Return of Jenifa becomes fastest grossing Nollywood movie of all time

Return of Jenifa becomes fastest grossing Nollywood movie of all time

...sold about N10 million in seven days

…gets two weeks extension at cinema

 

Just after a week of its release to the cinemas, “The Return of Jenifa” (TROJ) has out sold all other Nollywood movies at the cinema around the country, a feat which has never been achieved by any other Nollywood movie and this has earned the movie the title of ‘the fastest grossing Nollywood movie of all time’ by cinema operators. And this feat is more remarkable as the movie is only showing in three cinemas- Silverbird Lagos and Abuja and Ozone Cinema in Yaba, Lagos.

Earning such a feat would come as no surprise as Funke has been known to have churned out some blockbusters movies in DVD; movies like Jenifa and Omo Ghetto were said to have sold in their numbers.

The impressive showing which has made the movie earn close to N10 million in seven days has made the cinema asked for two weeks extension to show the movie at the cinema. That means the movie will be at the cinema for four weeks.

Since its grand premier at The Muson Center on the Friday, October 7, the movie has been earning applause and respect of industry people who trooped out in their numbers to support the actress at the premiere which had the First Lady of Lagos in attendance. Others in attendance are, Eldee, Dayo Adeneye, Rita Dominic, Kate Henshaw, Oge Okoye, Ali Baba, Gbenga Adeyinka, AY, Julius Agwu, Tunde Kelani, Ireti Osayemi, Ibinabo Fiberesima, Chioma Chukwuka, Helen Paul, Queen Nwokoye, Adora Ukoh, Kunle Bakare, Mayor Akinpelu and others.

The  Return of Jenifa which was shot both within and outside the country features an impressive cast which parades both music and movie stars such as Eldee the Don, Banky W, Denrele, Antar Laniyan, Helen Paul and others.

The storyline of the movie revolves around the life of the main character, Jenifa. Here she registers to be part of a dancing competition. But when she is asked to undergo an HIV test as part of the requirement for entry into the competition, she fled, being unsure of her status as a result of her past exploits.

She is later forced to withdraw from the society that she once ruled and move back to her village. Going back to the village however does not stop her from being her crazy self and in the end she learns that life is not all about being a ‘gbogbo bigs girl’

 The movie was shot by DJ Tee.

101 uses for my ex-wife's wedding dress: Husband turns pain of divorce into hilarious new book

By DAISY DUMAS

We all have very different ways of getting over the pain of a break-up or divorce, with catharsis taking some weird and wonderful guises.

For one divorcee from Arizona, release came in the unlikely form of his ex-wife's wedding dress - and more than a little enterprising imagination.

What began as a jokey, if somewhat practical, way for Kevin Cotter, 38, to make his ex's now-defunct bridal outfit useful soon saw the Tuscon local becoming an internet sensation with a hit blog and a book offer.

After leaving him after 12 years on July 4, 2009, Mr Cotter's ex told him that he could do as he wished with her lace-edged wedding dress. A family brainstorming session later, and the 'My ex-wife's wedding dress' blog idea was born.

Now, Mr Cotter's unorthodox therapy has become a book, out next week, entitled '101 uses of my ex-wife's wedding dress.'

If anyone was in any doubt, the irreverent paperback proves that a wedding dress may in fact have more uses than a Swiss Army knife, and can get you out of some very tricky DIY spots - not to mention having in-built shoe polishing, hairdressing, showering and cooking applications.

All of the photos are taken by Mr Cotter's brother Colin. One shows Mr Cotter aiming a shot at a home-made punchbag. 'A wedding dress punching bag isn’t difficult to set up and could be really helpful in relieving stress during the early days after a relationship collapses,' he writes.

Dress use #30 shows the crumpled white material splashed with Pollock-esque paint streaks and mountain on a wall. 'When decorating, you might consider using a wedding dress as an art canvas. I really enjoy contemporary art, and a dress of this size certainly allowed me to express my creativity,' writes a dead-pan Mr Cotter.

Other stand-outs include a Darth Vadar scarecrow - 'in my opinion, no other application tops this one' - and a brilliantly comical shot of the outdoor enthusiast squeezed into the lacy number, surrounded by snow-covered trees, pretending to hunt: 'A wedding dress should make excellent snow camouflage, at least when it’s still relatively white.'

