Ghanaian actor and filmmaker LilWin has defended the bloggers covering his upcoming movie, A Journey to Africa, following criticism over the videos and photographs they have been sharing from the production set in Nzulezu.
The filmmaker, known in private life as Kwadwo Nkansah, said the invited bloggers were carrying out an official assignment for his Weezy Empire brand and challenged critics to stop assuming that every piece of content posted online was taken from the actual movie scenes.
The controversy emerged after some bloggers began posting footage and pictures of the cast, including Nigerian actors involved in the project. Their activities attracted criticism from social media users who questioned why so much content from the production was being made public before the film’s release.
Some critics appeared to believe that the material being circulated online contained actual scenes from the movie, prompting calls for the bloggers to be removed from the set.
LilWin, however, said he was aware of the attacks against the bloggers and insisted that their presence at the location was part of a planned promotional exercise.
“I have seen people insulting the bloggers on set and calling for all of them to be sacked. The bloggers here are official bloggers whom we have invited to follow Weezy Empire and cover all the activities of the brand,” he said.
He questioned the reasoning behind the criticism, arguing that it was unreasonable to suggest that an experienced production team would allow important scenes from a film to be recorded and distributed online while filming was still underway.
“If you see us, the elderly, on set, do you think we are unwise and do not know what we are doing? Do you think we would allow bloggers to record scenes from the movie and share them on social media? If we did that, what would be left for you to come and watch when the movie is ready?” LilWin queried.
According to the actor, the material being shared from Nzulezu should not be mistaken for footage that will appear in the finished production. He explained that the film crew operates under specific guidelines designed to protect the actual scenes being captured during filming.
LilWin maintained that members of the public were drawing conclusions about the production without having access to the procedures governing activities on set.
“You are not part of the set; you are at home. Everything you are seeing online, do not assume that it is the movie. There are rules and regulations on set, and no phone cameras are allowed to capture the actual scenes being acted,” he explained.
He indicated that the bloggers’ primary responsibility was to document the atmosphere surrounding the production, conduct interviews with the cast and capture informal moments before or after actors performed their scenes.
“The pictures and videos you are seeing do not mean that those images will be part of the final scenes of the movie. The important parts of the movie, you will not see. Everything you are seeing is part of a promotional strategy. The bloggers are only interviewing the cast and filming them as they pass by before or after a scene. They are not recording the actual movie scenes,” LilWin clarified.
Watch his explanation below.
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