Sunday 11 March 2012

BREAKING NEWS! 'TWO BRIDES & A BABY' PRODUCER BLESSING EGBE TO DRAG SILVERBIRD CINEMAS TO COURT!

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In what is tipped to be the Scandal of the Century, Nollywood producer Blessing Egbe has dragged the management of  SilverBird Cinemas to court over what she percieves as sharp practises by the Group! 

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A very pained Blessing said that since screening the movie, she is yet to recieve a single kobo from her investmenteven though the movie was screened to packed halls in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt for over two months! Not only that, she says she was told the film had stopped screening in all cinemas of 13th of January only for her to discover it was not the case as the film continued to screen well into till February! And she has the evidence to prove it! See below!
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In an intimate chat with her, she said 'This movie cost me over 12 million naira to shoot, without counting the cost of hosting the premiere and to be duped like this is not something I will take sitting down! This is money I got from investors ... how will I pay my investors not to mention making a profit when they are behaving like this?'source from nollywoodgist....
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She has contacted her lawyer and is suing Silverbird to the tune of N500 millionaira! Also listed in the suit are Mary Ephraim of OKHMA Global Limited, the distributor that co-ordinated the deal.  All efforts to get a response from Silverbird was met with a brick wall! Well, we are waiting to see as this drama unfolds... I  Hope all goes well.....

MORE ON THE SILVERBIRD CINEMA/'TWO BRIDES & A BABY' SAGA: BLESSING EFFIOM-EGBE RELEASES PRESS STATEMENT!

castncrewWith the cast of the movie, 'Two Brides & a Baby' during the Media screening in November 2011.
The last has not been heard concerning the matter between Silverbird Cinemas & Blessing Effiom-Egbe, Producer of 'Two Brides & a Baby'! The producer of the film has just released a press statement on the issue! See below:
I write to inform you of the on-going dispute I have with my film distributor Mary Ephraim ITA and Silver Bird, Ozone and Genesis Deluxe cinemas.
I had engaged the services of MARY EPHRAIM ITA’s Company – Okhma Global Limited (operating under the name and style of Homelands Distribution) as Agent and Distributors of my movie – Two Brides and a Baby – with which opened in Nigerian cinemas on the 25th of November, 2011.   
Whilst I had agreed on the Distributor Percentages with her Company @ 15%, I had verbally requested from her Company a copy of the Contract, Agreement and or understandings which her Company reached with the respective Cinema Companies but her Company failed, refused and or neglected to forward the said terms to our Client even though she had agreed verbally to make same available to me.
 While her Company had confirmed that the movie had closed in Silver bird Abuja on 13th January 2012, by letters dated the 14th of January and 2nd of February, I was very shocked to discover that as at 2nd February 2012, the movie was still open at the Silver bird cinemas Abuja SEC. In fact, some of my executive producers had their contacts purchase the tickets as proof of this position and I am in possession of same;
 By my letter to her on the 30th of December, I had requested for the Master Hard Drives & DVDs that were sent to the Cinemas to be returned following her earlier Reports on closure of the movie in some of the Cinemas, and also for the remaining cinemas still showing the movie to stop because of the new percentage sharing system the cinemas effected which wasn’t favorable to me
 She by a phone call advised that I allow for continuous run in the cinemas saying it will give the film good publicity towards the DVD release. At first, I agreed but after consultations with my executive producers, I wrote to her the very next day informing her of our final decision to stop showing the movie.
 Her letter to me on the 3rd of January declared her instruction to the cinemas to stop all showing.
 On the 3rd of January, I received from the distributor, the last of the usual weekly cinema schedule notification which in this case was the weekly schedule from the 6th-12th of January 2012.
 This was followed by the usual daily sales reports sent to me via email.
 On the 14th of January 2012, she wrote to me declaring and I quote “Two brides and a baby has finally stopped showing in all sites”
 At this point, we awaited the return of the materials and payments.  So imagine my shock when On the 1st of February, a fan called me to inform me that she {the fan} was watching ‘Two brides and a baby’ my first thought was ‘oh my God, my movie has been pirated’ I literally asked her where she purchased it from but she told me she was watching it at silver bird cinemas in ABUJA SEC branch.   
I spoke to a few persons who advised me to get proof and ask the fan to take a picture and send same but Since the fan had thrown away her ticket after viewing, I called on a few of my friends to go there the next day and buy tickets.  On the said day, the 2nd of February after I had gotten the proof, I engaged in a chat message with MARY my distributor on BBM to find out the status of my film Master hard drives and DVDs. I was afraid that SILVERBIRD may have made a copy of my film.
 In the chat message, the distributor maintained that all of the film’s masters had been collected/sent and promised to make them available for me the very next day being the 3rd of February.  Not satisfied that this chat message was binding enough, a producer friend advised me to email the distributor a letter requesting for an up to date feedback on the start and end dates for each cinemas for my the satisfaction of my inquisitive executive producers which I did on the same day the 2nd of February.  On that same 2nd of February, the distributor replied to my request by email with an attachment of the document containing all the cinema start and end dates

NO
CINEMAS

OPENING DATE
CLOSING DATE
NO OF WEEKS
1.
Silver bird Lagos

11/25/2011
12/22/2011
4
2.
Silver bird, Abuja SEC

11/25/2011
1/12/2012
7
3.