The whacky style of re-imagined matrimonial wear gained momentum over the project - and 40 of the pictures were especially taken for the book. 'I think my brother and I did some of our best work late' Mr Cotter told Today.com.

Far from what the bride originally had in mind, the tattered dress takes a beating - gaining dirt, a 'Go Cats' slogan from its cheering exploits and many, many paint, oil and polish stains.

But away from the sometimes daft, often ingenious and always spirited reincarnations of the dress, the book has a serious and grittily honest edge.

Evolving from a coffee-table style picture book to a candid and heartfelt collection of hilarious photos and musings about his life, loves, sporting pursuits and family, the book is fundamentally about the long and personal process of letting go.

Mr Cotter writes: 'My brother said that it wasn’t until we started working together photographing the dress that he heard my real laugh return.

'People have asked me if what I have done with the wedding dress has been cathartic. The answer to that is yes.'

Moments of self-reflection open a window into some of his darker moments.

'I never had trouble sleeping before my ex-wife walked out, but suddenly I began to suffer from terrible insomnia, especially on those evenings when I was home alone,' he writes. 

'I found myself longing for those days when my house sounded like a home.

'The silence left me replaying the events of the last few years and wondering how everything I knew had simply fallen apart.'

The box salesman, or 'packaging expert' as he quips, has now re-married, and told the news programme that he is happier than ever.

And, as for his infamous ex... 'We get along fine, the wedding dress hasn’t been a topic of conversation for a long time,' Mr Cotter told Today.

'I’m sure she’s very aware that the book is on its way, but it I don’t know that she’s preordered her copy, or that she’s going to ask me to sign it.'

Either way, he may have a lot to thank her for, after all.

Not just free of pain... but cured! Pioneering stem cell treatment saves life of sickle cell victim, 23

By MARK ANSTEAD

Progress: The success of the procedure gives hope to thousands of adults who may otherwise face a future filled with pain and a premature death (picture posed by model)

Remmy Kamya has become the first British adult to undergo a pioneering stem cell treatment for sickle cell disease.

Remmy, 23, is not just free from the crippling bouts of pain that have affected him for years - he is cured.

The success of the procedure gives hope to thousands of adults who may otherwise face a future filled with pain and a premature death. 

Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood condition affecting 13,500 in the UK. Red blood cells are produced by stem cells within the marrow found inside the bones.

Healthy red blood cells are biconcaved discs which can bend and flex easily. In those with sickle cell disease, faulty stem cells produce red blood cells that are crescent shaped.

These are rigid, unable to squeeze through smaller blood vessels, and prone to causing blockages that deprive parts of the body of oxygen, leading to periods of intense pain.  

Symptoms may be mild or severe, depending on how many sickle cells the body produces, and can include exhaustion and susceptibility to infection.

Crises can last for days and internal organs may gradually become damaged from restricted blood flow. It is the most common cause of stroke in children. Sufferers are not expected to live beyond 60.  

 

Treatment focuses on alleviating symptoms by using painkillers, administering oxygen, drinking lots of water and prescribing antibiotics.

The only cure until now has been a bone marrow transplant. During this, extremely high doses of chemotherapy are given to kill the unhealthy stem cells within the existing bone marrow, before it is replaced with donor marrow.

The procedure carries a 20 per cent risk of fatality and could be offered to sufferers only under the age of 18 as the internal organs of adult patients are typically too damaged by the disease to withstand chemotherapy.

Life-saver: Stem cells are separated from a blood sample

'Stem cell transplants have been offered only to paediatric patients whose organs are still healthy,' says Dr Mickey Koh, consultant haematologist and director of the bone marrow transplant unit at St George’s Hospital, London.

'When considering transplants we had to weigh up the severity of symptoms and the risk to life. Chemotherapy kills the faulty stem cells but harms organs.'

The new procedure uses low dosage radiotherapy that targets only the bone marrow, so it avoids further damage to the liver, kidney, lungs or heart. Special drugs that suppress specific parts of the immune system are used to make sure the donor tissue is not rejected.

‘Thousands of adults can now be treated, saving more lives...'

- Dr Mickey Koh

The technique was pioneered in America two years ago with ten adult patients, all of whom survived and were cured. There is still a risk of fatality, but Dr Koh says it is less than eight per cent.

Remmy was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at the age of two. ‘I used to have attacks twice a month, lasting for days,’ he says.

