Ojinika Obiekwe: Behind The Stories – 12 Years & Counting | Meeting Julia Roberts

Ojinika Obiekwe‘s vivacious spirit is evident when she gets in front of the camera. This hardworking and professional journalist, has worked for the past 12 years wearing multiple hats just to get the job needs to be done.  At BellaNaija, while we seek to entertain and educate, we also hope to inspire our readers and show them that there are people who keep striving  to make a difference in their chosen careers. In this vein, we spoke with Oji and shared her story with you.{Click here if you missed it}.

As she looks back on her journey so far, she has chosen to share 12 memorable stories from her career. As she recalls her growth path and the lessons she has learned, she hopes to reach as many people as she forges ahead to an even brighter future.

Read part VIII of her chronicles below:

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Remember when people would ask what you’d like to be when you grow up? Most of the time, I would say I want to be a journalist.
That’s just most of the time…
Sometimes the movies my siblings and I watched as kids would make us change our career goals.
I remember my sister saying she wants to become a cop so she can meet Officer Mahoney from “Police Academy.”
I guess they were such good actors that for some reason we thought these characters existed in real life.
My sister’s choice wasn’t way that out there, considering what mine was.

I, being the strange little kid that I was, wanted to become a prostitute. Yup, a prostitute.
If you’re wondering who in the world would ever think that and why? Who? Me; Why? “Pretty Woman”

So after seeing the movie I was sure that Richard Gere and I were meant to be and that I would marry him (no shame)
I didn’t think of the age difference or the fact that his character in that movie was not real.
But what do I know?

All I knew was that I had a plan…I’d become a prostitute and go to the same area where he picked up Julia Roberts’ character; he’ll see me; fall in love with me and save me from the streets.
This was the plan.
And I would tell myself that I’m only there to meet Richard Gere and I wouldn’t “do anything” with anyone till he meets me and marries me.

I still haven’t met Richard Gere. (Crossing my fingers that it’ll happen soon.)
But I did meet and interview Julia Roberts last December along with the cast of the movie “August Osage County”
And yes, I told her my “prostitute story.”

Not right off the bat…I’m not that crazy.
I was wearing a cast because I had injured my wrist and she asked what happened.
I said it’s nothing really, it just started hurting and the doctor on our show told me to wear it for support
And she said ‘if people ask you what happened, tell them you got in a fight with Merryl Streep” – who’s her co-star in the movie, but wasn’t there because she was on location for another movie.

Anyway, so after we talked about the crazy movie about the most dysfunctional family ever; I told her my “prostitute” story.
It went like this:
Me: Okay,I have to tell you this…
Julia Roberts: What?
Me: I grew up in Nigeria and I watched ‘Pretty Woman’ a lot; and after seeing it, I told myself I had to become a prostitute when I grow up.
Julia Roberts: (laughs) so you can meet Richard Gere?
Me: Yeah, how do you know?
Julia Roberts: Richard would be the only reason you’d want to become one
Me: I also told Gary Marshall (he directed “Pretty Woman”) the story when he was on our show and he said “Oh lord, that was not the intention”…
I then told her I told him I knew that, but he shouldn’t worry because I never became one…at least not yet (haha)

I didn’t put all that in the piece because it just would be out of place
And plus, I just wanted to make it about the current movie I was interviewing them about
It was a large cast and I figured it wouldn’t add anything special to the story, so there was no need for that.
But if you think your family drives you nuts; then go see this movie.

You’ll have a renewed sense of appreciation for your so-called crazy family.
First, watch the interview. Consider it the movie preview.
Enjoy 🙂