- Basketmouth, fresh off the release of his debut cinematic movie, found himself under the spotlight in recent interviews as he dished on the high-profile filmmakers he contacted during the film’s production.
- He candidly recounted how he initially sought Funke’s guidance, believing her insight could be invaluable to the project.
- But after an encouraging start, he said things took an unexpected twist—Funke suddenly stopped picking his calls.
Nigerian comedian-turned-filmmaker, Bright Okpocha, better known as Basketmouth, has set the media abuzz with his latest revelation about a leading Nollywood figure, Funke Akindele.
In a no-holds-barred interview with Arise TV, Basketmouth laid bare the struggles he faced while creating his first major cinema release, A Ghetto Love Story.
Basketmouth, delving into the intricate details of his filmmaking journey, revealed that Funke Akindele was his initial choice—a mentor he believed could anchor his project from start to finish. He recounted their first conversation in August, which he said was filled with excitement and promise.
As he described, what followed was a series of unreturned calls, unanswered texts, and a deafening silence that stretched on. He averred that Funke might have been caught up in her own film work or simply unavailable due to other commitments.
Facing a major setback, Basketmouth reteirated that he decided to pivot and rethink his strategy, reached out to another industry heavyweight, Mo Abudu. Unlike his previous encounter, he said Mo responded with enthusiasm and immediately embraced his vision, stepped in to fill the gap and help bring ‘A Ghetto Love Story’ to life.
His words in parts;
“With collaborations with filmmakers, it was dramatic. When I started calling all these like Mo Abudu and the rest of them, you know, I had a plan. I was going to start with Funke Akindele, and just run it all through.
“But when I called Funke, she was excited and that was in August, and then the next thing, she never picked up my calls again. But she was making a movie, maybe she was busy, or her phone is on silent, or maybe the phone got spoilt. But yeah, I hope she pick up or responds to my messages
“I’ve sent over like 25 messages or whatever, but she didn’t respond. So I had to change the whole plan and re-strategize. I had to go to Mo, this and that, but the rest of them came through.
‘I called Mo and normally she doesn’t do stuff like that, but she jumped on it. Sooner or later, I believe that filmmakers in Nigeria will get to understand that collaboration is the new competition”
WATCH HIM SPEAK IN CLIP BELOW
Basketmouth in the clip, also shared insights on the vision behind his new movie, which has already made waves at the box office, raking in an impressive ₦22.3 million in its opening weekend.
SEE VIDEO BELOW