Veteran actor, Collins Sarpong has expressed worry over what he described as ”some film producers developing the penchant to cheat and pay actors pittance for their talent”.
The versatile actor who made these observations in an interview with TV3’s Owusu Worae, believes the low remuneration for actors is partly to be blamed for the movie industry growing at a snail’s pace.
According to the actor, it takes the collaborative effort of script writers, actors, make-up artistes, directors and others within the production chain to shoot a great movie, hence, it is unfair for producers to cheat and pay actors poor remuneration.
“There are a number of producers that still owe me, and how much were they even paying.
“When an actor reads the script, he sees this character that he lends the body to and all these things that we see in the mind come to life, and then the producer thinks that he is putting in money so therefore he is the most important person, so he wants to earn 90% of the money,” he stated.
While some have argued that, it is a clear case of some actors not being able to negotiate better deals, Collins Sarpong is of the view that some actors are forced to accept such poor remuneration because they do not get roles often.
The experienced actor believes producers are often dishonest and play on the vulnerability of desperate actors, and he opined that this habit on the part of producers is partly to be blamed for the sorry state of the movie industry.
“I can boldly say that 80% of Ghanaian producers are driving, they are living decent lives, but 80% or even more of Ghanaian actors are walking barefooted.
“They do not get more productions and some are about 75% dependent on acting, therefore when they get production, it is like work is here so they will do it for anything, so producers take advantage.
“What you sow is what you reap, and that is why our movies do not cross the borders, because the hearts of all the people in the movies are peeved. If I leave your set and for three months you have premiered the movie and I have not been paid, your movie will not cross the Aflao border,” he asserted.
Source: 3news.com| Ghana