Nollywood Newbees Are Overzealous – Chinedu Ikedieze
Veteran Nigerian actor, Chinedu Ikedieze, aka Aki, has described the newbees in the entertainment industry especially Nollywood, as overzealous trying to downplay there superiors.
Chinedu described the new social phrase “Old Nollywood vs New Nollywood” as an attempt by the new performers to exert superiority.
He said the Gen Z actors are constantly trying to make it seem like they are “the best” and “Hollywood standard.”
Speaking in the latest episode of TeaTalk podcast hosted by actress, Toke Makinwa, Ikedieze said, “There’s this thing now, Old Nollywood and New Nollywood. It’s absurd.
” I think the Gen Zs in Nollywood are trying to make it look like, ‘Oh! We’re the latest. We’re the Hollywood standards. We’re the best. We know it all.”
A fellow guest on the podcast, comedian Bovi, however, didn’t subscribe to his submission.
Bovi explained that it is actually the veterans in the industry that look down on the newcomers.
He said: “It’s not even just them [Gen Z]. Let me tell you one thing that is common. I think it’s general in Nigeria but let me speak on the entertainment industry. Those before tend to look down on newcomers. They would be like, ‘Who’s this? Me, I’ve been in this business. I’m an aunty. She just came and said hi. Who’s this guy? He can’t behave himself. Does he know how long you’ve been doing it?
“They [older actors] have been doing that. The reason many of us are relating with people like you [Ikedieze] is because when we came into the industry, you didn’t snub us. But the a**holes that are out there… We know them. And now they act all cool.
“So, it’s not just a Gen Z thing, the Old Nollywood, there are many of them who have seniority complexes”, Bovi said
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
