Nollywood script writing fails to match screen success

Nollywood has achieved global success, but some of its movies have received disappointing reviews across board.

Critics say several Nollywood movies have underdeveloped characters and weak storylines due to subpar script writing.

Amid major advancements in cinematography, sound, and lighting — thanks to modern technology and streaming platforms in Nigeria—many of these films have struggled to resonate with their local audiences.

While writers often bear the brunt of the blame, analysts and experts suggest a more complex reality. This includes underlying issues such as unrealistic deadlines, producer interference, and writer underpayment.

Unrealistic Timelines

Emy Josephs, a Nigerian scriptwriter, argued that unrealistic timelines set by producers ensure that scripts never reach their full potential.

“A popular filmmaker once asked me to rewrite a script in just three weeks because she had a meeting with Netflix,” Josephs said. “This was a sequel to a Netflix film. They had done a series on it, but Netflix didn’t like it and scrapped it. Also, Netflix had rejected an older draft, and she needed me to do a second one. Those three weeks were the most stressful of my life.”

Josephs stressed that writing is a creative process that requires time, reflection, and inspiration. Unrealistic deadlines, such as the three-week window, compromised her ability to craft thoughtful and engaging narratives.

“I told a client before that I would need six months to audit projects, and that person asked what I need all that time for,” Josephs stated.

Daniel Oriahi, a Nollywood filmmaker, said, “I think every story needs time to develop.”

Time allows you to interrogate and analyse the story, decipher character analysis, character arc, story arc, visual arc, said the director of ‘The Weeknd.’

“Most of our stories feel like first drafts – like they were just written and made into movies,” Oriahi emphasised.

According to him, the industry needs to transition from the DVD era of producing plenty of movies to meet market demand to becoming more deliberate about storytelling.

The cost of over-ambition

Even when enough time is allowed for scriptwriting, over-ambition can still hurt a film. Josephs, earlier quoted, noted, “We often try to replicate Hollywood’s perfectionism, but we’re not there yet in terms of infrastructure or resources.”

Some 2024 films have got several underwhelming reviews, mostly due to their poor story plots.

Josephs argued that while Nollywood filmmakers may have good intentions, there’s a limit to what can be achieved with the available resources.

Budget disparities between Hollywood, Nollywood

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According to Investopedia, the average cost of producing a major film in Hollywood is around $65 million. This figure doesn’t even include distribution and marketing costs, which add about $35 to $40 million. Blockbusters like Marvel superhero movies cost over $250 million. By contrast, Nollywood films rarely exceed N50 million (about $30,133.92), including marketing and distribution.

“Nigerian filmmakers need to understand that Hollywood scripts are sometimes developed over a year or more, and writers are compensated accordingly,” Josephs said. “No film in Africa would say they’ve spent $100 million making it. We don’t have that kind of budget. Even Netflix will not give you that kind of budget.”

This financial disparity drastically limits the scope of Nollywood productions, preventing writers from fully realising their creative visions on screen.

Writers are underpaid

Josephs identified underpayment as a major issue plaguing Nollywood scriptwriting. She explained that the industry has a payment hierarchy, with lower-end productions—such as YouTube films—offering writers as little as N50,000 to N200,000 for a script. She noted that new YouTube channels can pay between N300, 000 and N350,000. For bigger productions like African Magic or Iroko TV, writers can expect to be paid between N300, 000 and N500,000.

According to Josephs, the budget for making a film on YouTube is between N4 million and N6 million, as confirmed by other filmmakers contacted by BusinessDay. She acknowledged that TV budgets are generally higher, with platforms like African Magic and Iroko reportedly offering around N6 million to N8 million for a series budget, meaning more money for the writer.

She noted that streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon offer higher fees, reportedly as much as N9 million for top-tier writers. Writers for cinema films are paid similarly to those who write for streaming platforms, but the final amount is often determined through negotiation.

Josephs said in advanced industries, it is common practice to put writers on a salary for a film every month until they arrive at the version of the story the studio wants.

Creative Interference by Producers

According to Josephs, the rewriting of scripts on set by directors or editors is another significant issue. “A film is written three times: A writer writes a script and sends it to the producer. While shooting that film on set, the director rewrites the script based on how he executes the story. The director may make changes while filming, and the editor with no business writing the script further modifies the story through cuts and edits. This creates a chain reaction where the script is continually rewritten, potentially impacting the final product.”

After changing or removing the script, this creative interference by the director leaves audiences with many questions about the movie’s plot. She acknowledged a common issue in the industry where producers, often lacking writing expertise, interfere with the creative process.

She said they may initially give writers free rein but later impose their visions during filming, undermining the writer’s role and the story’s integrity.

Josephs believes better collaboration between writers and directors would yield stronger narratives. She also argued that keeping writers involved during filming would help maintain the integrity of the original script.

Oriahi pointed out that Nollywood’s lack of regulations allows anyone, even without proven writing expertise, to be hired for scriptwriting, potentially impacting the overall quality of films. He argued that Nollywood’s lack of structure and regulation has paradoxically been key to its success.

Lack of specialised editors

Timothy Olawoye, a Nollywood filmmaker, pointed out that the industry doesn’t have a screenwriting problem but a storytelling problem, which he said is based on script interpretation of the directors.

“In some cases where the story is supposed to be shown, you see the director trying to tell it. In the film, you don’t tell; you show so that people know what you’re driving at. You don’t have to put everything in dialogue,” Olawoye said.

Olawoye pointed out that the industry lacks editors who specialise in specific genres. “An action movie editor shouldn’t be editing a comedy,” he said. He noted that the limited talent pool of editors hampers the professionalism and quality of Nollywood films.

“So, you see the same person editing different genres of movies.”