This is the concluding part of our eye-opening interview with renowned movie maker, Teco Benson, MFR. But unlike the first part where the respected movie director talked about his being honoured by President Goodluck Jonathan with a national award, this one dwells on his line of business, how to excel in it and more…
Why do most film makers fail?
Hmm! That’s a difficult one. No 1; from my own perspective now. It’s my opinion. Somebody can fault it; everybody is entitled to his own opinion. A lot of people are in this for the money, primarily. Yes, whether you are there professionally, may be you are passionate about this, you are passionate about making films like me, at the end of the day that monetary interest is till there. But some people’s interest for money overshadows all other interests and it drives them to the extreme. Whatever they can do to make sure that, that money comes they do. They don’t care about the standard, they don’t care about any ethnical issue. If it takes nude films to make you make money; people can go naked, people can get assembled and go naked and make money. Now, a lot of producers have actually thrown standards to the gutters. They don’t care about the standard any more. A lot of people cut films into part one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and re-name the films. These viewers that we are robbing, these viewers that we feel that we are shortchanging, they are watching. Because it’s actually the masses, it’s the audiences that have the power to make you stay there. So, once they withdraw their support from you, you have failed. So, principally, the first thing that makes them to fail is when the audience withdraws their support from you; the buying power goes, the patronage for your movie goes, your name goes underground, whatever you do, nobody will take you seriously and that is the beginning of your failure. Because the audience we have today is not the same thing with the audience we had so many years ago when the industry started. The Nigerian audience has grown. With all those early movies that we did and with all the Hollywood films they’ve seen, with all the seasoned movies they are watching everyday now, the standard and the way they see these films have changed. Those days it was like ‘come and see America wonder’. Once you can put any story together, people will buy. But now, you need to go beyond telling a story. So, that is the issue. The standard is very important. So, when you are packaging parts 1-8, with different names and you are dumping it into the market and on the viewers, they see the problems and they see it and they identify your name and they boycott you. That’s No 1. No 2, most film makers feel that with at least one or two successes, they feel that this thing will continue like that. That every time they release a movie there will be money to play with, so, some don’t even save; some don’t plan for the rainy day, some don’t think about tomorrow. It happens to actors as well. They feel that things will continue to be like that and when things don’t move the way they expect, failure sets in. And basically, these are the things I think that can cause failure. And again, placidity of funds is another thing. Because attimes you see somebody do a very great movie with a very great effort. Sometimes those films come out and fail in the market. When you have done that, used your last savings and possibly borrowed money from friends, from banks, from here and there, you’ve put your life’s savings on the line, you’ve put everything on the line because you believe in the project and eventually such a film fails in the market. Most times that person fails. And to resurrect again, to come back from that point, it’s always very difficult.
In your sector and also in life, why do you think that some people attain success, but they are not able to sustain it?
It’s lack of wisdom. Wisdom is the best answer. When you have wisdom, you should be able to manage whatever you have. When you have wisdom, you should be able to control your emotion. You should know when to spend and when to withhold. Many people are carried away by emotions and that is the difference between the man that can sustain himself and the man that cannot sustain himself. And a lot of people are very, very materialistic. They chase fashion, they chase whatever and the people who are in control of technology, the people who are in control of manufacturing now in terms of cars, every year new cars come out, every year new models come, every year new blackberry comes, every year new phones, new ways of doing things, new kind of television sets, new kinds of electronics, everything is now newer. A lot of people chase these things. You may have something that is still good, the 2012 model comes, you dispose the old one and chase the new one. So, if you keep living like that, you will discover that you are spending all your fortune chasing these things while others with wisdom and people who have control of their emotions will not be looking at those things that way and they are making progress underground; things you cannot see.
What makes a good movie producer?
A good producer is that producer that researches, a producer that observes very well, a producer that ahs his ears on the ground, a producer that can tell a good script that can turn money and looks for that money, takes a risk to invest in that story; a producer that is consistent, a producer that is very, very professional, that pays attention to details, that is not just concerned about the money, but by the means and other things that go with it. I will give you an example with myself. When I’m working there is this burning passion. No 1, I get myself attached to the story. I work on the story with an ultimate goal to achieve a kind of interest in the audience. Let’s say a story that is talking about prostitution. Yes, I will show you young girls making money, buying cars, moving into VGC and all that. But at the end I’m going to strike that person with something like HIV/AIDS and some sicknesses and the person dies suddenly before the age of 30. So, you now look at the person’s life, all the money she made, all the fun she enjoyed and the way she died at 30, no husband, no children, no legacy left. People who are growing up, when they look at this and they see themselves in that situation that will drive them into prostitution, they will think again, because having watched that movie they will have a fore-warning that this might be an easy way, this might give me immediate money that might satisfy my immediate need, but the truth is that what I am looking for is not just what will satisfy my immediate need, but what will satisfy my latter needs in life. That is the thing I consider when I’m making my movies. And when I put that film in the market, eventually you will see that such films done, with that kind of passion are the kinds of films that sell. I’m being practical here. Even the scripture documents it – That you should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and every other thing shall be added unto you. Because when you concentrate yourself in that kind of effort, you will see that God watches. Let’s even leave God. Nature has a way of rewarding people who are really, really truthful about their endeavours. So, if you do such, success must actually be waiting for you.
