Akinyemi Olufemi Emmanuel, also known as MC Benzene studied Microbiology at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic but he has carved a niche for himself in the entertainment industry and could be said to have paid his dues. The Oyo State-born filmmaker in this interview by FEMI OGUNTAYO, talks about his career and other issues in the Nigerian movie industry. Excerpts:
How did you get the name ‘Benzene’?
I graduated from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic as a Micro-Biologist, which was where I got my nickname, which is now my stage name as a comedian and an event host – MC Benzene. Benzene is a hydro-carbon from organic Chemistry. I got that name since then and I have been using it as an actor, a producer, filmmaker and of course an event host and Emcee.
How did you join the Nigerian movie industry?
My mum has been a long time fan of Odunlade Adekola. Anytime I went home for break and she saw me do my thing as a jovial person, she always told me that she sees Odunlade Adekola and since then, I developed a kind of love for him. When I got to Abeokuta, there was a time Odunlade came to shoot a movie in my school area. When I saw him, I was amazed and was carried away by how he was acting. I stood for hours watching him. Then I was inspired and said that I could actually do this too. Later on, I met with a woman –Mrs Evelyn, who introduced me to my boss, Chief Mrs Yinka Morin, under the banner of Owolabi Ajasa Films and since then, I thank God. I am not there yet, but I am no longer where I started from. So, that was how I joined the movie industry. I act in every sector of Nollywood, I mingle with people a lot, which has given me an edge over my peers.
What was your first movie production like and how many movies have you produced so far?
My first movie production was in 2017, it was a great experience for me because then, I thought without the help of these heavy-weights in the industry, we couldn’t do things ourselves. Then, I worked with some young guys of like minds. With the little funding we got, we were able to achieve our aim. Even though the production didn’t go the way I wanted, but I can say it was a way paver for me because afterwards, I realised where my mistakes were and improved on them in my subsequent productions. So far, I have produced seven movies and the recent one I did is a movie I called ‘Moyato’ powered by Adnum Communications and it has been an amazing experience for me. Filmmaking is what I love.
What do you mean by the ‘dictators’ in the industry?
I would have really loved to skip this question so as not to be nailed, but then, I just feel Rome wasn’t built in a day and great things start small. Those who are big in the industry today also started from somewhere and if they were not given the opportunity to express their talents then, I believe they wouldn’t have gotten to where they are today. It is always good to give opportunities to our up-and-coming actors to express themselves so that when they fail, they learn from their failures.
Since you said Odunlade Adekola is someone who inspires you, how was your experience like meeting with him one-on-one?
I have met with him on set a couple of times and we have had encounters and I tell people, Odunlade is like times three of what you see him do in the movies. He is so funny. There was a time I was a continuity manager on that set, he was on that set too from morning till night and because I didn’t want to take my eyes off him, I didn’t even know I hadn’t eaten anything that day. It was later on when I started feeling stomach ache that I realised I needed to eat something. Odunlade is like my idol, he is someone I respect so much. You know, from every walk of life, we choose role models, for now in the Yoruba sector, he is my idol and I am looking forward to him directing one of my movies. Hopefully, in 2022, he is going to direct and package a movie for me.
Do you also think your female colleagues have an edge over the males to become stars quickly in the industry?
I have always heard people say that, but I don’t believe. It doesn’t work that way. The only thing I can say may affect that is that women tend to get more compassion from people than men and that is common in every sector. That is why we have more female marketers than males. People tend to pay more attention to them than men, that is the only thing I can say favours women more but not like they are more successful than their male counterparts. But as far as you are good, then people tend to recommend you for more jobs. Asides from the factor I mentioned earlier, I don’t think that is the case.
You are also an event host. Which would you say pays the bills more now? Acting or event hosting?
(Laughs) for now, acting is taking more from me than I am putting into it. But as an MC, in a gig of just two, three hours I make thousands of Naira. So, I can say the event hosting pays more than acting now. I believe very soon, acting will also start paying well for me.
How do you think the movie productions in Nollywood can be improved upon?
I would just like to implore our production managers to make use of competent hands and those who can interpret their roles well and not just look for upcoming actors who will even pay to feature in movies, all because they have money, whereas, there are great actors out there who would interpret those roles better.
We can’t stop talking about the poor subtitling in the indigenous Nigerian movies. What is your take on this and how can it be improved upon?
Initially, we thought acting was for riffraff or school drop-outs, but now, the industry is evolving and everyone is working on themselves now, which is why you see a lot of our star actors go back to school to further their education. Like I said earlier, I am a certified micro-biologist, you cannot expect me to commit such blunders in my movies. Hopefully, in the next couple of movies you will be seeing out there, I am sure there would be improvements because there are more capable hands on deck now. Most times, many of those errors come from editors and they don’t have time for proofreading. But I promise you, there are good hands in that department now to ensure our subtitling meets up with the international standard.
When would you regard to as your most memorable day as an actor?
That was the day I met with Director, Abidun Jimoh. He gave me a lot of platforms to showcase my God-given talents. With him, I have featured in quite a number of movies. Before, I used to think I could call myself an actor, but when I met him and I saw his directing skills, I realised I was just starting as far as acting is concerned. So, meeting him has really been a great plus to my career.
How about your most embarrassing moment?
There was a time I was supposed to be on a soap opera – ‘Tomorrow is now’. I was supposed to be on set with Lateef (Adedimeji) and Mr Macaroni. The production manager had given me the soft copy of my script and I had been practising for about a month before the date and on the day of the shoot, probably it was an error from the production manager, myself and Mr Macaroni were reading the same lines, studying the same character and the director was like, what is going on here? I felt embarrassed, I have been reading and studying this particular line for almost a month only for me to get here and discover it was an error from the production manager who mistakenly gave Mr Macaroni my role. At the end of the day, I had to leave the role for Mr Macaroni and start studying another character.
Moving forward, what are your plans for the rest of the year and 2022?
I just produced a movie – Moyato, about two weeks ago, which means that, till the end of the year, I am on a break as far as movie production is concerned. However, I still have a lot of movies to feature in before the end of the year. Next year will be so busy for us at Adnum Communications as we have a lot of projects to work on.
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