Producer: Why we didn’t feature A-list actors in ‘Money Miss Road’

Joy Odiete, the producer of ‘Money Miss Road‘, has revealed why she did not feature A-list actors in the action-comedy film.

The highly anticipated movie by Obi Emelonye, the film director, is heading to the big screens on July 22.

It features popular figures like Charly Boy, the singer; Josh Alfred (Josh2funny), the internet comedian; and Jide Kene Achufusi (Swanky JKA), the actor.

But speaking at the media screening of the film on Tuesday at the Lagos City Mall, Onikan, in Ikeja, Joy said she doesn’t believe in the existence of the phrase “A-list actors”.

An A-list actor is a prominent film star or one of the most bankable actors in the industry.

The movie producer, however, described it as “something we make up ourselves” as a form of segregation among actors.

“Unlike the popular notion that a film has to feature a lot of stars before it becomes a hit or passes across its message, ‘ Money Miss Road’ is different,” said Joy, who doubles as CEO of Blue Pictures.

“And I believe there’s really no such thing as A-list actors or something, the segregation is just something we make up ourselves.

“The casting for ‘Money Miss Road’ was deliberate because we needed someone that could go from being just a regular actor and can deliver the character well, or would you rather prefer that we use square actors who can’t perform well? Our choice of cast was deliberate and of course, we had to stick to the budget.”

Spiced with humour and action, ‘Money Miss Road’ captures the lives of two friends — Josiah (Josh2funny) and Joseph (Jide Achufusi) — whose encounter with Diokpa (Charly Boy), a ruthless criminal kingpin at a local hotel would set up for a life of luxury and misery as their rat race for survival unfolds.

Speaking at the event, Swanky JKA Achufusi talked about the diversity of the project and how he felt when given his script.

“When I got the script for the film I was excited because Nollywood nowadays is revolving, we no longer have the era that if you’re Mr. Ibu you have to act like Mr. Ibu,” he said.

“The new Nollywood like I call it has strengths in diversity and range and I’ve always been excited to try new things irrespective of the genre because if you think about it, the film is an action-comedy, so the beauty there is that both genres were nicely combined.

“In the scene in which I was seen punching another character, I dislocated one of my fingers and I still have scars from some of the injuries I sustained while filming even Josh, also had injuries he sustained on his own part but it was all part of the job.”

On his part, Emelonye said ‘Money Miss Road’ is a rehash of a movie he wrote in the 2000s titled ‘Lucky Joe’.

“‘Money Miss Road’ is actually a rehash of a movie I wrote in the 2000s titled ‘Lucky Joe’. But unlike some of the remakes that we have currently in Nollywood I was determined to do better so I did, the film is a labour of love,” the movie director said.

“The film was shot on an Arri Alexa mini using high-quality camera lenses, with most of the action in the film happening at night, we wanted to use that to create a really dark cinematic mood to the film, although the subject matter is light and comedic.

“This played into the thriller elements of the film, all in all, I wanted to do a more physical, more action comedy instead of the talky drama that we’re used to. If you liked films like ‘Rush Hour’ and ‘Bad Boys’ then you will love ‘Money Miss Road’.”

‘Money Miss Road’ is the second production of Blue Pictures. It comes on the back of the highly acclaimed film ‘Gone.’