He told Showbiz in an interview on the side-lines of the ninth China Outbound Travel and Tourism fair (COTTM) in Beijing, China, recently that “there has been a wicked conspiracy against me” by some movie producers, in collaboration with actors, who are hell-bent on ending his career. He said they want him out of the way, for two reasons. “First of all is the perception that Agya Koo is expensive,” he said. “I don’t know what ‘expensive’ means since it is relative. “However, if by ‘expensive’ they mean I charge fees which they (producers) are prepared to pay Nigerian actors/actresses but are unwilling to pay same to Ghanaians, then I agree I am expensive. In that sense, I am.” Elaborating, the multiple award-winning actor asked: “Why should Ghanaian producers pay somebody like Patience Ozorkwor, the Nigerian actress, twenty-five thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢25,000) which she, like all actors and actresses of repute, richly deserves, but consider even three thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢3,000) too much for Ghanaian actors/actresses of similar calibre and experience, such as me, Agya Koo, Nana Ama McBrown, Mercy Asiedu or Kyeiwa?” Meanwhile, he said, “these producers are today what they are because of people like us. They have ridden on the backs of our popularity to make their millions. “With their millions, they are now able to afford Nigerian actors/actresses but think they can call us for cheap. That I have vowed not to allow, and will not allow.” The second reason some producers want Agya Koo out of the way, the actor said, is his outspokenness against “some policies and moves that are not in the best interest of Ghana as a whole and the movie industry in particular.” For instance, he cited, “why are we allowing the Nigerian movie producers and directors to shoot films in Ghana with Nigerian crew and cast while the same thing cannot be done in Nigeria?” Explaining, he asked: “Do you know that a Ghanaian cannot shoot a film in Nigeria unless he agrees to use Nigerian crew?” According to him, his unrelenting fight against some of these deeds is what is costing him and other artists roles in movies. At this point in the interview, the popular actor fell back in his sofa in the lobby of the hotel where the interview took place. Laughing in derision, he said triumphantly, “They (producers) are coming back to us, but are doing so, Nicodemously. “Under the cover of darkness, they are pleading with us to return. They don’t know that we know they are doing so on the strength of demands by Ghanaians in Canada, USA and other countries in the Ghanaian Diaspora who are asking: “Where are the Agya Koo movies?” Also, he alleged that, the Nigerians, thinking they can boycott Ghana, directed their market to countries like Sierra Leone, but they soon found that the market out there was not as profitably juicy as Ghana. So they, too, are coming back.” So, what is Agya Koo’s reaction to the come-back attempts? “Well,” he replied, “we are artists. This is our industry, so we are talking. However, we are giving them our terms. They either meet these terms or they decide they won’t: it’s up to them.” So how do they (Agya Koo and others) survive in the meantime? He replied: “On my part, I have floated my own production house registered as Tete Mmofra Film and Music Productions. The company has come out with a few movies to date. Also, together, Agya Koo and the other affected artists are constantly meeting to strategise. “Even if we have to take bank loans to finance our productions, we shall do so, if only to avoid the stranglehold by producers and call their bluff.” Born in 1970, Agya Koo has starred in hundreds of Ghana movies. As an actor, he was discovered as a comedian on the ‘Key Soap Concert Party’ at the National Theatre in Accra which aired weekly on GTV. However, it was his entry into the film industry in 1999 that launched his flourishing career. source:graphic.com |
