Admirable actress and producer, Lilian Amah-Aluko, wants to preside over the Association of Movie Producers – and in this exclusive interview with YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AZUH ARINZE, she carefully and confidently tabulated her reasons. Mrs. Amah-Aluko, a former banker, spoke to us on Tuesday, October 27, 2015, and inside the LTV Complex, in Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos. The MD/CEO of New Dawn Productions, her secondary education was at Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State and her tertiary, the University of Lagos, where she read Philosophy and graduated in 1987. She also has a Masters, from UNILAG, in English Literature…
Why do you want to be AMP (Association of Movie Producers) President?
Because there’s so much wrong with our industry that can be very easily corrected and I believe that having served for two terms as Vice President, I know the problems and I have a good idea of the solutions.
Having served for two terms as the Vice President, what didn’t your immediate superior do that you would like to do?
I don’t want to talk about what my superior didn’t do. I want to talk about what I intend to do. The first thing I think I wanna do is to work very hard, with the help of others, to unite the industry. Our industry is very fractured, there are so many different guilds and associations, all speaking discordant tunes. We need to come together and realize that the sky is big enough for everyone to thrive and ultimately we have one goal, which is to provide entertainment and education for our viewers. So, we can unite under one umbrella and work hard towards achieving our goals. So, the first thing is unity. The second thing for me is training and professional ethics. It’s an all comers’ affair right now in the industry. A lot of people are in the industry untrained, professionally or otherwise. So, we need to start training and re-training ourselves. We need to train people, not only technically, we also need to teach people the ethics, the morals, how to carry themselves. People tend to look at our industry and see us as misfits, drop outs, touts. But in this industry, we actually have cultured people, we have professionals, we have learned people. So, we need to start teaching people the way to carry themselves, the way to portray themselves, because the way we present ourselves is how the public will take us. So, all of these trainings, we need to start doing. We don’t have to wait for people to do it for us. So, unity; we talk about training, then we talk about getting investments into the industry. Because we do not have structures, we do not have standards, the average private investor is afraid of putting his money into this industry. Because he’s not sure he’s going to get his money back. So, if we begin to have standards and we put structures in place; structures that can tell that okay, I produce this movie and this is how much this movie actually made in the cinemas, this is how much it made at the box office, this is how much it made on videos. Then, an investor can see that oh, if I put my money in, I can make this much. Once those structures are there, the records are there, it’s easier to get investments into the industry.
Let’s rewind a little. What got you interested in acting?
(Laughs) – When I was a child, I think I was about five or six, we were living in Freetown, Sierra Leone then. My parents took us to the cinema which was like a weekly affair. We would go to the cinema on Sundays and I watched the Sound of Music. For the first time, I was totally amazed and I said I want to be like these children. So, over the years, secondary school and university, I was doing acting on the side. Never professionally. But because I liked the world of make-believe, I liked the fact that I could be a different person, from the regular me; that was the attraction to acting.
What do you like most about being an actress?
I can live several different lives in this my one life (Laughs).
What don’t you like about being an actress?
I don’t like the fact that you don’t have any privacy. Everybody is looking at you, everybody can tell (who you are).You know, there are so many stories out there; whether they are true or not, people believe them. That’s one. The loss of privacy is one thing I don’t like and then the second thing I don’t like is the not-so-good impression people have about actresses, because it rubs off on everybody who is an actress. They tar you with the same brush, which is why I’m actually very passionate about educating people in our industry.
What is the commonest mistake that most actresses make?
I think the commonest mistake, to me, because it’s a matter of perception. To me, the commonest mistake most actresses make is not being able to manage themselves. When I say manage themselves, when you are an actress, you automatically are a role model. So, you have to be conscious of the fact that everything you do, somebody is watching you and the younger ones are going to think that that’s the way. So, a lot of people forget that. It’s not only actresses; even actors! They forget that being public figures, they are role models. So, they do things in public that they really shouldn’t be seen doing.
What is the greatest thing that being an actress has done for you?
