Kate Henshaw and Jemima Osunde talk favourite scene, what to expect from film and challenges shooting "New Money."
A Tope Oshin film and the fourth collaboration between Filmone and Inkblot, (My Wife and I and The Wedding Party) "New Money" is one of the most anticipated films of the year.
During an interview with Pulse Nigeria, Kate Henshaw and Jemima Osunde, who play mother and daughter in the film, share how they got involved with the project, their favourite scenes, challenges during shoot, and why viewers should go it in the cinemas.
Read interview below
How they got involved with the project
Henshaw: The usual: I got a call that there was a role available and would I be available to do it. So I said 'send me the script' because I always want to read my script.
Then I ask, 'who are those in the film?,' and of course, who is directing? And it was an interesting script and of course the cast; there were like people I have worked with over the years. - people like Kalu Ikeagwu and Dakore Akande.
I had never worked with Jemima Osunde, but she is good. She is a young act doing very good. We have people like Osas Ajibade, Wale Ojo, Falz, Blossom Chukwujekwu. Nice cast.
Osunde: I had worked on them in "My Wife and I" where I played Ireti, the daughter of the couple that got swapped.
So I think that was when the producer Naz Onuzo met me, communicated with his co-producer Isioma Osaje, who called me and said, "there is another project coming up and they are considering you for it." So we had some conversations, a few meetings, and that was it.
What attracted them to the project
Osunde: Well, it's a Filmone movie and we all know how their movies turn out. We have seen "The Wedding Party," we have seen "The Arbitration." They are people that you should want to work with if you want to excel in this industry.
They get you the mileage, they get you the fanbase, they get you the good jobs that portray you as an actor with versatility.
As soon as I heard of the possibility of being on it, I was 100% interested.
Challenges working on "New Money"
Henshaw: I don't think there was any challenge. It was actually well-done, Tope Oshin is an actor's director. I love her, of course she is a woman and I'm a woman. Tope is a young lady who has earned her stripes. There was something that happened on set, I'm not going to talk about it, but she did an excellent job.
Osunde: When we were shooting 'New Money,' I was also shooting season 6 of MTV Shuga, so I was literally number one on both call sheets.
It was hard to combine both. [To add to that] I had exams in school and food poisoning. Almost sounding impossible but everyone was considerate. Especially "New Money," because they kept working with my schedule.
There were days we didn't shoot anything on "New Money" set because I was on set of MTV Shuga the whole day. So they were quite considerate.
Favourite scene
Henshaw: My favourite scene was in my canteen. My character Fatima has a bar and she sells fish and drinks. There at the bar, I had a very intense moment with my daughter.
Osunde: It would have to be the boardroom scene, I felt very powerful in that scene. I even looked powerful, I think. If you watch the trailer, it's the scene that comes after where the three ladies - Osunde, Osas Ajibade and Dakore Akande - were strutting down the aisle, looking like bad bosses.
The scene that comes after that is me in the boardroom, literally showing them that I know what I am doing.
Emotional or physical changes they had to go through for the film
Henshaw: Physical, no. It's just that the clothes they gave me were a bit big. So I told them, 'you have to reduce it because I a'int fat.' Apart from that, I can't complain at all.
Tope told me what she wanted: I was a mother, who's well spoken. She is okay, but she isn't rich. She comes from a humble background, she is hardworking, she was in a relationship that didn't work so she is very protective of her daughter, making sure that she doesn't go on to make the same mistakes. That was basically it - keep it down, normal, not a local woman.
Osunde: Emotional, yes. There are some scenes where Toun gets really down. She thought it was a bed of roses, everyone who watches this would be like 'this is jackpot, you have hammered.'
But at the end of the day, when it went downhill, she was traumatized. So there were scenes where I had to cry, I wasn't saying anything but just from my expression, I had to show that she was going through a lot emotionally. Those where scenes that I won't say were hard, but they were the tough scenes to shoot.
Funniest actor on set of "New Money"
Henshaw: Falz is a funny guy and he is cool. You look at him and all you do is laugh, but he is also very intelligent and he can speak very good English.
But people would look at him and think about the bad English, but no, he is very intelligent.
Difference difference being on set of "New Money" and previous sets
Osunde: I had never laughed so hard as I did on set of "New Money." The combination of actors we had, oh my goodness.
I said it before, people would think that Falz was the funniest cast member. No, Aunty Kate, Wofaidada and Falz; worst combination you can ever have at a time.
We had so many funny people on set, everyone was so cool, from the producers to the director to the cast.
Inas much as there were days when we were all under pressure, we always found a way to just cool off, laugh and find our way back to sanity.
Henshaw: Professionalism, very key. I guess for someone like me, there comes a time in your career where you look out for jobs that are shot and done professionally.
It's very very important because you don't want any hassles with people and you don't want to rub people the wrong way. You just want to bring your own professionalism along with theirs so that you have a good job. They were quite professional. Everything was done within the time they told me.
Creating the chemistry on set of "New Money"
Osunde: Before "New Money," I had never worked with Falz, I had never worked with Aunty Kate or Wofia, but I had worked with Dakore. I don't think she remembers though, it was in my early days of waka pass. First time working with Osas Ajibade as well, even though she is literally like my big sister.
I mean, when you're working with people that are easy going, people that are professionals, and in as much as they know that we here to work, they always know how to find a way to make it easy for everyone - there's no pressure, no attitude and no one is a diva. It was pretty easy.
I'm literally the newbie among this people. So of course, there was the 'oh my God, I'm in a scene with Aunty Kate.' This woman has been in the industry since before I was born, but when you arrive on set and she is cracking jokes and hugging you, there's really no way for you not to be able to have fun.
What to expect from New Money
Osunde: First of all, you must have laughed away all your worries. There are so many funny scenes in "New Money." It's also a feel good movie, so if you have had a long day, once you watch "New Money," I can assure you that even if it is slightly, you will feel relieved.
Why you should see "New Money" when it's out in cinemas
Henshaw: The first one is: Kate Henshaw is in it. Two, it's a lovely movie and you would learn a lot from it.
You will also see Jemima Osunde - I like Jemima, I think she would do very well in the industry.
It's a feel good movie. It's a nice movie and you just want to see the lead character win, you want to see her excel,you want to see her enjoy.
"New Money" is out in cinemas on March 23, 2018.