Nollywood veteran actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde has weighed in on the huge disparity between the pay structure of Hollywood actors and Nollywood actors.
The award-winning actress stated that despite spending just five years in Hollywood, she gets her residuals and royalties up till now. However, she stated that she hasn’t been able to get any such payments during the last three decades she spent in Nollywood.
Omotola expressed her views when talking about how poorly Nigerian actors were paid by their production houses even long after their films get released.
What Omotola Said About Royalties in Nollywood?
According to her: “I’ve been in Hollywood for five years yet I keep getting residuals and royalties in the form of envelopes. I’ve been in Nollywood for 30 years yet never got a single envelope. Maybe they don’t know where I live.”
This remark from her highlights the pay structure that has been under the scanner for a long time now. In Hollywood, actors, screenwriters and other creators are allowed to earn money from their films after it has been released through their residual payments. While in Nollywood, most of the actors get their lump sum payment without any follow up payments even if the film does well.
Why Is This Important For Nollywood?
Omotola Jalade’s comments highlight an important debate going on in the Nigerian film industry currently. With Nollywood gradually expanding its reach throughout Africa and internationally, there is a need to establish some proper standards in terms of residuals and actor contracts.
Omotola’s comments come at a time when several industry stakeholders are looking for residual and other standards akin to Hollywood.
Watch the video below.
https://x.com/dammiedammie35/status/2096855916670775756
