Ghanaian actor, Ekow Blankson
In the wake of the remembrance of Ghanaian actor, Ekow Blankson, we take a look at some insightful observations and experiences in the movie industry.
It can be recalled that sometime in April 2022, the late actor, during an interview on GhanaWeb's 'The Lowdown', shed some light on the state of the movie sector.
The actor took viewers through some instances and happenings that led to the seeming crippling of the movie industry and how it can get back to redeeming its global image and recognition.
The late Ekow Blankson among several revelations disclosed that his salary from a movie had never bought him a house or a car.
The late actor expressed, that the money he made from acting was “nothing to write home about”, and as such, the narrative would have been different if he played such roles in Hollywood.
“Unfortunately, it’s a hand-to-mouth salary. It is not anything to write home about,” he said. “I believe that the kinds of things that I have done, if I was doing a Hollywood, I’m sure the kind of attention and detail that I attach to filming here, then you can say you’d buy a house, a car, you can get married. But really, I’d say that the money I have made has been a hand to mouth. My cars that I bought are from corporate salaries and stuff like that.”
“Sometimes, we use it for fuel,” he further mentioned as he threw more light on how meager the amount is.
Read the full story originally published on April 20,2022 by GhanaWeb
The amount of money paid Ekow Blankson for his roles in movies is “nothing to write home about”, said the actor as he delved into issues that have contributed to Ghana’s dying movie industry.
In his interview with Ismail Akwei on GhanaWeb TV’s The Lowdown, the veteran actor said the narrative would have been different if he played such roles in Hollywood.
“Unfortunately, it’s a hand-to-mouth salary. It is not anything to write home about,” he said. “I believe that the kinds of things that I have done, if I was doing a Hollywood, I’m sure the kind of attention and detail that I attach to filming here, then you can say you’d buy a house, a car, you can get married. But really, I’d say that the monies I have made has been a hand to mouth. My cars that I bought are from corporate salaries and stuff like that.”
“Sometimes, we use it for fuel,” he further mentioned as he threw more light on how meagre the amount is.
Having done some movies for international brands like Netflix, Mr. Blankson asserted that the payment structure is “way better”, adding that “contracts were signed ahead of time”.
"Their set-up is really different and really classy. They treat you well. if you’re getting a three thousand cedis for a movie that has about a hundred scenes here, with the Netflix, you could get something like eight thousand."
He mentioned that in Ghana, some actors get less than three thousand Ghana cedis for a 100-scene movie.
On the back of assertions that the Ghana movie industry is dying, Mr. Blankson proffered some solutions for its revival. While urging that funds should be pumped into the industry, the veteran made a case for movies to be well-marketed and distributed.
“We need funds. The industry needs funds to operate. We have an industry but we don’t have a film economy. We have a film industry; we have people who make up the film industry but we lack in the place of film economy.
“As a country, we need to understand what our films can do for us and I’ll speak on the authority that I’ve traveled and I know what content does. What are we as Ghana doing? Today, look at Nigeria. Nigeria has beaten Bollywood. Bollywood was second in the world; it was Hollywood, Bollywood, and Nollywood. The reason is that they understand and get funded, get help,” he said.
