Exclusive Interview With the Producer of Gbomo Gbomo Express

When I first saw Gbomo Gbomo Express’ trailer,  I was impressed and intrigued. I couldn’t wait to see the movie and find out what inspired it. If you’ve seen the movie, you’d agree with me that the cast and entire crew did a fantastic job. The Connect Nigeria team recently had the honour of chatting with the genius behind the hilarious movie, Walter Taylaur aka Waltbanger and he was kind enough to answer all our questions. Enjoy:   CN: Please introduce yourself, sir. WB: I am Walter “Waltbanger” Taylaur, a movie producer who has worked on a series of projects like The Wages, winner of the best short film in Africa (AMVCA 2014); I Love Nigeria; Big Brother Nigeria; Apprentice Africa; and Married To The Game (MTTG), which is a crime series I did in partnership with EbonyLife TV. It was actually the first ever independent production to be commissioned by the company. It’s also a loose continuation of Gbomo-Gbomo Express – a spin off, so to speak. Without giving too much away, the TV series Married To The Game starts where the feature film, Gbomo Gbomo Express ends. Yes, I am creative like that!   CN: About Gbomo Gbomo Express, what was the inspiration behind the making of the movie? WB: The initial kidnap idea came when I overheard family members recounting a real life kidnap of a couple coming out of a nightclub. I thought it was crazy and could make an interesting film. I’m a big fan of crime films/film noirs etc, so I just took some of my other ideas I had been working on, merged them and began to develop.   CN: I heard the movie was shot in Nigeria. Is this true and which locations were used?‎ WB: Yes, the film was shot entirely in Lagos, by all Nigerian cast and crew – and we’re very proud of that. Some scenes were shot in Computer Village, Ikeja, MVP (nightclub/restaurant) and D’Place, VI (nightclub) amongst a few other places. The lion share of the rest of the film was shot in an abandoned building at Ebute Metta. This was our base; which we also converted into a studio and production hub. A few of the key sets in the film were built at this location; our production design team thrived on making the most innovative use of the available space.   CN: How long did it take to produce the movie? WB: We initially scheduled 14 days for the shoot, but we ended up filming for 18 days. Post-production took another 3 months.   CN: How much did it cost to make the movie? WB: I really can’t say at this time. Let me pay my taxes first.   CN: What challenges were encountered while shooting? WB: All sorts: losing our original DOP and sound recordist within the first two days of shooting, having to re-cast Sound Sultan and Lilian Esoro’s roles due to sudden and unforeseen complications in their schedules. Having only one of our two cameras available to shoot for half of the time we were on set. Also loss of location – we had planned to shoot a major scene on the railway tracks in Ebuta Metta, unfortunately after being given permission to shoot we were told on the day that we were not allowed anymore. That was my biggest regret as the location was visually stunning. So many challenges to list but we adapted, as all filmmakers do, and the challenges went unnoticed.   CN: When and where can we see the movie? WB: It’s in cinemas now – everyone needs to believe the hype about this proudly Nigerian film and GO WATCH!! It’s the film of the year!!    

 Behind-the-scenes pictures: