SILVERBIRD CINEMA APOLOGIZES FOR COMMENT MADE ON KUMAWOOD MOVIES

The pain and woes of producers of movies made in the Akan language which are often referred to as Kumawood were deepened after a statement by Silverbird cinemas in Accra sought to imply their movies were of low quality hence the cinema’s decision not to show such movies there.

However, a recent meeting with the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) has seen management of Silverbird Cinema apologize for its comment and set out a new road map to help show local movies (Akan) at its cinemas.

The cinema as part of the new road map will join forces with FIPAG to organize local movie weeks as well as local movie festivals to help improve the movie industry. It will also organize workshops with producers to cement the new relationship.

Some few weeks ago, the marketing manager of Silverbird cinema, Cynthia Elorm Dumfuor during the Women in Film Making Forum at the Golden Tulip told the gathering that they were not showing Kumawood movies because they do not meet the quality and standards required by the managers of the cinema.

She was quoted as saying, “it is not as if we don’t want to show any movies produced locally at the cinema. We have movies from other producers being premiered at our cinema’s, but most of the Akan movies have lower quality and are sub standard, that is our issue with those movies.

If they can upgrade their movies, I am sure we will be glad to show Akan movies in our cinemas because we also want to contribute our quota to the movie industry."

In a related development, Home Base TV has also dedicated 2 hours daily for FIPAG and its members to advertise, discuss, show music videos and to showcase their works for free.

This is an attempt to help absorb some of the high cost of advertisements that FIPAG members face during promotions.

HIPLIFE QUEEN, ABREWA NANA RETURNS WITH ‘HOPE’

Proud to be the only lady musician featured in the Book of Hiplife by VVIP; Abrewa Nana was the Queen of GH Dancehall way back 2002 with her hit song, ‘Odo filla’.

She went missing on the music scene couple of years ago and has returned with 2 singles titled ‘No-Money-No-Honey’ and ‘A.D.J.O.A-Ninja’ which describes a girl who has rather chosen to lay with men who lie to help her become a superstar instead of working hard; all released on radio and social media last year.

Speaking to Dorcas Opoku Dakwa, Abrewa Nana told GhanaWeb Entertainment that both online released songs are on her pending (no.) album dubbed ‘Hope’ to encourage the poor, the sick, the orphan, the ‘almost-giving up’ persons and even the rich.

“I titled this album, ‘Hope’ because we all need it to survive. We all desire hope toto live hopefully to see another day and to look at the era of generation that comes with so many challenges and doubts of possibilities,” she said.

She further noted that the idea is to encourage and inspire every being especially the youth who are so easily wooed to follow almost everything their ears and eyes sees which either encourage or make them want to give up.

But “songs on my ‘Hope’ album will encourage them to flee the give-up whisper and ‘all hope is lost’ mentality from their minds and rather have the ‘Hope’ of seeing their dreams manifest.”

According to her, the upcoming album is a 15-track album which was specially written and arranged by her and was produced by Kaywa, Morris Baby Face, MixMasta Garzy as well as upcoming talented engineers, X-Conzy and Fita of Alqaheeda fame who was nominated at the 2014 VGMA.

“I featured Pros on songs on the album like Okyeame Kwame, the Rap Doctor on ‘Prince Charming’ and also, Castro, Joe Frazer, among others that I would like to keep as a surprise for now but I believe the songs on the album will ‘HIT’ bangers,” she hinted.

Meanwhile, Abrewa Nana is currently in the studio working with legend producer, Zap Mallet and also intends working with Appietus among other Ghanaian and international producers.

Far from music, the Dancehall Queen is also working on a Breast Cancer project as a “quota of my Social responsibility to educate women in the entire nation and to likewise let the public know that it’s not a disease of only women.

But also men has a high risk of being affected as well as winning babies as proven by research,” she disclosed.

“I am indeed grateful to the Lord Almighty for how far He has brought me and thank you to all Ghanaian DJs and Presenters who has appreciated my music and given me respectable air time on their various platforms for the world to hear my voice and works again not forgetting my fans and every music lovers,” she said.

Follow Abrewa Nana on Twitter, @AbrewaNa9; Instagram on @Abrewa-Nana and Facebook Abrewa Nana and like my Fan Page as well.

Musical background

Abrewa Nana became a favourite among radio DJs, and her collaboration with Sass Squad ‘Tuma’ received huge airplay.

However, it was her first album, 'Sagoa', in 2000 that launched her to national fame, and she earned three nominations at the Ghana Music Awards for Female Artiste of the Year, Rap Song of the Year and New Artiste of the Year.

In 2001, Abrewa Nana won an award for Hiplife Song of the Year and was named Best Female Vocalist in 2002.

The same year, Abrewa Nana released her second album, ‘African Girl’, to critical acclaim, and in 2003, she was named Best Female Artiste of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards UK. Her third album, ‘Maba’, followed in 2004, and she is currently working on a new album.

Abrewa Nana is also a dancer and famous for her heavily choreographed videos. She has worked with artistes including Samini,

In 2007, it was announced that she would be a judge on ‘Idols West Africa’, alongside the Nigerian Dede Mabiaku and the American Dan Foster; at twenty-seven, she was one of the youngest judges in Idols' history.

Although the producers of the show were determined to portray her as the 'nice one', Abrewa Nana was determined to ‘be myself’.

The show was a rating success and made Nana popular outside Ghana. Apart from being the only female judge, she was well known for her catchphrase, “It doesn't work for me.”

FOUNDER OF ‘CASTRO AMANIHUNU’ MOVIE PRODUCTION HOUSE TO SUE BROTHER

Two brothers, both movie producers, are at war over the production of a movie, ‘Castro Amenihunu’ with one threatening to take legal action against the other.

The poster of the movie suspected to be based on the disappearance of Hiplife musician Castro, born Theophilus Tagoe, has been circulating on social media for some time now.

Castro and his female companion, Janet Bandu went missing during jet skiing in the waters of Ada on Sunday, July 6, 2014.

The yet-to-be-released movie has received a lot of flak from critics who say the movie is in bad taste.

Samuel Odame Jnr, whose contact details are on the movie poster, speaking on Rhythmz A-Z on Joy FM with Mamavi Owusu Aboagye on Saturday, said, “I never in any way produced any movie like 'Castro Amenehunu'.”

According to him, “Odame World Film Productions is the name of my production house but I never in any way or by any chance give anyone the go-ahead to produce a movie in the name of my production house and put my contact details on it, but later on I realised that it was my younger brother in Kumasi who produced that movie.”

Samuel Odame Jnr revealed that, his brother, Douglas Odame, “did not inform me that he will be using the name of my production house for that matter I am going to sue him.”

“I don’t know what came into my brother’s mind to do that without my consent so I don’t really care whether he is my brother or not, I have sued him, and very soon he will be brought before the law.”

Asked about background in movie production, Samuel Odame Jnr said he studied movie production in India, and he is solely into Hindi movies.

He revealed that, he started his production house in 2009 and will be releasing some of his movies later this year.

Douglas Odame also speaking on the matter on Rhythmz A-Z admitted that he has produced a movie with the title ‘Castro Amanihunu’ but said he is yet to release it.

He agreed Samuel Odame is his brother but denied using his production house to produce any movie.

He clarified that, his production house is Odame Films and not Odame World Film Productions.

Douglas said due to the unfortunate developments and allegations after the poster of the movie leaked online; he didn't not want to go into details of the storyline of the ‘Castro Amanihunu’ movie.

Reacting to criticisms that the movie may touch on sensitive nerves considering the unfortunate development of Castro's disappearance, Douglas retorted that the Hiplife musician is not the only person by name Castro and that one of his friends even owns a production outfit by name Castro Productions.

CHASE PLANS TOUR WITH GERMAIN AND OTHERS

Following the successful launch of his debut album, Unappreciated, about two weeks ago, RnB singer, Chase has revealed an upcoming nationwide tour featuring himself and a host of other RnB stars.

Some of the artistes billed on the show are Jon Germain, Chemphe and Qweci formerly Ded Buddy. The tour will mainly be targeted at selected Senior High Schools and tertiary institutions across the country.

In an interview with Graphic Showbiz, Chase revealed that apart from the collective tour by the RnB artistes, he is planning an individual tour that is aimed at giving his massive fanbase a feel of what he has to offer.

Chase described performing on stage as an art form just like shooting videos and as such, was disappointed with the poor level of organization at most events.

“A lot of times, promoters are not ready to respond to requests especially from RnB artistes and this is the reason I decided not to take part in any concerts for a while. Sometimes, you ask event organisers to turn off or dim the lights, and they refuse, fearing the lights might not comeback on afterwards,” he said.

Chase added that at the moment, sales of his maiden album have been impressive, in terms of copies bought on the day of the launch and online platforms such as iTunes, adding that, he expected sales to go up even further considering the nature of the songs he does.

“I have noticed that most of my songs take time to reach my audience, so I can release a song, and it would take six months to become a hit but when it does, it gets played on air constantly.

“For instance, my song Fire took some time to get through to the general public but it is still enjoying airplay almost two years after its release,” he added.

PASTOR LOVE NEVER LIED ABOUT OBAAPA CHRISTIE'S SECRET AFFAIR?

Rumour circulating indicates that award-winning gospel musician, Christiana Love now known as Obaapa Christie has re-married after her divorce with her ex-hubby, Pastor Love, General Overseer of the Life Power Miracle Church.

Obaapa is said to have settled with one Nana Asante, who was at the center of the Obaapa Christie-Pastor Love marriage brouhaha.

Earlier this year when Obaapa lodged a complaint against her former husband for emotional and psychological abuse at the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service.

Pastor Love who made some brazen accusations that the man, Nana Asante, who was at the center of all the troubles in their marriage which made the news years ago, is currently living together with Obaapa Christy in Germany.

The two fly to Ghana often together, and many people have confirmed seeing them together in Germany and Ghana, he claimed.

According to him, Nana Asante is the man who had an affair with his gospel singer wife in Germany while they were still married with kids in Ghana and he was the reason for their break up.

Pastor Love, continued, “all the things I said about her in the media in 2011 were true and everybody can see it now. She disgraced me on Adom FM and said a lot of things to cover her bad deeds but thank God that Ghanaians see it now.

Most of the gospel musicians are aware of this and in Germany, people know that all what I said is the truth, and I never lied.”

OMG!Ghana.com tried reaching Obaapa Christie before press time but were not successful

I DON’T MAKE MOVIES FOR UPPER CLASS FOLKS -FRANK RAJAH ARASE

Filmmaker, Frank Rajah Arase, has revealed some of his marketing secrets in the film industry, saying he doesn’t target the upper class in society when he produces or directs.

The Nigerian-born Ghanaian director, who is known for his movies such as 'Beyonce', 'The President’s Daughter', 'Somewhere In Africa', 'Cheaters' and 'Iyorie' among others, says it is because the upper class doesn’t patronise local movies.

“They don’t buy CDs. They are those who have DSTVs in their homes and watch all kinds of programmes and Hollywood movies. They don’t buy movies,” he told Trailer TV on GhOne TV on Sunday.

However, he added that they prefer to attend movie premieres, purposely to take photos with stars and post them on social media for various reasons.

According to Frank, one of the basic marketing strategies for him in the movie business was to know his target audience and serve their interest.

He said he had always targeted the middle class to get the attention of the lower class.

The lower class, who makeup the majority, he said, buy movies to watch at home though they may not patronise movie premieres or the cinemas.

Frank’s efforts contributed greatly to what is now called Ghana’s movie industry. He directed a number of Ghanaian and Nigerian movies.

His latest film, Iyore, got several nominations for the upcoming Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards (GIAMA) in USA in the categories; Best Motion Picture, Best On-Screen Duo, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director.

The rest of the categories included Producer of the Year, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Costume and Best Makeup.

I BEAT OZOKWOR AT HER OWN GAME - KYEIWAA

If there is anything that Ghanaian actress Kyeiwaa and Patience Ozokwor from Nigeria have in common, it is that both of them are known for their movie bad roles.

In a new movie Mama Africa produced by Paul Gee, it seemed as if they were competing against each other to determine who was “bladder."

Kyeiwaa, who had always wanted to act alongside Patience Ozokwo, believes she did better than Patience in the movie.

“I have always wanted to meet Patience Ozokwor and prove to her that I am Kyeiwaa, and I did just that on our latest movie. I know Ozokwor is a good actress, and I have always wanted the chance to prove to my fans that I am better. I went all out in the movie, and people who have seen the movie say I killed it," Kyeiwaa told Showbiz

Kyeiwaa said before she entered the movie scene, she had always admired Ozokwor. “Patience Ozokwor is a good actress whom I admired and had desired to work with for a long time and that is the reason I went all out in our latest movie."

Movie producer Paul Gee told Showbiz he featured Patience Ozokwor and Kyeiwaa because movie enthusiasts wanted to see the two act together.

“Patience Ozokwor and Kyeiwaa are both good in what they do and that was the reason I decided to pair the two in my movie. I must admit that they did so well in the movie and now the public are the ones to judge who actually did well” Paul Gee said.

The movie features actors such as Akrobeto, Lil Win and Maame Serwaa.

In the movie, Akrobeto, who was married to Kyeiwaa travels to Nigeria to find greener pastures after not being able to take care of his family.

Things become difficult for him until he meets Patience Ozokwor, who promises to help him only if he marries her.

After two years of marriage in Nigeria, Akrobeto runs from Ozokwor to be with his wife Kyeiwaa in Ghana.

“OUR INDUSTRY IS AUDIENCE DEMAND” - LEILA DJANSI

The Chief Executive Officer of Turning Point Pictures Leila Djansi has stated categorically that the Ghanaian movie industry is audience demand, so it is sometimes difficult to come out with your innovations.

She made this statement at Golden Tulip some weeks back.

Now, whether Leila Djansi is making a valid statement about the movie industry or not is another thing for discussion next time because some movie producers do not see anything wrong in using the hottest or popular actor or actress especially on their posters.

They have the belief that it is only the popular face who can market the movie better and not an actor who is new or good.

In all these discussions, there are some negativity in making the movie industry audience demand. What it means is that, new faces and actors will find it difficult in breaking through the movie industry because you will not even be given the chance to showcase what you have.

On the other hand, this development has the tendency of killing talents as one person will repeatedly be used until he or she will not be needed anymore, or fans will be fed up with what he does.

Again, this idea of obeying the audience demand also puts undue pressure on the actors, and that is when they begin putting out some directives to support their desire to claim all the money coming to them.

To overcome this malady, we suggest the movie producers should come to terms with the Actors Guild of Ghana and Opera Square to come up with ways of introducing new faces into the industry any time a movie is coming out.

Analyzing Leila`s statement and the context in which she put it, it is clear that Leila does not like the idea of the public determining who should feature in the movie and not a producer or the directors.

When given the chance, Leila might not allow such things to happen in the industry because she thinks it is not a good practice and won't augur well for the movie industry.

In real terms, who should determine which actor or actress be featured in a movie? Why don't we give that task to the professionals including the director, the producer with just an advice from the people who are on the market and can give feedback on what the buyers say?

CBCG, FIPAG CAUTIONS ‘CASTRO AMANEHUNU' MOVIE PRODUCER

A circulating poster of the movie suspected to be based on hip-life musician Castro, who went missing at the Ada estuary while jet skiing with a lady friend has been circulating on social media for some time now.

Last week, the Maxx Entertainment Crew played an interview conducted by Nana Kwesi Coomson, and in that interview, the purported producer of the movie, Douglas Odame denied the fact that such a movie has been shot.

Speaking to the Maxx Entertainment Crew on Radio Maxx 105.1FM, the producer revealed that the movie is indeed coming out soon.

Reacting to criticisms that the movie may play on the sensitivity of Ghanaians and Castro’s family, Douglas retorted that the Hiplife musician is not the only person by name Castro. Moreover, Castro’s photo doesn’t appear anywhere on the photo.

The General Secretary of the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG), Mr. James aboagye indicated that the Cinematographic Board of Control of Ghana (CBCG) has confronted FIPAG regarding the ‘Castro Amanehunu’ movie.

"FIPAG members have, therefore, advised the producer of the movie to withdraw the yet-to-be released movie because it is so sensitive to Ghanaians," he indicated in an interview with Maxx Entertainment Crew.

He revealed that per the constitution of Ghana, there is no more Censorship Board, but rather Cinematographic Board of Control of Ghana, a Government institution that is directly under Ministry of Communication.

It is a body that ensures that movies produced in the country are suitable for public view and also check on titles of movies before they released.

Mr. Aboagye added that if the producer of the ‘Castro Amanehunu’ movie does not heed to the advice of the Association and the CBCG, he will be sanctioned.

He said, the producer could be prevented for from releasing any movies. Or his certificate as a movie producer could be totally withdrawn.

SHATTA WALE ARRESTED FOR OBSTRUCTING TRAFFIC

Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale, known in real life as Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jnr, was on Monday arrested by the police for driving with a convoy and obstructing traffic.

According to the police, the ‘Dancehall King’ hit singer claimed he was late for a flight to Italy, so he had to use the convoy to get to the airport early.

Supt. Yaw Tetegah, Airport Police Commander, who confirmed the arrest in an interview with myjoyonline.com stated that Shatta Wale was arrested around the Shangri-La traffic light at about 4:30 pm.

