Ghanaian filmmaker and director Lil Win has disclosed some challenges he faced during the production of his latest movie, ‘A Country Called Ghana.’
Initially planned to feature an all-Ghanaian cast, the project evolved to include Nigerian actors for broader international appeal, especially for platforms like Netflix.
Lil Win proposed the inclusion of Nigerian actors Charles Anwurum and Victor Osuagwu, also known as ‘Awilo Sharp Sharp’.
In an interview with Hitz FM, Lil Win explained that Ramsey Nouah was a last-minute addition after the original lead actor withdrew from the project just 10 days before filming began.
He revealed that he had cast 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 a series of dialogues with him and he had even named his price. This actor even submitted his measurements 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, Lil Win said they made another bargain and reached an agreement, yet the light-skinned lead continued to make unfavourable 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 the negotiation, the Ghanaian actor said he cannot work on weekends so he will be on set for 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, that Lil Win said he decided to terminate their deal, seek alternative options and ultimately cast Ramsey Nouah.
He described the process of getting Ramsey Nouah 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, the Nigerian actor travelled to Ghana to collaborate on the project.
Asked to name the “light-skinned Ghanaian actor” who gave him a tough time, Lil Win revealed he would only do so following the premiere of the movie.
