Star actress, Ini Edo has finally opened up on the speculation that movie producers can no longer afford her services as she now features only in movies produced by herself and her friends.

The screen diva who is currently the Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State on Culture and Tourism disclosed that;  

“I would not say that I feature more in movies produced by myself or friends. I’ve just been featured in a movie I did not produce. It’s a film produced by Mo’ Abudu. So, I won’t say it’s because they can’t afford me. I decided to slow it down a little and just be selective of what I am part of, for obvious reasons.”

“Most times the worst script comes with lots of money. If a story is not so great, a producer would want to use you because he feels he needs somebody like you to bring it to life and they’d want to pay anything just to have you in it, but at the end of the day, when the film comes out, you feel bad you did it. So for me, it’s not just about the money.”

“If I’m passionate about the story, it really doesn’t matter how much I’m being paid. I don’t use money as a yardstick before going into a project. There’ve been some projects where the money wasn’t that great but because I really loved the script, I did it. So in all, I’m just taking my time and being selective.”

“I think I’m one of the first actors who started movie production. I also think I’m one of the first actors who took their films to cinema. I don’t know if you remember when I did ‘I Will Take My Chances’ with Emem Isong. And that’s also what gave birth to a new actor, Bryan Okwara. That’s the way I give back to the industry. When you’ve been in an industry for a long time and all you did were things that were handed over to you by others, and you think things should be done in a certain way, you would want to be part of that change you want to see.”

“Now, there’s a journey that’s already on and that’s the cinema culture. When I did ‘I Will Take My Chances’, we did not have a lot of cinematographers in Nigeria, so we brought in cinematographers from Hollywood and that was because we wanted to do something different and meet up with international standards.”

“But today, we have so many cinematographers in Nigeria. It cost us so much but it was the beginning of something and now everybody is on it. You just don’t sit down and expect things to be done magically; be part of the change you want to see and you’ll get there somehow. See what’s going on today in the industry. I am proud and grateful to God that I was able to play a role.”

“When we did ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’, what a lot of people don’t know was that the story just fell on my laps. The owners of that project wanted me to produce it and I brought Emem Isong in and they wanted me to play the lead character and we were going to do the entire song miming thing. For sure I can’t sing so I insisted on using a new actor; they actually wanted me and another guy with a known face but I insisted on bringing in a totally new person on board and that’s what gave rise to Adesua Etomi and Blossom Chukwujekwu.”

“That was their first jobs but today see who they are. I just feel very privileged to make such impact even though it may not be so celebrated but it just feels good to know that I’ve been able to do this. The latest one with Uche Jombo, ‘Heaven On My Mind’ is mind-blowing.”