He narrated that the artiste was driving with a "number of motorbikes leading him pushing all other vehicles aside, and his reason was that he was about to fly, and he is late.

He is going to take his belongings and then get back to the airport, so he was forcing his way through the traffic being led by a number of motorbikes.”

A Police officer from the Police Headquarters 'got him arrested' after witnessing the obstruction he had caused.

Supt. Yaw Tetegah said he could not determine the number of motorbikes involved in the incident, but they sped off as soon as they saw the police.

Asked whether Shatta Wale was charged for the incident, he disclosed that the 2014 Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year winner was taken to the Police Charge Office, his particulars were taken and he was given a warning letter.”

CAN EX-DOE, TIC TAC REVIVE TALENT SHOWS?

The art industry in Ghana can only get better if stakeholders begin to take it serious even from its roots. Over the years, some platforms have been used to nurture talents from infant's stages but those platforms seem to be no more.

Mention can be made of child's talent hunt platforms like Fun World, Kiddafest, By The Fireside, Kwasasa and a lot more interesting programmes which were all meant to unearth talents.

Truth be told; such platforms were used to build the confidence of some great talents in both our music and movie industries. The platforms were also used as tourist attraction joints for children outside Accra.

If there was any platform that helped in shaping the career of artistes like Tic Tac, Ex-Doe, Sydney, Tinny and others, Fun World especially will qualify as one of such best platforms.

Unfortunately, these platforms are no more as questions to whether they will bounce back or not have gone unanswered. Mrs Amy Frimpong, who happens to be a management member at the National Theatre, has told Flex newspaper in an interview that such programmes are no more because of lack of funds.

She has also revealed that media houses are not helpful in that direction because none of them is ready to show their programmes on air for free.

Meanwhile, she says there is no money to pay for the airtime and government support also seems to be nowhere. It is in this instance that is why some crusaders of Fun World in the persons of Ex-Doe and Tic Tac have all promised to support the children`s talent but whether they will be able to do that or not is the bone of contention here.

Though these two are Hiplife soldiers who cut their teeth on the Fun World platforms, it is evident they don't have the clout to push this agenda.

Currently, their relevance in the music industry is on the low to give them the bargaining power.

WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO DOWNPLAY OUR OWN - REGGIE

Hiplife grandpapa, Reggie Rockstone says he is surprised at people’s reaction to his comments that, if Ghana knew how passionate and determined BET award winner, Sarkodie was in moving Ghana music to the next level, “we wud build a statue of him!”

In an interview with Abrantepa on Radio Univers, Reggie Rockstone said his statement was only a figure of speech. Adding that, he made that comment because of the success chalked by Sarkodie.

According to him, “we (Ghanaians) have a tendency to downplay our own; Nigerians don’t do that! They big up their own. A lot of people give up half way. Look at my soldiers from back in the day; most of them gave up because Ghanaians will pull you down."

He lamented how Ghanaians were quick to condemn and rather slow at commending people when they make significant strides in their area of work.

The originator of Hiplife reiterated that, even though his statement was a figure of speech, Sarkodie is worthy of a statue because he is making the country proud.

He advised that people should not trivialize the issue but look at how best to embrace Sarkodie.

REGGIE ROCKSTONE: BUILD A STATUE OF SARKODIE NOW

Hiplife grandpapa Reggie Rockstone has suggested that Ghana’s BET award-winner Michael Owusu Addo known in showbiz as Sarkodie should be honoured with a built statue now before it is too late.

The member of the Hiplife group, VVIP said Sarkodie is passionate about his works and is working very hard to raise Ghanaian music higher.

If Gh really knew how passionate and determined sark is bout moving Gh music to da next we Wud build a statue of him! Very impressed! #proud

WE PAY FOR NUDE SCENES

In every industry the world over, there are secrets that are employed in making the industry better one, and the movie industry is no exception. There are several secrets in the movie industry that are known by few people and especially those who work in such areas.

The Ghanaian movie industry also has its secrets but fortunately or, unfortunately, one of the awards winning directors has revealed this secret to all including those who are not supposed to know such secrets.

Frank Fiifi Gharbin is a decorated movie director and is well-known with Akan productions, and he is currently the most sought after director in Kumasi.

At the time, some people were blaming movie directors for wrongdoing; he came out strongly and refuted such allegations adding that the executive producers are rather be blamed because they do not provide the right finances for the correct logistics to be used to achieve perfection.

This time, he is defending the act of shooting nude scenes, and this is what he told Flex newspaper in an interview some weeks back.

“The secret is that we shoot nude scenes but it is not all the time that the known actors used in the movies were the people who shot the nude scenes. If a particular scene is too hot for the star, what we do is to go for some actors who will be ready to go to the extent of the nudity we are looking for.

We pay them money to do this job, and that has been the norm anytime nude scenes are in contention. If you remember, during the days of Komfo Anokye, there were some issues of Agya Koo shooting nude scenes," he affirmed.

"Those scenes were shot by somebody else and not Agya Koo, and the same act happens in most cases with actresses in nude scenes” Frank Gharbin made this same statement on Capital TV as well.

In another development, Frank Fiifi Gharbin has descended on critics of Kumawood movies adding that such people do not know anything about the movie industry, but they enjoy criticizing their works.

Read some of the vibes he put out “The reason I don't take critics of Kumawood serious is that the only way they can open their big mouth and speak on any platform is to say only bad and negative about our movies as if there is nothing good at all about our industry.

You must criticize constructively. You can start by saying a few good things and then go to the negative ones. Example, Kumawood filmmakers are doing their best, but I think their best is not enough. Their story lines are great and original. Most of their stars are not educated but very creative.

However, the industry is confronted with a lot of challenges such as A, B, C and so on. This is what discussion is about. You don't just start a discussion and go straight to the point, after pointing out the problems.

