Actor, and Media Practitioner, J.O.T Agyemang, has taken a swipe at the general conduct of the Ghana Movie Awards.
In a typical going-to-town tweeting session on Friday, he called out the organizers, questioning the credibility of the scheme, whose fourth edition was held in December last year.
“Someone sits at his kitchen table, writes out a list of winners and then later goes on to present awards that arrive six months later,” he asked.
Mr. Agyemang’s tweets centered mainly on the many challenges of the film industry in Ghana.
See full tweets below.
Someone sits at his kitchen table, writes out a list of winners and then later goes on to present awards that arrive six months later?
who is complaining? There is a difference between discussing and complaining. Read the tweets and be part of the discussion.
What I am about to say today may turn heads, raffle some feathers and even cause my enemies to pull out their Kalashnikov’s
But I am not fazed by criticism or the backlash. I am not worried that I will be ostracised by my kind.
Making a Film is big business and the aim of every actor is to be recognised by his peers and then by the film community
We are happy when we watch great films. Our emotions sky-rocket and our pulse leaps with every twist and turn
Many work hard to get a nomination for an Oscar or a Golden globe and are ecstatic when they win
Remember Halle Berry for Monster’s Ball in 2001#CorruptionGMI
And Cuba Gooding Jr for Jerry Maguire in 1996#CorruptionGMI
There is no doubt that the Ghana Film Industry, if there is one, has had a tough ride over the past thirty years#CorruptionGMI
but there was never a time when the Film industry was bedevilled with so much rumour, unwholesome rapport
blacklisting, corruption and hand picked kings and queens of the scree
Every where you turn to, someone somewhere is agitated they a receiving a raw deal from a producer or
Let’s be real! The Ghana Film Industry is not a regulated industry
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts putting together a legal framework for running the Creative Arts division.
So it is a free for all industry as we speak
Wait a meeting! There is FIPAG, Ghana Actors Guild and so on but these have no bite and very little bark
Who cares about them? Not a soul
Until some leadership is exhibited by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Creative Arts
we are all left to wallow in a quagmire of businessmen who exploit the industry
Now, Government announced 3 million Ghana cedis for the Creative Arts in the 2013 budget
hat money was never received by the Ministry according to sources at the Ministry
Did Government lie about the Money? Or it was a gimmick to make the Industry support A Better Ghana Agenda
What do we see today in the Film Industry? The great guys of the 80’s and early 90’s hung their voices and their skills
and entered other professions because so called producers wouldn’t pay top dollar for top performances
The corruption started when some producers scouted the streets of Accra promising to make people stars for a fee
Yes, A fee! In cash or in Kind! Indeed this practice still persists today
There are rumours of Producers and even some Production Managers offering jobs for cash
or if you don’t have the cash for a female, you pay other ways
I met a young lady at the Mall a couple of months ago. She has been trying to land a small part in a film
but because she couldn’t pay in cash or kind
she had been turned down by some producers. Yet she persisted and said she was in the process of giving in to one of them.
My Scandinavian friend, who was with me at that time wondered if that was the practice
We had watched a couple of Ghanaian Films and he was impressed. The girl replied: “That is what they do to us” Ouch!
Another lady also told a story of how after giving a popular producer what he wanted for a role
she was cut out of the movie on the editing bench!
Today fingers are pointed at successful actresses and actors and the question though unnecessary is always,
Do you know how he or she got there? For crying out loud! Pay to get a JOB on a movie set?
ow the corruption is even greater when it comes to Awards.
Now the corruption is even greater when it comes to Awards.
How are nominations done? How does one receive a nomination? Who judges the contest?
How does one receive the accolade ‘favourite actor’?
Lots of questions to answer especially when the text vote records less than 200 Votes
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), a professional honorary organization
Maintains a voting membership of 5,783 as of 2012 for the Oscars.
True! The Oscars are the ultimate
How many people judge our Movie Awards? Who are they? Why not publish their names? Who do they represent?
Academy membership for the Oscars is divided into branches, with each representing a different discipline in film production.
Actors constitute the largest voting bloc, numbering 1,311 members (22 percent) of the Academy’s composition
Votes have been certified by the auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers
Who verifies our Movie Awards?
Why do the trophies take in some cases six months to be handed to the winners?
There are stories going around about an organiser and a producer talking about how his boy should win the award
at all cost even though he did not deserve to win
The same organiser is mentioned as scribbling the names of winners at his kitchen table.
Jeez, what will it take for us to do things more professionally, properly and for once not corrupting the Awards?
Awards have always been challenged and winner come under scrutiny but when blatant disregard for the truth is meted out,
it draws ones attention to an industry so fragile and on the verge of tipping over
Unfortunately, there are a lot of things I cannot say out here but within good time and reason, we will talk about them
We can make the Industry much better
Many are genuinely working very hard in the midst of the Pirates, Cheats and Money making machines
And the midst of the many who die to see their faces on the big screen even for a brief period
Acting is not for everyone. Some are good and some are bad. It’s the same with every profession
No need to pay someone to get a role! No need to pay to receive honours! No Need! No, no at all
Time will tell if you deserve it. Time will put you in the place of the greats like Brew Riverson Jnr, George Williams
Ekow ‘Bingo’ Biney, Reginald Tsiboe, Anima Misa, Doris Sackitey, Prof. Martin Owusu,
Kofi Yirenkyi, Middleton Mends, Evans Oma Hunter, Alexandra Duah and the others.
This generation has a lot to learn. Good Evening.
Tweets published unedited.
A enewsgh.com story