Tobias Akinbobo

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Tobias Akinbobo
TobiasAkinbobo.jpg
Born
Tobias Akinbobo

June 2
NationalityNigerian
CitizenshipNigerian
Occupation
  • Filmmaker
  • Editor
  • Producer
  • Director
Notable work
Who Stabbed Colonel Felix
Faster Faster Angry Angry
Medieval Kingdom of Kingdoms
Outlaw Killer XIV

Tobias Akinbobo is a Nigerian filmmaker, broadcast technology consultant, and director. His production company, Fantastic Egusi Media, has produced more than 30 films since 2016.

He made his feature length directorial debut with Who Stabbed Colonel Felix? (2016). He has since written and directed such films as Faster Faster Angry Angry (2018), and the sequel Even Faster Faster More Angry Angry (2028), as well as contributing to television shows such as Medieval Kingdom of Kingdoms (2019-2021), Love & Fufu (2029), and Jollof Wars (2031). In 2033, Akinbobo directed the final instalment of the Outlaw Killer franchise; Outlaw Killer XIV: Last of a Dying Breed. The movie's success led to Fantastic Egusi Media and all subsidiaries merging with 187 Pictures to form Flying Thunder Studios.

Early life and education

Tobias Akinbobo was born in Lagos State, Nigeria. He attended Saint Agnes Primary School, Maryland, Lagos and Maryland Comprehensive High School, Maryland, Lagos, Nigeria. He studied Finance at Kwara State Polytechnic, and moved to the United Kingdom. While in the UK, he earned a Master's degree in Business Analytics from Loughborough University, on a sponsorship from his employer. Despite being in stable employment, Akinbobo could not settle in England and decided to move to Kampala, Uganda, believing it had great potential for a startup business.

Career

Akinbobo's career in the creative industry started when he incidentally met the film producer/director, Caroline Ndagire. Their friendship sparked a curiosity in him, and he would complete an Advanced Certificate in Filmmaking, before taking a junior role at MegaViz Productions. At MegaViz, he gained exposure to TV and film production, while learning about special effects. After three years there, he took a job with Reuters News Agency, as a news stringer, covering breaking news stories across Uganda. It was while working for Reuters that Akinbobo met Babatunde Warrington, and the younger man's enthusiasm was infectious.

In the months that followed, Akinbobo and Warrington co-wrote and filmed a short movie, Speed & Fury, about street racing in Kampala, on a tiny budget. Speed & Fury was toured around Kampala on limited screenings at selected cinemas – a deliberate marketing ploy by Akinbobo – and its popularity led to strong profits. These profits would allow further investment from Akinbobo, who sank a lot of his savings into acquiring facilities to shoot and produce more movies. He named his small studio "Fantastic Egusi Films". The release of Who Stabbed Colonel Felix came a year later, in 2016, to great success. However, the studio would be burned down in the aftermath, and with it, the master copy of Speed & Fury.

After seeing his dream burned to the ground, Akinbobo returned to Nigeria, along with Warrington, to start again. Purchasing a small facility in Calabar, he set about recreating Speed & Fury but this time as a feature length movie: Faster Faster Angry Angry. It took five months to rewrite the script, and another nine to cast, film and edit the movie. After its release, Akinbobo was in demand, but remained independent, and turned his eye to television series. Investing much of the profit from Faster Faster Angry Angry into purchasing the screen rights for Martin George's four book series Kingdom of Kingdoms, Akinbobo set about expanding his empire.

The successes of the adaptation (Medieval Kingdom of Kingdoms) cemented him as one of the brightest up and coming directors in Nigeria, and helped launch the careers of several prominent actors, such as Babatunde Warrington, Blessings Okerafor Jones, and Funmilayo Ife. Even after the conclusion of the show, with his attention diverted by running a growing film studio business, Akinbobo did not direct another movie for some years, moving to the United States of America with Warrington – who had earned a scholarship to play basketball – in an attempt to make a partnership with a smaller production company in the US as a means to get a foothold in the international film industry.

In the meantime, Akinbobo would consult with directors in Nigeria who were producing films for Fantastic Egusi, while finalising the script for Even Faster Faster More Angry Angry and trying to get more exposure for Babatunde Warrington. He would succeed in the latter aim, securing a minor role for Warrington as a villain in 187 Pictures production, but little more came of it. Soon after, Warrington's basketball career would flame out after just two years in the professional leagues, and Akinbobo recognised the urgency. Hastily completing the script, and commencing production on his new film, he managed to secure a distribution deal with 187 Pictures, via Antoine Delacour, Warrington's sports agent.

The success of 'Even Faster Faster More Angry Angry' led to additional consultancy work with 187 Pictures, and eventually – at the request of Delacour; majority stakeholder in the company – Akinbobo was appointed as director for an instalment in the studio's most popular series; Outlaw Killer. The success of Outlaw Killer XIV led to further discussions with the ownership at 187 Pictures, and a mutually beneficial arrangement was agreed. Fantastic Egusi Media, and subsidiaries (Fantastic Egusi Cinematics, Fantastic Egusi Televisuals, and Fantastic Egusi Films) would merge with 187 Pictures under a new umbrella company: Flying Thunder Studios. Delacour remained chairman and majority owner, but Akinbobo would take on a sizeable stake.

Filmography

Cinema

Year Title Studio Notes
2014 Speed & Fury Master copy lost
2016 Who Stabbed Colonel Felix Fantastic Egusi Feature length directorial debut
2018 Faster Faster Angry Angry Fantastic Egusi A reworking of Speed & Fury
2024 Lottery Fantastic Egusi Consultant only
2026 Hibiscus Tea Fantastic Egusi Screenwriter only
2027 Ebola 2.0 Fantastic Egusi Screenwriter only
2028 Even Faster Faster More Angry Angry Fantastic Egusi
2033 Outlaw Killer XIV 187 Pictures

Television

Year Title Studio Notes
2019-2021 Medieval Kingdom of Kingdoms Fantastic Egusi An adaptation of Martin George's book series
2029 Love & Fufu Fantastic Egusi
2031 Jollof Wars Fantastic Egusi