Gists
Genevieve Nnaji: “Hollywood Made Me Realize I Was A Commodity.”
Experienced Nollywood actress Genevieve Nnaji has shared her insights on her experiences trying to find collaborations in Hollywood following the box office success of her 2018 film LionHeart, which Netflix purportedly paid $3.8 million for.
She added that the experience made her realize that she was a commodity and that she never received the support she had anticipated in Hollywood.
She clarified that Hollywood merely desired what she has for their own gain.
During a panel discussion at the 2024 AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum/Afreximbank Annual Meeting, the actor revealed this.
She said, “For the first time, I realised I was a commodity. I thought, you know, given what I had done with Lionheart, and all of that, I was going to have an opportunity to do more. Getting there and having the kind of support, that obviously CANEX is bringing on board, but I thought I could find it in Hollywood. That was not quite the case.
“They wanted what I had but for their benefit. It was all about their story. It was all about how, even if it was our story, I could make it more authentic to their own understanding of whatever Africa is because they did have a lot of literature in their archives.”
Favoritism manifests itself in all departments. It is harder to avoid it because it is so natural.
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