Kumawood actor Sule Suraj has said that Kumawood actors and actresses deserve to be paid very well considering their efforts in entertaining and educating the masses.
“We need to work towards paying our actors and actresses well. In this modern era, there are numerous distribution platforms to show your movies and get profitable returns, unlike the past where distribution was limited to a few making it difficult for filmmakers to break even and actors suffer the consequence”, he said.
He has revealed a lack of financial power of some Kumawood movie directors and producers make it difficult for them to pay actors/actresses well when they engage their services.
The actor made this statement while speaking on the issue of poor remuneration and salaries of actors in the Kumawood movie industry where he alleged that, people in the industry have not been treated well when it comes to monetary issues.
Explaining his statement, he said, “Let’s take for instance, someone who has no other skill, all he has is that, the person went to acting school, completed and is now employed. With such a person because he has nothing to do apart from acting, he/she would be compelled to accept any amount offered him as salary”.
He urged up and coming actors and actresses to get an education and secure well-paying jobs because acting does not pay in Ghana nowadays.
According to him, the movie industry in Ghana is gradually dying so people who bank all their hopes to make a career out of only acting could be a very bad decision.
He indicated that unlike Nigeria where there are several movie producers, cinemas, and a larger population, Ghana has none of these and that has been the bane of the industry.
He said “The movie industry now does not have enough producers and finance. It’s all because there’s no money in the industry lately. The actors and actresses have now turned into producers, which shouldn’t be so”.