Richard E. Grant (1) (1957–)

Diary entries from the days of making Wah-Wah, Grant's semi-autobiographical directorial debut, from the first pitch, through filming in Swaziland, to the day the final product got a distributor. Along with the usual ups and downs of trying to put together a film, Grant also had to deal with a producer who was incompetent, unprofessional, and, worst of all, convinced of her own brilliance; that the film got made at all and managed to be pretty good, too, is a testament to Grant, the cast, and the crew who persevered despite the myriad troubles caused by the producer.

Grant's narration is a delight, and his genuine gratitude toward the people who worked so hard on the film really shines through.… (more)

I must confess, I only know Richard E Grant from Persuasion and The Scarlet Pimpernel, only one of which I actually enjoyed! I don't think I've watched any of his films, including Withnail and I. After reading his book, however, I think I can forgive him for his involvement in The Scarlet Pimpernel and will have to check out his filmography - he sounds like a lovely man, thoroughly unfazed by celebrity (while starstruck over Barbra Streisand!) and devastated by the loss of his wife, voice coach Joan Washington, in 2021.

I was expecting the standard autobiography/memoir format, starting with the actor's childhood in Swaziland and following his path to fame in the UK, but the diagnosis of his wife's stage 4 lung cancer in 2021 and her death eight months later makes this more of a posthumous love story (and medical journal in places). Taken from Richard E Grant's diaries, which he has written since he was ten years old, 'after waking up on the back seat of a car to witness my mother bonking my father’s best friend on the front seat in 1967', the chapters alternate between Joan's illness, treatment and loss in 2021 and anecdotes from his forty year career, including pleading with Joan to smooth out his accent when he first arrived in London in 1982, his various film roles from Withnail to The Spice Girls Movie - and onto Persuasion in 2021, which I loved, yah boo sucks to the Austen snobs - and various award ceremonies, including the Oscars. There is a lot - like A LOT - of name dropping here, which is understandable for an actor who counts Tom Hanks, Nigella Lawson and Emma Thompson among his friends, but I did get a little bored with the constant tributes. I don't think he has a bad word to say about anyone, and if he does, he doesn't name names!

I felt like I got to know and like Mr Grant after reading his and Joan's story in a day, which is all I ask of a biography, and of course her inevitable but tragic death was absolutely heart wrenching to read, happening in 'real time' from the actor's diary entries.

Onto Withnail and Can You Forgive Me? now, I think!… (more)

As somebody who is generally interested in Hollywood, but couldn't care less about celebrity gossip, this still managed to hit a sweet spot with me in terms of being the story, largely, of a witty, attentive, nice guy cataloging the weirdest behavior of a species (directors, writers and actors, all) that we will never ever have to meet or see. It's not mean, as such, but often has a tone of bewilderment in the face of what happens.

Like [b:The Kid Stays in the Picture|44891|The Kid Stays in the Picture|Robert Evans|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349000997s/44891.jpg|44213], but written by a nice guy without ego, and unafraid to name names of people who behave nicely as well as badly. And the Hudson Hawk section, should one like that movie, is worth several times the value of the book by itself.… (more)