What makes a good movie?
Well, a good movie is that movie that can arrest the audience. A good movie is that movie that can make you abandon your food and watch it from beginning to the end. A good movie is that movie that you cannot predict; that movie that has all the elements that can make a good movie. Yes, principally, the story is the most important thing in a film. The story must be good because, yes, if you direct a good team, have a good cinematographer, have a very good director, have a very good script, have good lighting system, have good sound, the film will sell. But principally, if you remove a good story and have all these other things I said, the film will fail. There is one saying that there are three most important things that will make a film to sell. No 1, the story, No 2, the story and No 3, the story.
What don’t you like about being a movie maker?
No 1 is the attention. Honestly, I’m a very modest person and by virtue of this job, the attention you create is something you cannot control. Actually, one of the reasons I left acting, beyond leaving it to go behind the camera to achieve my vision by controlling the contents of the movies themselves, because that is where the message lies; conceiving and presenting a story that can have that change lies behind the camera. So, these were the things that drove me there, but beyond those reasons, one other reason that drove me behind the camera was to reduce the influence of my face. I want a situation where I can walk freely without being recognized so that I can live a normal life. Because I’ve realized that most people who are into this industry live fake lives. Because your face is famous, because your face is known, you are a constant mention in the media and because you are a constant mention in the media; I’m not saying it is bad to be mentioned in the media all the time, but there is this attention that it creates. People expect you to be super human, people feel that you are no longer a human being like them, people expect a lot of things from you and because you are living your life to please people, you are living your life because you know people’s expectation, you don’t want to fail; it makes you to live a fake life. You can never be yourself, you are abnormal. Honestly! It’s only when you are there, but people in the industry will know what I’m saying. So, those are the reasons I decided to go behind the camera and even behind the camera, because my face was once there, it’s been difficult to erase my face, but I’m leaving with it and I thank God the impact is less than it would have been if I were to be like the Ramseys and all the people in front right now. So, that too much attention is the only thing I will say sometimes I try to avoid because of my modesty. But apart from that, it’s a profession I believe God created me to be in. so, there’s no other thing I don’t like about it. I like everything about it.
What do you like most about being a film maker?
The ability to identify problems and proffer solutions through my movies and eventually see the things I proffered and people actually abiding by them. Honestly, that’s one of the things that gives me happiness. When you get calls, when you get people tell you your stories and give you calls and tell you how these films have impacted on them positively, you have this kind of fulfillment.
You have shot dozens of movies, which of them do you like most and why?
It’s always been a difficult question. But the answer is this: I find it difficult to single out a particular movie, because each of these films we put in a lot. Each of the films has a different message, a different purpose and I don’t think it will be easy for me to now say this one is the one that I like most. But again, if I want to choose for the purpose of this interview so that I wouldn’t look like a deviant or may be somebody who is too opinionated in not giving an answer, I want to say that Mission to Nowhere is a film that is after my heart. My reasons are not far-fetched. No 1, it’s a film that utilized suspense. Suspense was one of the biggest tools I used in that movie and till tomorrow everywhere I go, that’s the film that people talk about. I am happy that the film that people talk about. I am happy that the film was released officially in the cinemas globally and the impacted it made endeared it to my heart. But I will tell you again that State of Emergency has always been a reference point. Because by the time we made that film in year 2000, Nollywood was not ready for that film and we were able to make a film of that magnitude. It was hell making it; it wasn’t easy. But at the end of the day, till tomorrow I live to smile, because that’s a film that sold about a million copies when it was released and till tomorrow, if you document that movie, it would have sold more than 10 million copies. But because there is no box office information people may not know. That film has sold and till tomorrow it is still selling. It’s always a reference point. When I look at it I smile, because when I think of what we went through making that film, I give God the glory.
NB: First published December 2013