Mr. I know all, try and suggest ways of solving them. If you do this, I will respect your opinions. Until then, better shut your big mouths up because you have done nothing in your small ways to improve the industry than just talking for talking sake” he said in a separate interview with Flex newspaper.

I BONK WOMEN, NOT MEN -MUSICIAN CRIES OUT

The recent confession by highly respected music producer and artiste manager, Anoff Panji, that he is gay has rubbed off negatively on some of the artistes he works with, including Yaa Pono, who is now speculated as having same sex with his manager.

The young Ghanaian rap artiste has however dismissed the speculation and told NEWS-ONE he is heterosexual and neither bisexual nor homosexual.

According to him, the fact that he has a gay friend or knows a gay does not make him gay: “No I’m not gay. If you have a friend who is gay or you know someone who is gay, it doesn’t mean that you are also gay,” he said.

Yaa Pono stated that for someone like Panji to come out and make such a declaration, it means that he has other issues besides the gay one that he wants people to address.

“Panji will never say something like that when he is not basing on something. For me I’m so open-minded and sometimes I feel when people make certain statements, they just want to address certain issues. There must be something behind what he said,” Yaa Pono added.

Pono and his management, ‘Uptown Energy’, are currently working on his upcoming album titled, ‘Sea blue,’ which has the ‘Amen’ song on it.

“I’m currently working on my new album titled, ‘Sea blue,’ which has the ‘Amen’ single in it. We are yet to release the rest in our upcoming tour in Ghana, across Africa and Europe,” he disclosed.

Panji recently took to his facebook page to declare himself gay, though he has a known female wife with whom he has children.

“I wish to announce today that I am gay, so that all the people who don’t want a gay friend on facebook can unfriend me now. I will miss you all, but I think it will make my facebook world a better place,” Panji wrote on his official facebook page last Monday, becoming the first Ghanaian celeb to have publicly revealed his same sex status.

PHOTOS: ELIKEM AND POKELLO FINALLY GET $10,000 BBA ROMANTIC PRIZE PACKAGE

It appears BBA lovebirds Pokello Nare, the Zimbabwean Girlfriend of Ghanaian Designer/Actor Elikem Kumordzi aka Elikem ‘The Tailor’ have finally received their $10,000 holiday prize package Big Brother as most romantic couple from last year’s edition.

Elikem confirmed to Peacefmonline.com this afternoon that he is indeed enjoying their Big Brother prize package with his girlfriend Pokello.

Even though Elikem refused to give details of their holiday, Peacefmonline.com is reliably informed that their 5 days all expenses paid holiday started from 5th to 10th August 2014.

At the end of Big Brother -The Chase last year, Elikem and Pokello won a sponsored holiday trip worth some $10, 000 for their romantic gestures while in the house.

The prize package included: A five-night, all expenses paid stay in a luxury room at the Sarova White Sands Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, Two return air tickets courtesy of Rwanda Air as well as spending money.

The couple finally took that romantic trip as pictures of them in Kenya and other parts of East Africa surfaced on their social media accounts over the weekend as they are seen kissing and displaying affection for each other publicly.

I BELIEVE IN GOD BUT NOT THE BIBLE

His recent publication on Facebook of being gay caused a lot of dissatisfaction among a sect in the Ghanaian community and led to several insults, but I dare say this might even cause him more.

CEO of Pidgen Music and pioneer contributor to popular Hiplife genre, Panji Anoff has in the wake of the public outcry over his gay comments stated categorically that he does NOT believe in the Bible although he believes in God.

In a recent interview, Panji stated he did not believe in the Bible, that was humanly written and hence did not see why anyone would want to judge him based on material written by a fellow human being.

“The Bible was written by human beings and not everything was even written in the Bible so why fret over a decision I take? I believe in God and His creation, and I believe He can talk to me directly if he wants to follow someone's written document so?" he declared.

Addressing his post of being gay, he explained “God is loving and would want us to love all of his creation so why hate me because I choose to love what God has created? Are we not being selective in the loving process? I guess God would not be happy with the decisions of those who are chastising me instead."

Panji on July 28, 2014 posted on Facebook saying he was gay and that anyone who wished not associate with a gay should unfriend him;

NOLLYWOOD IS FULL OF MEDIOCRES - ACTRESS HILDA DOKUBO

Veteran Nigerian actress, Hilda Dokubo, has disclosed that the movie industry in Nigeria called Nollywood has now been taken over by mediocres.

The actress, also speaking on why she has not been very active in the industry which got her fame, said things are no longer the way she left them before returning to school.

Explaining the reason behind it, she emphasised that, “I didn't stop acting. At least, this year alone, I've done six movies. What I did was to slow down. I took a break to go to school, then I got back and a few things had gone not so right.

“So, I took another break to go and give back to society and ended up serving in my state government. Then, I got back again and realized that mediocrity had taken center stage; it had become clamour for money and being used for all the wrong things. I’m not someone cut out for that. Again, I took a break and began to build an institution for training people and then that institution started running and I began to build a team.”

Hilda, who now runs a foundation known as ‘Center for Creative Arts Education’, explained that the foundation started off as an advocacy group, which later became a training and support group for young people and women.

“In Rivers, and indeed we work across the Niger Delta States, working with young people and women. At some point, we included advocacy. Really, it wasn't at some point; it started off as an advocacy group, then it became a training group and then it became a support group for young people and women and today it does the three – it does advocacy, it does research, it does training and it does empowerment across the Niger Delta,” she said.

I WAS NOT A BRILLIANT STUDENT; MY BRILLIANT QUALITIES WON AWARDS - LIWIN

Arguably the most-popular actor in Ghana now, Kwadwo Nkansah LiWin has disclosed that even though he was not a book-brilliant student in school; he won many awards for his drama group making good use of his brilliant persona and talent while at the Methodist Primary JSS in Kumasi.

