Joshua Ojo is not a name you would quickly remember at a quick mention or glance but this Nigerian filmmaker, actor and film director has made his mark on the Nigerian film industry. Ojo, according to many of his peers, is one of Nigeria’s most hardworking and successful film producers, who is young and full of life and ideas.
His first hit at fame was a role in the popular family TV series ‘Fuji House of Commotion,’ where he played one of the sons of Chief Fuji. After undergoing theatrical and film training at the New York Film Academy, Ojo has been able to establish himself as a professional actor, producer and director.
Ojo spoke with ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, GBENGA BADA, about his ambitious biopic on Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, the challenges while filming and why he spent over N400m to film.
WHY a biopic on Wole Soyinka considering his fame as a world class writer?
So, there are certain things you won’t be able to get or to find online, you know, when you google Wole Soyinka. You’ll see a lot of stuff about him, but what we’ve decided to tell in this movie is actually the untold story of Wole Soyinka, which you can’t find on the internet. I don’t want to spill out everything because I would like you guys to see the film. But what I can tell you, basically, is that what you’re going to see in the film, is the untold story of Professor Wole Soyinka.
Going by all you have said, what’s the level of research that went into this movie?
Prof is actually a difficult person to pin down. It took me over 8 months to get to Professor Wole Soyinka, and when I eventually did, successfully, it took me a while to get his attention, to get some books, to sit him down, make him tell us some untold stories, like I said.
Yeah, I did my research, you know, aside from reading some of his books. I had a one-on-one conversation with him, I asked him questions, he gave me some books to read about him. He shared some vital information as well, which I scripted in the film, and yeah, that’s what has become the film.
So, how did you choose the cast in the film?
Okay, so I started as an actor, I didn’t just jump into directing, I started as an actor, so acting is something that’s really, when it comes to casting, I feel is really really important. So for this movie, I tried to use, I didn’t just look for the main lead actors or the popular ones, I tried to use the actors. The real people, you know, hence why we have those fantastic actors, and like Mr Lemmy himself so I tried to look for actors that looked like the actual people in the story.
How long did it take to shoot the film?
Okay, so that’s a very interesting question. It took us over a year, and I’ll tell you why. First, we built the sets. I tried to make sure that I got some real footage from Prof, some pictures and all that, so we tried to recreate those images. So we built a space. We built a concrete prison. We built Professor Wole Soyinka’s house. We built a whole lot of locations in this, you know, in that warehouse. So that took us quite a while, you know, to finish up. And when we eventually did, it was during the rainy season, and somehow it got destroyed, so we had to rebuild again from scratch.
Another factor, another reason why it took us that long was the fact that I also had an accident. I’m this kind of person, I don’t go out, you know, so whenever I’m going for a movie shoot that would last for a long period of time, I try as much as possible to get some snacks and stuff that I’ll need. There was this supermarket very close to the hotel. So I just went there to find something that I would eat and it was about a five minute walk. On my way back to the hotel, a car came from behind. I didn’t see the car coming and I was crushed and for about 10-15 seconds, the car was still dragging me and that way I crushed my right leg, just about five minutes to the hotel. And I was there, and it was there. That incident took me to UCH. And I thought, I’ll just be given injections, and I will go back to the hotel because my actors and crew, they were already coming in and all that. But hey, I was told, I was given the shock of my life, either they cut off the leg or I go for surgery. I had no choice than to use part of the money for the film for the surgery and I had about over 20 metals pierced into my right leg. I was at the hospital bed getting injections. I had about 40 injections by then. I was having all that when a friend of mine reached out to me and actually told the actors and crew that we won’t be filming till further notice so everybody left, but he stayed behind because he’s actually more than a friend, he’s more than an actor. He stayed behind till I was better and we kicked off again.
Have you met any form of rejections when you conceived the idea to shoot the biopic?
Should I say this (laughs)?
Okay, so I shared this idea with my mentor that I would like to do a biopic on Wole Soyinka and I got a knee jerk reaction while I was still trying to recuperate, learning how to walk again. And I got a link that my mentor is making plans to shoot the same film. So in order not to tell the same story before me, in order to avoid a situation whereby people will say, “Okay, you copied the story” because of course, I don’t want to mention his name, but he is somebody who is when he mentioned his name, we all know him, and it will be difficult for people to say “oh you copied, he copied me.” So I said, “Okay, this is the best thing to do.” So I left the hospital, I was still in a wheelchair and I called everybody back and they all came and that was how we began shooting again. We would shoot for a few days, I would go to the hospital for treatment, go back again to shoot. So this was actually one of the major reasons why we filmed for almost a year.
So, share the experience between the time you got in an accident and when you began shooting again?
Well like I said, when things happen to producers, people do not really pay attention to it but when it happens to actors of course they are the public figures. Producers and directors, we’re humans as well, you know, when I had the accident, like I said, everybody, you know, some actors didn’t even come back. Normally actors will get their 100% payment before coming to your movie set, and some did not come back. They said “Okay, we’ve been to your set, fine you had an accident, we’re sorry but sorry, we have other plans, change of date, we’re not coming back” and trust me they did not come back. Some did not return. And like I said, besides Lemmy being a wonderful actor. He has been a wonderful friend. He’s the only person that stood by me. Uncle Saka too stood by me. Feyikemi Olayinka, yeah she stood by me too and quite a few. But the rest I had to pay another money to bring them back despite the fact that I told them about the accident and so really, it was a huge one really.
