As he gets ready to premiere Beyond Blood on Thursday, January 14, former National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) President, Greg Odutayo, tells Bisola Bello about the challenges in making the movie and the impact it would have on Nigerians.
Why did you decide to make this particular movie?
I am one of those people who have always been a big critic of Nollywood, but the question has always been where is your own. I and Debo (Oluwatuminu) started this journey about five years ago. This script is five years old. We started work on it then, we worked and tweaked and turned it into what we want today. We wanted to make a good movie that would make a statement, a movie that would give us worldwide recognition. Yes, we want to make money because that is the hope of a producer, but first and foremost we wanted to make a good movie and I think we achieved that. In terms of technicality, we went for the best. It was also highly expensive. That is why it took so long. Something happened along the way. We tried out Project Act Nollywood, the (funding) initiative by the Federal Government. When I appeared before that committee, I told them that I did not believe in the process because we were just doing it. I did not want to sit on the fence and later somebody would say, but you did not apply then why are you criticising the process. They gave us a sum which I would not like too state. It was less than a quarter of our budget. But immediately the money was collected we had to do the movie because it was government money. The push from the government made us decide to get other partners who will collaborate with us to make this movie a success.
Who are some of these supporters?
There is Mr. Bidemi Fahm who supported us from the onset and made sure the movie was a success. Heritage Bank also supported us and gave us the much needed push.
How did you decide which actors would be perfect for what roles?
One of the things we took our time to do for this movie was casting. At the end of the day when you look at the movie, you see that the people acting as a family actually look like one. The chemistry is there, the looks and facials are there. All of these things are what we thought about before picking the cast because we did not want to have anyhow cast. At the end, it boils down to the fact that we are blessed to have exceptional actors to work with. It was a joy to work with them. They all brought their A-game. It is one thing to have just actors; it is another thing to have actors that are willing to work with you. When I cast Joseph Benjamin, some people were of the opinion that Joseph does not play this type of role, but I knew he was going to nail it and he did. At the end when you watch the movie you will see him in a completely different form.
What unique quality does this movie have compared to other Nollywood productions?
You know sometimes when you watch movies you have an idea of where it is going, but for Beyond Blood, I can take the bet that nobody will know where the movie will end. It is just so thrilling. It is so exciting and it is something new for the industry to talk about. It is a movie that will create conversations. Nollywood in the past two years have created some exceptional works, but in terms of writing I don’t think any one of them can touch this. I am very bold to say this.
Do you think this movie will reach commercial success away from the cinemas?
We made a movie that will respect the choices of the people. We want a movie that will project us as a company and as an industry as well. We also made a movie that will be a commercial success. In terms of the barriers, we think we have broken those walls. It is not just for selected people, it is for everybody. We did a movie that will educate and still entertain you. So it is not a mundane film. It deals with a lot of social issues. So I am sure it will reach commercial success.
What were the major challenges you faced during production?
The biggest challenge was funding because like I said earlier, it was an expensive production. I mean we took about 16 to 18 people abroad for the production. It was a lot of money, ticket, accommodation, feeding and so on. Funding was an issue but thank God we got some funds.
What is the basic difference between shooting a TV series and a movie?
There are actually lots of differences. I like to call a TV series a marathon while shooting a movie is an 800 metres race. For a movie, in one month you are done but for a TV series in a month I can only do 24 episodes and the series can be up to 104 or 126. In terms of casting, an actor in a movie has a short time frame to work and please the viewer, two hours maximum. But in a series, an actor has a long arc to deliver a role.
How long did it take to make Beyond Blood?
In all it took about six weeks. We did three weeks in Nigeria and the other three in the UK.
Would you say this is one of your best productions?
Definitely, the day I read that script I just had a great feeling about it.