He pointed the late John Evans Bosempm aka Santo whose antics on the screen inspired him to becoming an actor. “I loved how he fused jokes with wise sayings; he was a genius and an unusual character. I was very sad when he passed away.”

Reflecting on the many obstacles he encountered throughout his perseverance to fame, “I don’t allow stardom to get into my head, but I keep calm and learn from others because I know where I am coming from.”

“I have gone through a lot before getting here, and if I am making it today, I believe the best thing is to learn more and be on top for a very long time,” Lil Win said in an interview with Sankofa Radio in Virginia, USA.

According to the ‘Made in Agege’ actor, if he didn’t give up during his trail-times to this day; then he is not giving up yet, "I was nobody not too long ago, but look at me now, and I’m here to stay for long on the Ghanaian entertainment scene.”

Speaking to Sankofa Radio during his recent tour on issues pertaining to the perceived tension between Glamour and Kumawood actors, Lil Win rubbished the thoughts indicating that among the over 200 movies he has starred.

"There include some that he worked with the English actors on a very good working relationship with Majid Michel, Van Vicker, Jackie Appiah, among others.

‘I DON’T MAKE MOVIES FOR UPPER CLASS FOLKS’

Filmmaker, Frank Rajah Arase, has revealed some of his marketing secrets in the film industry, saying he doesn’t target the upper class in society when he produces or directs.

The Nigerian-born Ghanaian director, who is known for his movies such as Beyonce: The President’s Daughter, Somewhere In Africa, Cheaters and Iyore among others, says it is because the upper class doesn’t patronise local movies.

“They don’t buy CDs. They are those who have DSTVs in their homes and watch all kinds of programmes and Hollywood movies. They don’t buy movies,” he told Trailer TV on GhOne TV on Sunday.

However, he added that they prefer to attend movie premieres, purposely to take photos with stars and post them on social media for various reasons.

According to Frank, one of the basic marketing strategies for him in the movie business was to know his target audience and serve their interest.

He said he had always targeted the middle class to get the attention of the lower class.

The lower class, who make up the majority, he said, buy movies to watch at home though they may not patronise movie premieres or the cinemas.

Frank’s efforts contributed greatly to what is now called Ghana’s movie industry. He directed a number of Ghanaian and Nigerian movies. His latest film, Iyore, got several nominations for the upcoming Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards (GIAMA) in USA in the categories; Best Motion Picture, Best On-Screen Duo, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director.

The rest of the categories included Producer of the Year, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Costume and Best Makeup.

JIM IYKE’S VIEW ON SINGLE LADIES...

Today – Wednesday 12th August 2014, Nollywood actor Jim Iyke took to his Instagram page to share an interesting view on single ladies.

Women are like apples on trees, the best ones are on the top of the tree. The men don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and don’t want to get hurt.

Instead they get the cold manipulating easier climbs. So, the apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality they are amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who’s brave enough to climb all the way to the top becuase they value quality away frm d spotlight.

EBOLA SCARE REDUCES NIGHTCLUB PATRONAGE

Operators of nightclubs in the Western Regional capital Sekondi-Takoradi have been forced to come to terms with low patronage since reports about the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease in some West African countries began to dominate media discussions in Ghana.

Some nightclub workers, who spoke to Melody FM on grounds of anonymity, disclosed that sales have dropped significantly for the past three weeks, a situation they attributed to the media's exaggeration on the mode of transmission of the virus.

They however called for proper public sensitization to dispel fears in society. Visits to some popular nightclubs in the metropolis revealed a massive drop in attendance even during weekend 'peak hours'.

Speaking on the disease, the Western Regional Director of Health Service, Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang said human-to-human transmission can only be possible if an infected person is going through the latter stages of the disease.

According to him, such a person will be too weak to freely access public facilities such as nightclubs and markets. Dr. Tinkorang however called on the public to limit human-to-animal contacts since all wild animals are potential carriers of the virus whose natural host is the fruit bat.

FUNNY FACE SPLITS WITH MANAGER

Charter House PRO George Quaye has confirmed that he is no longer the manager of comedian Funny Face according to Flex newspaper.

George Quaye, who was managing Funny Face until everything went silent revealed to host of Showbiz Xtra on Happy FM Dr Cann last Saturday that he had to break up with Funny Face because he has been too busy with work.

He said he felt that was affecting business relations with the comedian.

He added that because of that, he had to speak to Funny Face to move on since he did not want to slow down his progress. Funny Face has also confirmed his breakup via a phone interview last Monday.

Meanwhile, the Ghanaian stand-up comedy gained some recognition after the Night of 1018 laughs. The comedy night which took place on 2nd August 2014 had only one indigenous Ghanaian act; DKB. The rest were from comedy powerhouse Nigeria.

In an interaction with some Ghanaians expressed concern that Ghana had only one slot on the biggest platform for comedy in Ghana.

Most of them kept asking "what has become of Funny Face, Foster, David Oscar and the host of other comedians.”

Media reports also have it that Funny Face also known as Benson Nana Yaw Oduro Boateng has diverted from comedy to radio. Funny Face has a background in broadcasting that was evident when he competed in TV3s Hottest Host.

Funny Face has confirmed that he has signed on to work with Star 103.5 Accra's newest radio station. He did not give many details an exactly what he was going to do on air.

CHILD ACTOR RAHIM BANDA CAUGHT UP IN FRAUD CASE

Award-winning child actor, Rahim Banda is entangled in a messy situation where some of his loyal fans have accused him of deceit and extortion via his platforms on social media, where he has said to use fake accounts and contact numbers to scam them.

Sandelle Rockson, an embittered fan of the actor, who resides in the United State of America has reported to this paper that – she has been chatting with the actor for years now on social network platform, whatsApp and at a point, he started making financial demands to an extent where she became bothered about the continuous monitory demands by the kid.

