‘When the Gods Cry’ goes to Calabar, Enugu

After a successful audition exercise in Lagos, the crew members of ‘When the Gods Cry’ led by filmmaker, David Abakpa, have moved to Calabar, Cross River State, from where they will proceed to Enugu in search of actors that will star in the 7,614 cast-member film. David Abakpa The Lagos audition held at the Banquet Hall of the National Theatre during the week, while the Calabar and Enugu laps will hold on August 23 and August 26 respectively. While the Calabar audition will hold at the Cultural Centre, Calabar, Cross River State, the National Museum, Abakiliki Road, New Berries, Enugu, Enugu State will host members of the public wishing to take part in the film. After the auditions, the successful members of cast who would be chosen on the basis of merit, would undergo a one week long ‘grooming exercise’ to get them prepared for the characters which would assume a poetic shade unlike the proverbial typical epic films in Africa. David Abakpa, the creative director of the project, renowned for audacious initiatives said he is ‘calling on all artistes endowed with talent to harness the opportunity of this audition to launch their careers to global heights as the project as conceived is scheduled to show in major cinemas around in the world’.

Nollywood takes centre stage at Toronto International Film Festival

The Nigerian movie industry is bound to take centre stage at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival,TIFF, as the organizers have declared Lagos as the focus of one of the major events of the festival, City to City programme. *Genevieve Nnaji and OC Ukeje with fans The City to City selection, curated by Cameron Bailey, artistic director of TIFF, will take place from 8 through September 18, 2016. “Hundreds of films are made every year in Lagos for a voracious audience around the world. Our City to City spotlight brings some of Nollywood’s most popular filmmakers together with new voices who are introducing an alternative, indie spirit to Nigerian cinema,” said Bailey, adding: “We’re excited to share this unprecedented showcase of talent from Lagos with our Toronto audience.” This is the eighth year for the City to City programme, which showcases filmmakers living and working in a selected city, regardless of where their films are set. Cities featured in past programmes, according to Bailey, were London, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Mumbai, Athens and Seoul. However, the City to City Lagos line-up was announced during the week. The programme also includes a TIFF Rising Stars spotlight of two up-and-coming actors from Lagos, OC Ukeje and Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama, as well as an ‘In Conversation With’, a segment that will feature top actress Genevieve Nnaji, and actor cum film producer, Kunle Afolayan. About seven films from Nigeria will be screened at the festival. They  include, Mo Abudu’s “The Wedding Party”, “93 Days”, “The Arbitration”, “Green White Green” , “Just Not Married”, “Okafor’s Law”, “76”  and “ Oko Ashewo(Taxi Driver).” Also, there will be a special spotlight on Kunle Afolayan’s new film, “The CEO.” Elfike Film Collective’s ‘The Wedding Party’, it was gathered, will premiere on the opening night as a selection of the Spotlight City to City  programme at the historic Elgin Theatre. The Kemi Adetiba directed romcom stars some of Africa’s biggest stars led by Richard Mofe-Damijo, Sola Sobowale, Alibaba, Iretiola Doyle, Banky W, and Adesua Etomi, with the stars of the film expected to attend the premiere. “We are pleased to welcome The Wedding Party by award-winning filmmaker Kemi Adetiba to the Festival, and are proud to present it to a global audience,” said  Bailey. Meanwhile,one of the stars of ‘76’, Rita Dominic is storming Toronto, Canada, ahead of premiering of the blockbuster , which is set during the era of military assassinations in the country.

My unforgettable, embarrassing moment on stage – Ycee

Rising popstar Ycee who clinched the Headies Rookie of the year has revealed his unforgettable and embarrassing moment on stage. The  Jagagban  singer made this known during a recent interview on radio. “When I first started out, my performances on stage were not good enough. Whenever I was on stage I didn’t add charisma to my performance. I just recited the lyrics. That day midway into my performance the stage manager put off the light. Somebody came on stage and took the mic from me. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself backstage. It was quite embarrassing and I just told myself that I would improve on my performance.”

Civil Service Commission Disowns Advertisement For Recruitment

The Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) has described as fake, a vacancy advertising for recruitment and asked Nigerians to ignore it.

It also stressed that it will not undertake any recruitment on social media.

“All Federal Civil Service Commission recruitment processes usually go through Federal Civil Service Commission’s website www.fedcivilservice.gov.ng and not on an unauthorised internet website or mobile line”, a statement by FCSC spokesman, Dr. Joel Oruche, said.

The statement described the current advertisement as fraudulent as it did not originate from the commission.

’ve not settled my fights with 2face, Wizkid, others – Blackface

Former member of the defunct Plantashun Boiz, Blackface, was recently in the eye of the storm when he accused his former label-mate, 2face Idibia and Wizkid of copyright thefts. Blackface, Tuface Blackface had claimed that 2face denied him credit in a song they wrote together while they were still in the same group. Meanwhile, it should be recalled that Blackface had also cried foul during the height of 2face’s ‘African Queen’ reign. Blackface stated that he was the one who wrote the song, and therefore deserves to get the credit and royalties from it. The matter was later resolved and Blackface was said to have settled. However, Blackface has refused to speak further about these weighty allegations. Showtime ran into him recently, and we sought to know the current situation, to which he said, “I don’t want to talk about those allegations anymore though they are not yet settled. Copyright will take care of itself at the right time. I’m not worried about issues right now.” Blackface also mentioned that he recently released a new album, ‘The Defender’ which he encouraged fans to get ‘because it’s a good album.’

I don’t take drugs for my energetic performances – Mr 2kay

Mr 2kay is known to be a very energetic performer on stage. This has led to insinuations that the dreadlocks-wearing artiste takes some substances to get high before mounting the stage. He however refuted these claims.”The only thing I take before a performance is food. I neither smoke nor drink, and I don’t do drugs. All I do is pray, and God does the rest for me,” he stated. Speaking on his recent activities, 2kay enthused, “I’m doing a lot of things at the moment. I’m working on my album. I’m also planning to go on an European tour either by September or October. I’ve also been involved in a couple of charity projects as well.” The ‘Who no like better thing’ singer literally blushed while recounting the   massive love he was showered with during his recent homecoming concert in Bonny Island. He exclaimed, “I’ve been out of the homeland for a while, and I decided to come back and do something for my people because they miss me so much. They have also been very supportive, and there was a huge turn-out of guests at the concert. My mentor, Faze, Banky W, Beverly Osu, Uti Nwachukwu, Pencil, Kenny Blaq and other artistes also came through for me. The event was actually organized by NLNG, an oil company that operates in my home town.”

I don’t like listening to my own songs – Monica Ogah

One-time Project Fame winner, Monica Ogah has stated that she doesn’t like listening to her own songs after recording them. According to her, “I don’t have a favourite song out of all my songs because I believe in everything I put out; they all have potentials. However, I don’t like to listen to my songs, because I tend to criticise myself a lot.” On what she’s been up to recently, the busty songstress ventured, “I’ve just been working lately trying to put more singles and videos out there. I do have a couple of special projects though. I’m working with some big names in the industry, and we’ll be shooting a video soon. But I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag by revealing their identities now.” Monica also dismissed claims that there is some sort of rivalry between past Project Fame winners hence their decision not to work together. She quipped, “I’ve worked with Chidinma already. I think we’re all busy, trying to get our acts together right now. There certainly will be collaborations, but it’s not now.”