It has opened doors! I go to places and people say oh, I know you, come this way. It has opened doors.
So, what has being an actress not done for you?
(Laughs) – What has it not done for me? I really can’t say what it hasn’t done for me.
In acting, most people attain success, but they are not able to sustain it. Where do you think they normally get it wrong?
A lot of people get it wrong because sustaining success requires character, requires integrity. Anybody can make a success of life, but to sustain that success requires these three things – character, integrity and principle.
Alright! What makes a good actress?
A good actress is that person that can convince you that the role he or she is playing is who he or she is really is.
You combine acting with producing, what makes a good producer?
A good producer is a good administrator. To be a good producer, you have to be very, very good administratively, you have to be able to manage people, you have to be able to manage funds, you have to be able to manage time.
What’s your own personal definition of acting?
I think acting is living a part; living a part.
Which is your most memorable role as an actress?
(Laughs) – I don’t have to think twice about that – Alero, in Out of Bounds. Pastor Voke’s wife.
Why?
The reason why is because one, it was my first professional role. It was a character I totally empathized with and it was the first time I was acting with big, big stars – Uncle Steve Rhodes was in that movie; Richard Mofe Damijo played my husband; Aunty Rachael Oniga was in that movie. These are people I’ve only seen on screen and for the first time I was brought into close contact with them and they totally, totally nurtured me.
What’s the worst role that you have played?
I haven’t had that experience, because I’ve been very selective, I’ve been very careful about what I do. When I wanted to go into acting, I was a banker and my father said to me, my daughter, I’m not very happy about what I see and read about actresses. Why do you wanna go there? You are well educated, you have a good job, why do you wanna go there? I said daddy, this is a passion, this is something I’m passionate about and I made him a promise – that I will never taint his name and I will never do anything that will make him not to be proud of me. So, that made me very careful in choosing my roles.
What role must an actress not play?
Anything he or she is not comfortable with, because before you can really give your best in a role, you have to be totally comfortable, you have to lose all self-consciousness, you have to become that character and if you are not very comfortable about a role, you will not be able to subsume yourself in that role.
What is the nicest thing that you’ve heard people say about you as an actress?
One of my former bosses called me one day after watching a soap and said, Lilian, I just finished watching you, and I said what was I doing? And he called the name of the soap and he said some people were watching with him and he said to them, that girl, that thing she’s doing there, that is her.
What’s the worst thing you’ve heard about yourself since you went into acting?
I’ve not had any negative feedback on my acting. Maybe there are, but it’s never been brought to my notice.
What advise will you give to the younger ones who would like to go into acting? And maybe also become like you some day?
I always say to those who come to me for advise and to those out there; what I would say is to be true to yourself. No matter how big a star you may become, keep your feet planted firmly on the ground and if you choose to be a public figure, know that you are a role model and make sure that you leave a legacy that the younger ones will look up to; to build the kind of country we want because it all starts with us.
People watch your movies to make them happy, what do you do each time you want to be happy?
I read! (Laughing).
Which is the greatest book that you have read?
There are so many of them. But the one that has been most impactful to me – In The Light of Truth, by Abdul Rushin.
Would you like to talk about your marriage? What is the greatest lesson that marriage has taught you?
Patience! The greatest lesson marriage has taught me is patience.
We get to read always about actresses and scandals. Why do you think actresses enjoy hugging scandals?
I don’t really know if they enjoy hugging scandals, but I’ve actually heard somebody say to me that some negative stories that were written about some people were actually supplied by those people, because they want publicity. Some people have said to me that there’s nothing like bad publicity. So, they sell a scandal about themselves, whether it’s true or false to draw attention to themselves and I say if that’s what it is, I don’t want that kind of attention (Laughing).
In your career, God has shown you love. What more do you want from God? What are the things He has not done for you yet?
Everything I’ve needed in my life has been supplied by the Almighty. What I want from God is continued peace for the number of years He has left for me on earth, I want to live them in good health. That’s all.