“Onetime, I sent him $600 when he told me he was in Nigeria shooting and his parents had ignored him,” she said. She also alleged that, on another occasion, Rahim demanded money for school fees but she didn't give him the money, with suspicious over the constant plea for funds from the boy.

Shantelle revealed that the continuous demands for money from Rahim caused her to entertain doubts about the true identity of the person she’s been engaging with all the years. Checks by Razz Newspaper revealed that the actor has five (5) different facebookk accounts and different whatspp numbers, all in his name.

In a chat with Alhaji Banda aka Bandex, father and manger of Rahim Banda, he said that, his son is having only one facebook account so, any other account in his son’s name is absolutely fake.

He also revealed that, Rahim has never visited Nigeria to shoot a movie before, so the American lady’s allegation sounds confusing. Bandex cautioned that, anyone who gives money to a scammer in the name of his son do so at his or her own risk.

“We have received several complaints in previous years we will investigate and report the case to the police station,” Bandex said.

Speaking to Rahim Banda, he also said; “I am not too active on facebook, although I have one facebook account, I am aware people have opened different facebook accounts in my name, and I have received complaints of people using my pictures and name to chat,” he said.

He however added that, he’s very active on Instagram and that; he doesn't ask fans for money or needs.

I’M SCARED TO KISS DUE TO EBOLA - GHANAIAN ACTRESS

Ghanaian actress, Chichi Neblett, has revealed that she has been living in utmost fear since news of the deadly Ebola disease in some parts of Africa broke out.

According to the award winning actress, she has been wondering how movie actors/actresses could go about their work without touching, hugging and kissing etc, considering the latest safety measures recommended by health authorities to help curb the spread of the Ebola virus.

Ebola at the moment has no cure and has killed close to a 1000 people in some West African countries, spreading fear across the world.

Chichi, who is currently shooting in Nigeria, told NEWS-ONE yesterday that she was scared.

“It’s not easy. This whole Ebola issue is getting very serious and scary. I don’t even know how to go about it anymore. It’s not that easy for me as an artiste because of the nature of the job. Sometimes you have to kiss, touch, hug, etc. So I don’t even know how we are going to protect ourselves with these talks about Ebola. Are we going to stop kissing, hugging and touching now? Don’t know how possible that will be? It’s so sad and I’m heartbroken,” she said.

Our lives are important, and if we don’t start preventing these things it will get us infected. I am sure we can avoid all the kisses, hugs and touches in the meantime, since Ebola is around,” the beautiful actress appealed to movie producers.

SAMINI LIGHTS UP LEPERS, AGED

Ghanaian dancehall musician, Emmanuel Andrews Samini, known in entertainment parlance as Samini, has put smiles on the faces of some lepers and elderly people in Accra.

The artiste on Friday donated a total of about 50 solar-powered lamps to the Weija Leprosarium and Help Aged Ghana, two non-governmental organisations. The donation was part of activities to mark his 10th anniversary and to commence the ‘Samini Foundation Light A Million Lives Project’ which will witness the distribution of one million solar lamps to underprivileged groups across the country.

Presenting the items, Samini, formerly known as Batman, stated that the donation was a way of thanking Ghanaians for the enormous support that they have rendered and continue to render to him in the course of his career.

He said; “It is my own way of giving back to Ghanaians for their support towards my career over the years. They have been nice to me and I feel there is the need for me to return the hands of time.”

The dancehall guru noted that the multipurpose lamps which have the ability of charging mobile phones were to save the beneficiaries from the bitter experiences of the constant power outages in the country.

According to him, “they are to as well help in reducing their electricity bills, thereby enabling them to save some monies for other expenses.”

He disclosed that plans were far advanced for the Samini Foundation, which was unveiled a couple of weeks ago in Accra, to replicate the gesture across the country, “and to set up an assembling plant to produce these lights in the country.”

He noted that such a plant would equally create jobs for Ghanaian youth.

The beneficiaries of the benevolent gesture thanked the multi-award winning singer and urged others to follow suit.

YAA PONO MOVES INTO ACTING

Yaa Pono, a rapper on the Uptown Energy label, has said he has a huge talent in acting and would want to add that to his professional music career.

The ‘Amen’ hit singer, who featured in Wanlov and Mεnsa’s ‘Coz Ov Moni’ movie, told NEWS-ONE he and his team are currently working on a few scripts for an upcoming movie.

“I have a passion for acting. I have been acting ‘Bongo Bar’ every weekend. My team and I have a few scripts for movies that we are about to shoot. The process has already started and I can say that the movies should be ready around March next year,” Yaa Pono revealed.

Pono added that his Uptown Energy team were currently shooting documentaries called ‘Uptown Energy Live’.

“Currently we are shooting a documentary called ‘Uptown Energy Live’. We are going to have a main tour, which will be happening in Ghana, across Africa and then in Europe as well,” he said.

Explaining what inspired his ‘Amen’ song, Yaa Pono said: “Amen to me means thank you God for putting me where I am.”

He explained further: “No matter which situation I’m in—whether good or bad—I will not give my praises to anyone but God. At the end of the day, after producing the song, it is doing real good. The ‘Amen’ song is an inspiration I got when I came back from Nigeria. I had to do a performance in Nigeria at a place where no one knew me, but it turned out to be one of my best performances. So I put together the song after that trip.”

“I didn’t even think about what people will say when I did my song. All I thought about was where my song will get me and the lyrics to put in the song to make me who I am,” he added.

FILM CREW SHOULD NEGOTIATE WITH PRODUCERS

Steve Asare Hackman, president of the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG), has asked the Film Crew Association of Ghana (FICAG) and the technical crew behind Ghanaian movies to negotiate thoroughly with movie producers before agreeing to work with them.

Over the years, crew members have complained about how the industry and its stakeholders have refused to their contributions.

FICAG and members of the technical crew claim that when it comes to the production chain, they are the least paid—a phenomenon they say is a deliberate act of exploitation.

