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Veteran Nollywood actor Francis Odega has expressed concern over what he described as the declining quality of films in Nigeria’s movie industry, noting that productions from earlier years were stronger and more memorable than many being made today.
Odega made the remarks during a recent episode of the Where Is the Lie Podcast, where he reflected on the evolution of the Nigerian film industry.
According to the actor, films produced during his generation were more carefully crafted, unlike many contemporary productions which, he said, often sacrifice quality for quantity.
He attributed the perceived decline to the growing trend of stretching a single script into multiple instalments, a practice he believes weakens storytelling.
“Nollywood of then is better than Nollywood now because then one script would produce just one movie,” he said. “But now a single script can produce seven movies, which is not right. It becomes watery.”
He added that films should be concise and engaging rather than unnecessarily prolonged.
“You should do one tight movie that hooks the audience. But now one movie can be stretched and becomes watered down with nothing inside. Even I don’t watch movies,” he stated.
The actor, who said he has spent more than three decades in the industry, also reflected on his involvement in the early days of Nollywood before it gained global recognition.
Odega recalled that the industry’s professional body was initially known as the Nigerian Actors Guild before it later became the Actors Guild of Nigeria.
“I was among the people who made Nollywood. When we started, Nollywood was just a phenomenon,” he said.
“Our organisation used to be called the Nigerian Actors Guild before we later changed it to Actors’ Guild of Nigeria. It was after that that Nollywood came. So I am one of the pioneers. I have been in the movie industry for over 30 years,” he added
