Ghanaian filmmaker and director, Lilwin, has revealed the behind-the-scenes challenges encountered during the production of his latest movie, ‘A Country Called Ghana’.
Initially, the project was intended to feature an all-Ghanaian cast, but Lilwin said they later decided to cast some Nigerians for broader international appeal, particularly for distribution on platforms like Netflix.
As a result, he proposed the inclusion of two Nigerian actors, Charles Anwurum and Victor Osuagwu, popularly known as ‘Awilo Sharp Sharp’.
In an interview with Hitz FM, Lilwin clarified that Ramsey Nouah was an afterthought after the original lead cast withdrew from the project just 10 days before shooting was scheduled to commence.
He revealed that he had casted a “light skinned Ghanaian actor who is a superstar” for the role and even negotiated the fee.
“We had sent him the script and had series of dialogues with him and he had even named his price. This actor even submitted his measurement and we had sewn all his costumes for the filming. But when he saw that some Nigerians had come on board, he reached out to cancel the deal because he said he considered our budget, but since we were able to fly Nigerians into the country for the same project, he felt we could have done better with his payment”
Nonetheless, LilWin said they made another bargain and an agreement was reached, yet the light-skinned lead continued to make unfavorable adjustments to their initially agreed plan.
“The movie was to be shot in 21 days, but the lead actor’s scene was just for 10 days. Even after negotiation, the Ghanaian actor said he cannot work on weekends so he will be on set for just 8 days. Initially, I thought he wanted to make more monetary demands so I was ready, but he started becoming difficult to work with due to his many restrictions.”
It is for these reasons, Lilwin said he made the decision to terminate their deal and seek alternative options and ultimately casted Ramsey Nouah.
He described the process of getting Ramsey on board as smooth; negotiations were made and Ramsey agreed to the terms laid out by the production team. With half of the payment secured, Ramsey traveled to Ghana to collaborate on the project.
Asked to name the “light-skinned Ghanaian actor” who gave him a tough time, Lilwin revealed he will only do so following the premiere of the movie.