King Akan
The Abuja movie premiere of ‘Bad Comments’ held recently with a colourful and mind-blowing red carpet experience at Genesis Cinemas, Abuja.
The movie which is Jim Iyke’s debut as an executive producer addresses the dangers of social media especially cyberbullying. It was directed by Moses Inwang and stars Jim Iyke himself, Ini Edo, Patience Ozokwor, Osas Ighodaro, Chiwetalu Agu, AY, Sharon Ooja to name a few, some of which were in attendance at the premiere. Other celebrities who graced the event include Young John, Josh2Funny, Nas Boy, Amazing Klef and ChuksDGeneral.
The exclusive screening tagged “An Evening With The Stars” was officially hosted by the Governor of Kogi Stage, Yahaya Adoza Bello. The purpose of the premiere was to give fans, movie lovers and influencers an opportunity to view and critique the movie before its availability at the box office.
The event didn’t disappoint as the venue was flooded with movie lovers comprising Nollywood stars, media personalities, influencers, and fans. Fans who showed up late were made to rue their decision because within a short while tickets were sold out.
If not for adherence to Covid-19 protocol, the venue would have been similar to a political campaign ground. The size of the crowd was unexpected and the lines were long, leaving the organizers overwhelmed. Next time, using rope lines, multiple cashiers and additional volunteers outside the venue should be considered for a better crowd control.
In fact, the turnout made a mockery of the venue, which was obviously too small to accommodate the over 500 people who showed up for the premiere as all the halls were filled to capacity. A selfless Jim Iyke had to watch the movie from the staircase of a screening hall.
Addressing the media, Iyke stressed that the social media space was a gift and a curse. While it presents opportunities for empowerment, it also creates avenues for tragedy and that people, especially youths, must begin to understand the social media space and act responsibly.
“It’s kind of culturally cool to project hate on these platforms, abuse each other, demean people’s values and self esteem. It’s okay to call out people, bodyshame them, and people think you’re cool. But cyberbullying is wrong and should be addressed and it takes a movie like this to change the narrative. It may take a while to sink in but eventually it will.”
He also disclosed that the movie which was shot over two months exceeded the 100 million naira mark in terms of its budget.
Having successfully premiered the movie in Lagos and Abuja, the Nollywood star also revealed plans to premiere the movie in Owerri, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Ghana, Amsterdam, London and Houston. So if you can, jump on the ‘Bad Comments’ train, it promises to be worthwhile.
Overall, the feedback received from the Abuja premiere was overwhelmingly positive, with 100 percent of participants commenting favourably about the movie.
An attendee at the Abuja movie premiere, Trevor Amusa, described the movie as “breathtaking”, stating that “Bad Comments was nothing short of a great movie. Audio clarity on point, top notch picture quality, excellent acting and an amazing story. If anyone hasn’t seen it yet, well I don’t know what they’re waiting for.”
Another attendee, Kyeni, was more poetic.
“Now trollers see the consequence of bad comments,” she said, adding that “defamation of character is an entirely different ball on roll for the perpetrator. It’s all fun initially until it turns out messy. Bad Comments is hilarious, delivered in a thrilling style. Guess laughter now has a dwelling place amidst the reality of how hateful speeches and online bullying actually hits.”
The cast and 72 crew members from four countries certainly must be commended for delivering a serious message in a hilarious way. It won’t be surprising to have a second instalment in the near future of this entertaining and educative movie.