Why is the spoken language in the film Yoruba, knowing fully well that Wole Soyinka is a national figure?
Okay, so yeah, I, the reason why we picked Yoruba language is because I felt that we don’t really have a particular, single movie that has been nominated or submitted for the Oscars. Hence why I picked the language because I intend to submit for the next Oscars and I want it to be totally indigenous. Hence why I picked Yoruba.
What about international markets?
Wole Soyinka is a national figure. So whether it’s Yoruba, English Hausa, Igbo, I’m sure people would like to see the film on him.
So what platforms do you intend to release the film for distribution and when?
So for now, we’re releasing at the cinemas, and also it’s going to a streaming platform. It’s coming out as we’re looking at, on or before June, for the release.
I noticed a lot of the story was set in Ibadan as your location, what other locations were used?
Okay, we filmed in the UK, filmed in Ibadan, we filmed in some parts of Lagos as well.
But no Ogun State?
No, not at all.
For a lead character playing Wole Soyinka, such an individual must have a proven record so, did the lead character meet Professor Wole Soyinka at any point?
Yes. I don’t want to mention his name. But yes, he is somebody who has spent quality time with Professor Wole Soyinka. And yes, before filming he met with him, I think about three times, yeah.
So how much will you say you’ve invested in the production of the project?
I can’t say really, because I can only say I’ve invested a whole lot. And we’re still investing because we’re spending everyday. So we’ve invested a whole lot, it’s huge really.
Can you give us a rough or an estimated figure?
Within 400 million really.
With that huge sum, how do you hope to really recoup the investment?
Well, that’s my little secret (laughs). And that’s because like I said, about 30% of the initial budget went towards my surgery and of course raised funds elsewhere to balance it up so we can start filming again.
In particular, how did you raise the money?
Selling some of my stuff. Okay, so like I said, it’s really difficult. I mean, I think it’s something the government and investors should really look into. That was really difficult for me to do. Raising funds from investors, colleagues and all that, you know, to support, you know. But they would rather support the so-called huge producers because they feel they’re popular and meanwhile they started from somewhere. But yes, I have got some beautiful friends who believe in me and what I’m doing. I don’t know if I should mention their names but we have corporate investments from Rite foods, we have LG, we have Waka now, we have Boli and Grills, we have Goldberg, Fearless, they believed in the project and yeah they came on board.
Aside from the main character, who you are keeping under wraps, who are the other characters in the film?
So we have Lafeef Adedimeji, Segun Arinze who played the role of MKO Abiola, Jide Kosoko, Ibrahim Chatta who played Ogun, Bimbo Oshin, Femi Branch, Saka and a whole lot. So, majorly this movie is actually like my comeback and I intend to do two major announcements. So how important is having these biopics?
Okay, so I feel if we don’t tell our stories, nobody will tell our stories. So I feel, making biopics will not only educate us, it will also allow the so called Gen Z generation to know more about our heroes. I feel making biopics is the best thing that can actually happen to us, as humans, you know, to help us to understand who we are, where we’re coming from, and where we’re going so biopics are very important in our lives.
I don’t know if it is appropriate to say this now but I’m looking at something like a Rashidi Yekini biopic. I thought about it, like in the last five years, and it keeps reoccuring. And I know that it’s a big story, we do not, we do not tell stories in some angles, especially sports, accolades, the heroes that we had as has made us proud as a people.
I think another problem we have, again, as filmmakers, why they run away from biopics, is because when you make good biopics, the first question you get from a distributor is this even though they’ve not even seen your film, “biopics don’t sell. We can’t distribute it.” That’s another huge disadvantage. Yes. You know, I’ve had to sit down with different distributors and they’ve not even seen the film. And they said, “Sorry, we can’t take it because biopics dont sell.” So hence why filmmakers run away from making biopics but hey, I’m ready to take the bull by the horns. I mean, If I don’t get a good distributor in Nigeria. I mean, I went to film school, I went to New York, if I don’t get a good distributor in Nigeria, I’ll get a distributor elsewhere, so that’s it.
Are you willing to go into an agreement with government agencies to showcase this biopic to students in schools?
Okay, so like I made a statement earlier that it would be nice if we have the state governments, all governments, you know, supporting young filmmakers. It’s really sad when you try to. I’ve actually done that. I made some moves even before this interview and hey nobody is ready to listen to you because you’re not, I don’t want to mention names now, you’re not this person, you’re not that person. Once they get your name and you’re not that big, they won’t give you that attention. Maybe when they hear this or when they see this, they would open a line of communication and yeah, I’ll be glad to collaborate.
After Wole Soyinka, what’s next?
So one of my comeback is Wole Soyinka’s biopic and the second one is the biopic of Kudirat Abiola. It’s ready, we’ve shot it as well. We’re hoping to show it to the media soon and like a mini premiere or private screening, on June 12. And, yes, I’m sure, pretty soon you get to know about that as well.