Having mainly suffered in his legs, feet and arms, seven years ago he began to get pains in his chest, considered more serious as they indicate lung damage.

‘I also had a brain scan which revealed I had suffered a stroke in the past,’ he says. 

‘Doctors were worried this could happen again and the next time it might cause more damage.’

Remmy was referred to Dr Koh who tested his family for donor suitability and brother Ronnie, 33, was a good match.

Remmy was admitted into hospital in February and given daily injections of antibodies for five days followed by anti-rejection drugs to prepare for the transplant. Ronnie was given an injection to stimulate the production of more stem cells that would enrich his blood.

Stem cells are transplanted by blood transfusion – they travel through the arteries and end up in bone marrow.

Within days Remmy’s blood was being populated with healthy new red cells and after a week he was allowed home. Next February he can stop taking anti-rejection drugs.

‘Thousands of adults can now be treated, saving more lives,’ says Dr Koh.

•  www.aclt.org

Generous spirit ... Eric Cantona had a great influence on the young Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes On Eric Cantona

Everybody is aware of the inspiration he provided on the pitch but maybe it's not so widely appreciated that he was always a brilliant bloke, too.

In those days there used to be a players' pool of cash for various commercial endorsements and when it was divided we'd all get a cheque for the same amount.

On one occasion, when we were due to receive £1,500 each, it was decided that all the cheques would go into a hat, then whoever's name was drawn out would get the lot.

Now, £1,500 wasn't much to the older lads, but to the likes of Nicky Butt and me it was a load of cash, so really it was pretty stupid of us to take part in the lottery. When the Frenchman won the pot, everybody was calling him "Golden Bollocks".

But then Eric shut everybody up by just handing the money to Nicky and me, saying that we deserved it for having the balls to take the risk.

So the pair of us went home very happy boys, all thanks to the generous Monsieur Cantona.

On the pitch there were still times I was having to pinch myself to believe that I really was a team-mate of this great footballer.

Caught on camera, the Romanian thief who distracts shop assistant before putting £54,000 of jewellery down her SKIRT

This is the moment a brazen jewellery thief distracted a shop assistant before reaching over a counter and tipping a £54,000 tray of bangles into a secret pocket in her skirt.

Mother-of-four Saina Sava was a member of a gang of shoplifters who were caught on camera sending an assistant away from the counter while she shamelessly removed an entire tray of jewellery.

The CCTV footage was shot inside Sunny Jewellers in Leicester. At one point, one of the women even opened her headscarf wide to help hide her accomplice as she hid the bangles in the specially-made skirt pocket.

Baroness causes outrage with claim Nigerian men all have four wives because they are lazy

By DAVID WILKES

Last updated at 9:41 AM on 27th September 2011

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Outspoken: Baroness Flather has made comments about Nigerian men during a radio phone-in on polygamy

Controversial peer Baroness Flather caused outrage yesterday with a claim that Nigerian men marry four wives because they are lazy.

Speaking on a radio phone-in debate on polygamy, she said: ‘Most of the men in Nigeria don’t do anything, their wives do all the work, that’s why they have so many.’ 

Lady Flather spoke out after a Nigerian caller told how his father had four wives, they all lived together in the same house without arguments and their 11 children were all well educated.

The crossbencher, Britain’s first female Asian peer, recently made controversial claims that some Asian families in Britain have lots of children in order to claim extra welfare payments.

Yesterday’s comments were made as she spoke as a guest on the BBC Radio 5 Breakfast show, presented by Nicky Campbell. 

Campbell was joined in the studio by Khola Hasan, of the Islamic Sharia Council, which says polygamy is on the rise among British Muslims. 

Following the peer’s comment, embarrassed laughter could be heard before Mrs Hasan said: ‘That’s a bit unfair’.

Campbell then interjected: ‘If I’d said what you’ve just said I’d be in the papers tomorrow for racism, wouldn’t I?’ 

But the baroness went on: ‘They have four wives – one to do the farming, one to look after the children, one to look after the man and one to do the housework. It is just a fact. Why should I lie?’ 

Two British Nigerians later called the show and condemned the comments, pointing out that polygamy is a sign of affluence rather than idleness.

Last night Radio 5 said the peer’s views were ‘entirely her own’.

Man United!

Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney Among Manchester United Figures Featured in New York Times Style Magazine