Silver bird Abuja CEDDI
11/25/2011
12/8/2011
2
4.

Ozone Cinema, Lagos
11/25/2011
12/22/2011
4
5.
Genesis Deluxe Cinema, PH
11/25/2011
12/22/2011
4
6.
Genesis Deluxe Cinema, Lagos
11/25/2011
12/15/2011
3
7.
Silver bird, Uyo

11/26/2011
1/12/2012
7
8.
Silver bird PHC
11/25/2011
1/5/2012
6

The distributor, in the same letter, also advised us to collect ALL THE HARDDRIVES AND DVDS of the movie on the 3rd of February 2012 at 4pm and in the same letter informed us that payments will come through on the 10th of February. And as of today, I am yet to receive a kobo.
 My husband, Mr. Michael Egbe was at her office on Friday 3rd February 2012 to pick up all the Masters but to our surprise only three (3) of the entire seven sets of hard drives and DVDs allocated to each of the 7 cinemas were delivered to him.
 The undelivered drives and DVDs include once sent to;   
1. Genesis cinema Port Harcourt which she claimed had stopped showing the movie 7 weeks before the final claimed official stop date. 
2. Silver bird ceddi which she claimed had stopped showing the movie 9 WEEKS before the final claimed stop date. 
3 & 4. Silver bird Uyo and Silver bird SEC Abuja which she claimed had stopped showing 3 weeks before the 2nd of February. 
Following this discovery on the continued viewing of the movie at Silver bird Cinema Abuja SEC, and further to her Company’s inability to make all the hard drives and DVDs available, I now had legitimate reasons to question and disbelieve her earlier financial daily sales report which she computed and sent to me on an excel sheet; and the opening and closing dates of the movie in respective Cinemas. 
At this point, it was apparent that her Company’s records were either incomplete or distorted or somebody had resolved to breach my copyrights in the movie. My lawyer, by a letter dated the 13th of February, wrote and delivered same containing the listings made above and further made the following demands on her Company on my behalf as the movie & Copyright Owner.
a)  That the Contract, Agreement and or other terms/conditions entered into with Cinemas be forwarded to us immediately; 
b)  That an accurate & correct report on the opening and closing dates of the movie in respective Cinemas be made available to us. We assumed that the earlier report was either incomplete or sent to me in error; 
c)  That the outstanding hard drives and or CDs be made available to us immediately. For the unreturned hard drives and CDs, we initiated to compute date of closing from the date her Company returns the FILM MASTERS to me; 
d)  Given the circumstances, we insisted that she must avail to us the ORIGINAL DAILY REPORTS AND OR CORRESPONDENCE that was forwarded by the Cinemas to her Company.
 Although her company staff by name Victoria Agbor received and acknowledged the letter, no replies were made until the date given expired.
Our lawyer proceeded to write to the cinemas having informed the distributor in her letter that he will do same should she not reply.
After seven days elapsed, silver bird and Ozone cinemas remained silent on the matter. Only Genesis Deluxe replied.
In their reply, they stated that, owing to a non disclosure agreement entered into with the distributor, they could not adhere to our demands to make available to us as the true copyrights owners of the film in dispute; the true records of proceeds gotten from the showing of the movie, the accurate stop dates for the movie and the contracts entered into; with the distributor of the movie regarding percentage share and other terms.
My lawyer went on to write again to the cinemas, this time giving them only 3 days to reply before proceeding to file a lawsuit against them.
We are also writing to the copyright commission for protection under the law and to the censor’s board to inform them of the misbehavior of one of their licensed distributors.
I have now written her a letter terminating our distribution deal and whatever other contract terms binds us and have proceeded to obtaining another distributor so that the movie gets the required distribution it deserves and not leave a gap for pirates to take advantage of and feast on.
I have also written to the producer’s guild, to bring to their notice these proceedings and asked that they look into the matter after all, if this fight is well fought and won, it will save a lot of us from going through same fate.
As it stands. Silver bird ABUJA SEC. may have copied my film and kept a copy to themselves since my distributor claims all materials have been sent to her.
Or
My distributor and silver bird connived to reap me off; of my sweat and hard work not to mention people’s monies.
Plus
Silver bird, Genesis cinemas and ozone cinemas may have all together made a deal with my distributor to steal from me. Otherwise why would they choose to with hold accounting information’s from getting to me?
There is no telling what the case might be as all parties involved have remained silent and adamant but soon they will have no option than to respond to the law because I will not relent in my efforts to bring the culprit to book.
Two brides and a baby have 6 executive producers who contributed a total of Eleven million naira with an extra four million naira coming from my hard earned savings.
I am under pressure as it were to pay my executive producers; proceeds from their investment and to make good sales from the movie DVD sales and other sales avenues.
The fact that monies have not been remitted, true accounts with held, most of my hard drives and DVD masters are nowhere to be found and on top of that to call my bluff and not make an effort to reply; gives me great cause to worry. Therefore I must fight for justice.
There are documents to support every claim I have made here in.
Thank you
 Blessing Effiom Egbe, {CEO B’Concept Productions limited}
Producer and copyright Owner of Two Brides and a Baby’

