EMEM ISONG (CRITICAL DECISION IS MY BEST)

Source: nigeriafilms.com

One of Nigerian home video industry screenplaywright and producer whose movies make ways, Emem Isong, has described her latest movie co- produced by Rob Emeka Eze of Reemy Jes Productions titled Critical Decision as her best so far.

In a fireside chat in her Surulere office Emem told Home video People that the Story came in a very peculiar manner unlike other stories she had written in the past

According to her, Critical Decision directed by European returnee Lancelot Irnasuen came while she was sleeping "something woke me up" she explains "at about 2.00 a.m. I can't say it was a dream or a trance. But I was reluctant to get up and note the story down on my personnel computer. I waited till the morning hoping to recall but it failed. It took me another two days before it started flowing once again and I sat down for a whole day to pour my heart out. I tell you Critical Decision is one of my best if not the very best I have written. I say this because of the interplay of the characters. I almost saw myself as one of them. It was later in the course of writing that they developed their own minds
and took flight . I can boast of the dialogue and I really enjoyed writing it.It is one of the movies I wrote which I consider very artistic.


At first I didn't think of the lead actor to be a painter but sometime within the course of my writing it, I walked into an art exhibition and saw a painter which changed my ideas and made the lead actor a renowned painter. Then I started toying with the dialogue once more and what you have is Critical Decision which features. Richard Mofe Damijo as that painter, Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke and a host of others.


In the movie, RMD is a painter with a difference even though he had played a painter role before, this this time around, there was some bit of eccentricity and nonchalance. And for the very first time, Genevieve played the role of a very good born again Christian. She needed money to pay for the surgery of her fiancé who was involved in an auto accident so she had stumbled on the artist's exhibition and one thing led to another and she fell for the artist who saw her as a piece of modem art, persuaded her to pose nude as his model. She was between her faith and the life of her fiancé. I love working with these people. If you look well, you would see that I have always worked with these group. Maybe it is by coincidence that we work together but it is a great experience. We all get along very well. We have a good rapport.


Reemy Jes
In the words of the University of CaIabar graduate of theatre arts who first worked in the bank before picking up her talents to practise her profession, "working with Reemy Jes is a great experience. He is not autocratic and it always works for us. I tell you, he has vast experience with what the consumers need and is in store of the best ideas to satisfy them. After I have written, we have a script conference and I get back to the computed and streamlined the script to suit his consideration of the market.In fact we have a very special relationship as we do the casting together.I suggest the people I had in mind while writing and we meet at a point to commence work. But let me tell you, Reemy Jes has quality consciousness that's what make the movies he touches talk of the world. .

My strong point
A lot of people who watch movies screeplayed by Emem often wonder at her spontaneity . She says, "1 am dramatic. I love dramatic events and I don't want a situation where you predict what would happen next. I also love dialogue and I pay a lot of attention to detail as I expect the viewer to be thrilled,watch all my movies and you would see what I am saying -Breaking point, She Devil, A minute to midnight, Master Stroke, Play Boy, Rumours, Shattered Illusion, Promise me forever, and Emotional crack which went to the New York African Film Festival earlier in the year. Not forgetting Private Sin.

Writing time

There is now way one could say that writing each and every movie script takes some time.Sometimes it takes one month,sometimes less.Criticial Assignment took me six weeks to write.Sometimes as well,there is a block that you can't write anything.You first sit on the computer and nothing flows. It is my belief that a good movie follows from the script. With a good script, the director and the actors just flow.

That is why, I will always jump at every opportunity to go better my knowledge abroad. I had been in a London film school for a course. Apart from the New York African Film Festival, I hope to be at Sithengi, later on in the year where I hope to present a two-woman drama.I also hope to be at Milwaukee U.S.A. in October for another festival whose invitation came due to the waves of Emotional Crack. I thank God for everything because He gives the talent. Nigerians are extremely talented people. All the male actors I have worked with like RMD, Ramsey, Jim,Justus Esm, Olu Jacobs, Pete Edochie (the names are long) are very creative and would always grace my scripts whenever the need arises. For the women, it seems like I will always love to work with Genevieve at all, times,Stephanie Okereke as well, I. didn't miss out Dakore Egbuson, Omotola Ekeinde, I have put together another great script where I had marched the talents of Genevieve, Stella Damascus, and Omotola. We have already shot the movie.Of all of them, Stella is very deep who has not been well tapped.Genevieve is strong and direct and I would still love to work with her, Omotola is very emotional.Let me not talk about the new movie Games Women Play until it is released.