Veteran actor, Antar Laniyan, has revealed that online movie streaming platforms has helped improve the standard of film production in Nigeria as it challenges film producers, directors, and thespians, among others, to do better when producing movies to educate and entertain members of the public.
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Laniyan, who said this in an exclusive chat with Midweek Entertainment on Monday, insisted that the presence of these streaming platforms had brought an end to substandard movies, hence making movie producers and others put in more work to achieve standard results.
He said, “Things are a lot better now compared to how it was when I started acting. There’s Netflix, DSTV, ShowMax, and many more. They are making things better. It is good to have them around.
“Technically, they have made the movie industry better. Now, if you submit any movie to Netflix, they don’t accept it except if it is up to the required standard.
“They don’t accept anything that is substandard and this is a good challenge for us. If you want your movie on Netflix or any other movie streaming platform, you must work very hard and make sure you meet the standards.
“Even if you don’t meet up to the standards, you work even harder to make it. No one wants to make substandard films anymore because it won’t be accepted.”
Laniyan also noted that being educated was crucial towards achieving greater heights in the Nigerian movie industry.
He said, “If you’re coming into the industry, be armed with education because there’s no way you won’t need that education in your trade. You need it to make you belong, so no one sees you as a nobody.
“I am benefiting from the fact that I went to school and it’s helping my trade as it is. I wonder how it would have been if I didn’t go to school. This is something the young ones need to know.”
Speaking on celebrity marriage crashes, Laniyan advised his colleagues to marry their friends to have long-lasting relationships, adding that they should also desist from bringing their relationship affairs to the public.
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He added, “You need to marry your friend, if you marry your friend, both of you will have a long-lasting relationship. It all starts with friendship, when the issue of marriage comes, you still see yourselves as friends. I also don’t publicise my wife, for example, no one knows my wife, so no one can walk up to her and say this and that. Let’s publicise the right things. These are the ingredients that can maintain a marriage.”