True Reflection Perfume by KIM

Kim Kardashian True Reflection Perfume

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Read more...
                                       The gorgeous Memry Savanhu

PHOTO OF THE DAY

”V.I.P” set to thrill Toronto fans easter weekend

”V.I.P” set to thrill Toronto fans easter weekend Undoubtfully, their smash hit,Ahomka Womu, was a trans-border success whose pulsating beat and melodic vocals reveberated across africa and beyond. It paved way for their full-lenght album which contained amazing tracks that singlehandedly made the trio of Lazzy,Promzy and Prodigal,collectively known as V.I.P(Vision In Progress), to become the toast of the continent. This easter, the internationally renowned Hip-Life sensations and 2011 GMA Artist(e) Of The Year are set to thrill the city of Toronto (Canada) with hits after hits off their current album and the previous ones including their new son. Their trademark vivacity and impressive stage presence will be brought to the fore as the ghanaian international stars take their game beyond the shores of Africa in a well organised series of tours abroad. The show is part of their North America VISION Tour and  is scheduled to take place on April 6, 2012(good friday) at ON THE ROX Entertainment Complex(1600 Steeles Ave. W.). Their Toronto fans are sure to expect and get a spectacular showdown as the event will also feature live performances by F.O.I and Nana NYC alongside some of Canada’s top music artistes,Djs,presenters and promoters. Already, tickets to the event are selling out fast for as low as $25 for early birds but will be increased to $30(Regular Advance) once its first print is exhausted. FOR TICKETS OR INFO, CONTACT KOFI MOGUL @             416.399.5598       OR VISIT WWW.BLACKSTARZWORLD.COM You Might Also Like : Video : BE BOLD Season 2 Episode 11 and 12 feat. VIP (0) V.I.P. to begin ‘Vision Tour’ with Tiffany in US March 17 (0) R2Bees, VIP Lost Out At HipHip World Awards (0) R2Bees & VIP Nominated at the Hip Hop World Awards 2011 (0) New Music : V.I.P. – Which Kind Yawa Be This (Feat. Sarkodie) (0) ...

Another Bomb blast at St Finbarrs Catholic Church in Jos, Plateau State


Corpse of a member of boys scout of St Finbarrs Church
a Bomb blast at St Finbarr's Catholic Church, Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State. A car bomb exploded inside the church premises, killing a few people, including some boys scout of St Finbarrs Church, who were outside the church when the explosion occurred. Eye witnesses who are tweeting say there's gunfire battle between Joint Task Force and suspects who set off explosions at the church. people who are trying to help injured victims are also being shot.

PHOTO OF THE DAY,CBN GOV

 
As depicted in this exclusive picture obtained by www.societynowng.com- the hard talking 'banker' and advocate of Islamic banking sure takes time to unwind.

Kim Going Green For My Midori Shoot


Kim had a green-themed shoot for my new Midori commercial! she says i don’t wear green that often, but I kind of love it… definitely a fun, fresh color for the spring.am a lover of green so go girl...

ADAORA UKOH'S NEW LOOK. LONG HAIR VS CLEAN SHAVEN.

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Nollywood's Big, Bold and Beautiful, Adaora Ukoh recently had her hair cut for her latest release THY KINGDOM COME . We would like readers to vote on what look  Adaora should keep. Please leave comments as Adaora will be keeping an eye on your views
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                                     I think i like her on lowcut........

NIGERIAN COMEDIANS & THEIR GORGEOUS WIVES!

