Wah-Wah (film)

In this semi-autobiographical tale of his childhood in Swaziland during the last days of the British Empire in Africa in the 1960s, Grant relates the story of Ralph Compton, whose family's disintegration mirrors the end of British rule. After witnessing his mother's adultery with his father's best friend, Ralph must survive not only boarding school but also his beloved father's remarriage to Ruby, a fast-talking American Airlines flight attendant, and his father's gradual descent into alcoholism.

Grant initially wrote the film loosely based on his childhood, after a screenwriter recommended he write a screenplay after reading his memoirs of his Withnail and I experiences. The first meeting with a producer took place in 1999 and the film took almost seven years from then to complete.^[4] Grant initially had trouble securing actors; Rachel Weisz, Toni Collette, Meg Ryan, Emmanuelle Béart, Ralph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons all turned down roles. Julie Walters was eventually the first actor to be signed. Grant intended for the part of Ralph to be played by two actors but the casting director, Celestia Fox, insisted on one actor. During the casting sessions, Grant noticed the similarity between Zac Fox and Nicholas Hoult and persuaded Celestia Fox to cast them. The part of the father was meant to be younger but, as all the actors asked in that age range passed on the role, an older actor (Gabriel Byrne) was chosen. After the original producer left the project due to a career change, Grant was approached by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar to produce the project, a decision he later came to regret.^{[citation needed]}

The film was the first to have been shot in Swaziland. Filming began in July 2004 and took place over seven weeks and post-production took place in England and France.

Wah-Wah received its premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and received a special Toronto International Film Festival screening in September 2005.^[5] Grant also kept a diary of his experiences of the film, later published as a book, The Wah-Wah Diaries, which was met positively by the critics, many of whom were impressed at the honesty of the tale, especially in regard to his frictional relationship with the "inexperienced" producer.^[6][7][8] Grant mentioned in subsequent interviews that she was a "control freak out of control" and that he would "never see her again as long as [he] lives".^[9][10] In a BBC interview, he again mentioned his "disastrous" relationship with Mention-Schaar, relating that he received just five emails in the last two months of pre-production from her, that she rarely turned up on the set, and that she failed to obtain clearance for either the song rights or to film in Swaziland (without the knowledge of Grant, who eventually was forced to meet the King of Swaziland to seek clemency).