But in an interview with NEWS-ONE, Mr Hackman explained that before a movie producer starts a production there is always a form of agreement, with regard to payment, between the producer and the crew.

“What happens to the crew members is that before anybody goes into production, there is some kind of agreement that they sign with the producers. So the artiste and the cameraman must agree with the producer on how much they want to be paid in a day. If the Film Crew Association of Ghana (FICAG) and the technical crew say the artistes make more money than them then I don’t understand. It’s an agreement. If the agreement does not favour you, then you need to find an avenue to discuss it,” the FIPAG president stated.

Asked whether FIPAG was aware of the plight of members of FICAG, Mr Hacked explained that the group in question had just made a comment about the concerns in passing but had not officially written to the association about it.

“As far as I’m concerned, the group in question only mentioned their concerns in passing but they haven’t really made a formal complaint to FIPAG. But what I know is that every producer who has a production enters into the kind of agreement with the crew members on how much to pay them,” he added.

As it stands now, FIPAG has no structure or legal instrument to regulate how much crew members, artiste and the rest of the production team should or should not be paid whilst working on set.

“Yeah we don’t have anything like that but maybe the concerns they have raised now will draw the attention of producers to sit down with them and agree on how much to pay them. Maybe the cameramen can decide on their minimum rate or the minimum rate for soundmen. If the complaint is officially brought forward to us, we will see what to do about it. As an association, we welcome any complaint that seeks the betterment of the group,” he said.

A week ago, FICAG and members of the technical crew in Ghana converged in Kumasi for a two-day programme meant to improve the image of the industry and the products that come out to the general public.

I JUST CAN’T IMAGINE HOW I'LL LOOK WITHOUT HEAVY MAKEUP

Despite criticism that she is beautiful and doesn’t need too much makeup to look more beautiful, actress Christabel Ekeh says she is addicted to heavy makeup and there is nothing she can do about it.

“Yes I welcome all criticism but I wish there is something I can do about the heavy makeup, my face has become so used to it so I just can’t imagine how I will look without heavy makeup. Whether it is for set, photo shot or to an occasion, light makeup is not my thing; I don’t feel ok if my makeup is not heavy.

“One other thing that people tend to forget is that, I am a celebrity so I need to look good everywhere I find myself. You may never know who you would go and find there and with paparazzi’s all over you have to always be on point and look your best and to me heavy makeup is the thing,” she said.

Commenting on health implications of excessive makeup, Christabel said: “I do not use just any makeup, I have a professional who knows my skin tone and what range of products is good for my skin. I am also aware of certain implications like pimples, eczema and all, but I believe in dealing with a professional.

“Certain people do not know their skin tone, they do not know what works for them and they go for anything they see in stores. I have a professional makeup artiste I work with and there is no way I can get it wrong.”

“I know people will disagree with me but I do heavy makeup because it makes me confident and I think it is along the same line as putting your best foot forward. You know that the first thing that people normally notice when they see a woman is the face and if it has been enhanced with skillfully applied makeup, I feel ready for the world and confident in proceeding through the day,” she added.

Christabel Ekeh was the first runner-up of Miss Malaika 2008 and got her big break in the movie industry when she featured in ‘Deadly Passions’, where she played a supporting role with John Dumelo and Yvonne Nelson. She is also the face of Star Assurance.

Born to a Ghanaian mother and Nigerian father, Christabel plans on being the best in the Ghanaian movie industry and beyond. She has movies like College Girls, Peep, Before Noon, Sugar Boy and Deadly Passions to her credit.

HATERS CAN'T CAUSE ME PAIN - MERCY JOHNSON

Nollywood’s highest paid actress Mercy Johnson Okojie shares some new facts about herself in a recent interview with weekly magazine – City People.

She opens up about being absolutely scared of failure, being un-bothered by criticism/haters and why she does not socialize much like a lot of her Nollywood colleagues in the industry.

On her biggest phobia she says,

Success is hard. It’s never easy. It takes more than luck to make the right decisions, and the right choices. A lot of people have actually been acting before me, but they are just nowhere close. It’s not because I am better, it’s grace. One of my biggest phobias was failure. I had a phobia for it

No tears for the haters…Mercy wants you to know

I had gone through all of that, growing up, I had cried all the tears I need to cry growing up. Nobody can make me go back now. So it’s like hate all you want, I am moving. So you are just going to stay there and keep talking and I am ahead of you. It’s more or less like you know me, I don’t know you

She was a loner as a child which is why she hardly socializes now

I didn’t grow up in an environment that was very sociable, I didn’t have friends. Since I got into the industry I can say I am one person that you can hardly meet in a club house or at party. Even events, it’s really hard to see me there because that’s just not me.

MJ is currently in the United States where she will be giving birth to her second child any day now.

CELINE DION PUTS CAREER ON HOLD 'INDEFINITELY'

Singer Celine Dion has put her career on hold "indefinitely" for health and family reasons.

The 46-year-old said on her website she was cancelling all performances to focus on her health, her husband's health and their children.

Her Las Vegas shows up until March have all been cancelled, as well as her planned tour of Asia this autumn.

Dion's manager-husband, Rene Angelil, had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour in December.

The singer is also still recovering from an illness that inflamed her throat muscles and has not been able to perform any of her scheduled Las Vegas shows since 19 July.

A statement on Dion's website said she had made the decision "in order to focus 100% of her attention" on her husband and family.

It added it had been a "very difficult and stressful time for the couple as they deal with the day-to-day challenges of fighting this disease while trying to juggle a very active showbusiness schedule, and raise their three young children".

Dion said: "I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband's healing, and to do so, it's important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children."

"I also want to apologise to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support."

Fans who bought tickets for future shows will be eligible for refunds.

Dion previously took a two-year hiatus from 2000 - 2002 to help care for her husband when he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Soon after, she gave birth to her first child.

She has been a regular performer at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which began with a near five-year residency from 2003 to 2007.