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Bright Okpocha aka Basket Mouth on his wedding Day with wife Elsie Uzoma
Comedy is a laughing matter! But the money these comedians make is no laughing matter, I tell you
. Infact, it seems they are the ones laughing all the way to the bank, leaving the joke on us! 
Ever since the advent of Opa William's Nite of A Thousand Laughs,
 Nigerian comedians have taken centre stage and turned what used to be an unserious business to
 a multi million naira one. To go hand in hand with the fat pay cheques are
 some very gorgeous wives!! From Ali Baba, Julius Agwu, Basket Mouth,
 I Go Dye etc all their wives are jaw-dropping beauties. Abi,
is it a conspiracy? Like they had some kind of meeting on the matter... lol! Okay, see for yourself! Lol!
1. Basket Mouth & wife, Elsie
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Bright Okpocha aka Basket Mouth knows a good thing when he seems it!
 He likes 'em stacked, beautiful and with lots of leg showing! Way to go, Guy... I like people with good taste.
2  juliusandwife2
Funny man Julius Agwu didn't beat about the bush but went for a former beauty Queen,
Ibiere! He doesn't seem to mind that she's a few inches taller than him either. Nice! (I like the anko! lol!)

3.eeeeee
Another comedian that went the beauty queen route is Francis Aghoda aka I Go Dye 
who married former Beauty quueen and Face of Edo State 2008, Stella.
 I think I know what happened... during the Beauty contest when he was to do
 his comedy routine, he was also busy shining his eye ..  hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
4.  IMG_0830-1
A.Y (Ayo Makun) sure knows how to pick 'em! Tall, beautiful and pretty... Brazillian weave in place,
Mabel is the Perfect catch. Well done, my brother!
5.tobi_banjoko
I will still put him, though he is yet to get married to her but on Valentine's Day,
Teju Baby Face proposed to Tobi Banjoko a former Miss Ondo Beauty Queen and now a Model.
 Since they have been a bit quiet about this, there are not many photos of the two of them together
 but trust me, I fished this one out from the archives!congrats
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ON THE RISE: MEET ACTRESS, IJEOMA AGU

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As part of our commitment to promote those in the entertainment  industry, we have introduced a segment called'On the Rise' for upcoming individuals making an impact in the industry.  Today we feature pretty, talented upcoming actress, Ijeoma Agu!
 Ijeoma is a past student of frontline media school, 'Royal Arts Academy' and was also the first student to register when the school set up in 2010. actually! By sheer hardwork & excellence she ended up winning the Monalisa Prize for Best Actress of the Year in 2010!
ijeoma_RAA_graduation
Since then Ijeoma has gone on to greater heights acting in various stage productions of Wole Soyinka by the Terra Group namely:“THE JERO PLAYS” (Amope), “CAMWOOD ON THE LEAVES” (Mrs Olumorin), “MAD MEN AND SPECIALISTS” (Iya mate), “DEATH AND THE KING’S HORSEMAN”,”LION AND THE JEWEL”, THE OTHER SIDE (Azuyi), “GBANJA ROULETTE” (Abe), “THE WAITING ROOM” (Kera)just to mention a few.
Others have been the broadway adaptation of opera staged in Nigeria namely “JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT” (Adoring Girl),  and   “VISION” (Jeane) which had  the opera’s song composers Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd  Webbe in attendance at the Muson Centre. TV productions have been “ABOUT TO WED” (Mrs Susan), “DAVID’S FALL”, and the upcoming soap“CATWALQ” ,“MY FIRST TIME” (a  short film), "ABOBAKU” (princess)  a feature film and “AINA” due for release in the summer.
 Remember the name Ijeoma Agu because its a name that's definately going places!

AFRICAN MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS (AMAA) READY TO BLAST OFF THIS APRIL!

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African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) is set here again and is set to hold on April 22 2012 in Lagos!

This piece of info was relayed to bloggers and journalists at a press briefing organised by the Award organisers in Lagos recently. AMAA is an annual celebration of the brightest and the best in African film. It is about class and style, glitz and razzmatazz. It is the biggest gathering of film makers across the African continent. Just as we have the award night there is also the AMAA Nomination Night which is an integral part of the AMAAs and is just as glamorous. It’s an exotic night of music, dance, glitz and glamour where nominees for the keenly contested 24 award categories are announced. Past nominations have been successfully held in Kenya, SA, Ghana & Burkina Faso. This year's event is being held in Banjul, Gambia.
We will be keeping you up to date on the latest info coming from the Award organisers till the countdown so watch this space!

NEW MUSIC: 'HEROES' - ROOF TOP MC FEAT. KARL NOVA & EBEN

Read more...Roof Top MCs made up of the duo of Snatcha and Kleva have released a lovely song with the help of rock singer Eben and Karl Nova.  They call this one, 'Heroes'.