Naz Onuzo is one arm of Inkblot's threefold cord. The production company is the brain behind some of the highest-grossing Nollywood movies including 'Wedding Party 1 & 2', 'Moms at War', and 'Up North'. 

Onuzo is also an accomplished screenwriter with credits to major films including 'The Wedding Party 2', 'The Arbitration', 'The Set Up', 'Moms at War' and 'Love is War'. 

The filmmaker visited the Pulse HQ on Friday, February 14, 2020 to talk about his directorial debut ‘Who’s the Boss’ slated for nationwide release on February 28th. The chat naturally expanded to his thoughts on film investors in Nollywood, the latest trend of promoting box office earnings, the future of his directing career and his view on film critiquing in Nollywood.

I was very curious about why Onuzo opted to take on the directorial chair after 5 years of choosing directors to bring his stories to life.

“We ( Inkblot) have been lucky to work with a bunch of amazing directors over the years. From Kemi Adetiba to Niyi Akinmolayan, Omoni Oboli, Tope Oshin and so that basically inspired me to want to direct and this is one of the projects that I wrote and fell in love with and I decided that you know what, let me do this one myself. That’s why I decided to direct ‘Who’s the Boss’," he said.

The ‘Who’s the Boss’ cast caused quite a buzz following the trailer release. Its lead star is Sharon Ooja, a fast-rising actress struggling to break free from being overly typecast. I felt that questioning the director about Ooja’s struggles was out of place so I sought to know what convinced him that she could play the lead in his movie. 

“We had what we call close readings for the role of Liah because we wanted Liah to be a down to earth relatable character and Sharon Ooja came and killed it," he said.

Funke Akindele, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Ini Dima-Okojie and Segun Arinze also star alongside Ooja. On casting the ensemble cast, Onuzo revealed;

“The first person we cast was Funke Akindele Bello. We have worked with her before on ‘Moms at War’ and she was amazing and when we wanted someone to bring that character to life, we knew she was basically the one to do it.

"We had Ini Dima come in for the role of Jumoke. Ini is someone we have always wanted to work with for a very long time. So, when she came in for the close reading, we knew that we had our person. 

"For Blossom, he is an amazing actor. Ladies love Blossom. When you are trying to create a character who is a Man’s man, Blossom is the guy to go to. And when we approached Segun Arinze and he agreed to play the boss’s boss, we were like ‘come in Sir!’ We rolled out the red carpet and he was great”. 

Onuzo has recently been on the front line of some harsh exchanges between Nollywood critics and filmmakers on Twitter. Being a film critic myself, I could not miss out on an opportunity to ask him about his none-Twitter views on film critiquing and if he thinks he’s done a job worthy of critical acclaim in ‘Who’s the Boss’. 

“One of the things I said is that the Critic’s job is to interpret the film to the audience. So, the role of critics is something that I embrace and if they don’t like it (‘Who’s the Boss’), well, we’ll do better and get them on side next time.” 

Getting Nollywood investors with long term plans for return on investment was a discussion that clearly excited Onuzo. So, we talked ,off the record mostly, about the success of South Korean film, ‘Parasite’. He, however, mentioned, on record, that Nollywood needs a new wave of investors. 

"So one of the things I understand about film is that it is a long term business all over the world. A lot of investors approach me and they believe that it is a 3- month, 6-month turnaround time and I tell them it’s 3-year, sometimes 5 -year and in some cases, 10-year business.

"If you build the right product, the reward is in the long term. That’s our view about film and that’s the model we have put forward as producers". 

The new director was also excited to share more on the ‘Who’s the Boss’ film that took under 3 weeks to shoot.  

He shared: “So Who’s the Boss is a very interesting movie. I’t's about a young woman, played by Sharon Ooja who basically has to contend with a very wicked Boss, Funke Akindele Bello as she tries to build her life. It is basically about what happens when you try to chase your dreams and about the people who stand in your way.

"It’s a feel-good comedy, romance. We tried to build a film for the everyday Nigerian. All the cast performed amazingly and I hope I did not embarrass them with my directing. I think it is something that people will enjoy come February 28th."

Talking about ‘Who’s the Boss’ set the mood for my next question. Promoting box office figures is the latest Nollywood craze. It’s funny how some films with headlines like “Nollywood’s highest-grossing epic film” or “Number 1 Nollywood film in Nigeria’’ are plastered all over the internet but real-time information on production budgets are rarer than unicorns. The filmmaker was open to sharing why this trend is a great marketing strategy

“When I started in Nollywood in 2015, I know it’s just a short time ago. The percentage of Nollywood films in cinemas was about 5 per cent of the box office," the first-time director said.

Now, it is about 25 per cent and partly, it was because we made film people wanted to watch and we talked about it. Sell your market. There is nothing to be ashamed of by saying Nigerians love Nollywood movies in the cinema and I am a proud supporter of that trend."

Although he wasn’t forthcoming with details of his production budget, he urged investors to research properly before investing in Nollywood. 

For Onuzo, feedback is important as he admits, albeit jokingly ,that the future of his directing career will be determined by the audience’ reaction to ‘Who’s the Boss’. 

‘Who’s the Boss’ opens in cinemas nationwide on Friday, February 28, 2019