it. It is in-born.
My mum
She was beautiful, intelligent, wonderful and sociable. I used to admire her so much, because she had the heart of a soldier. Even when my family went from grace to grass she endured it all. She remained an elegant woman and that I inherited from her, in richness or poverty, I remain her favourite.