As co-executive producer and the son of the central character of "Last Best Hope," Grosvenor's passion for the film is impossible to overlook. But there's a less obvious link. By his own admission he is something of a history buff. Ask him - he'll tell you, "There is hardly a chapter in the history books that I don't find utterly fascinating, but give me some 900+ page tome on military history and I get absolutely rabid!"
Grosvenor has spent some 30 years working as an art director, graphic designer, and creative director, but producing a feature-length documentary film never seemed like a suitable path. "I'm such a history nut that making a war movie was always a fantasy of mine. But it's sort of like so many copywriters that I've worked with over the years - the ones that were working on the next "Great American Novel" but could never find the time. I always thought it would remain just that - a fantasy. Then dad's story intervened. Man, did that ever set me straight!"
In addition to his role as co-executive producer, Grosvenor has steered an international group of archivists, historians, and history buffs toward the compilation of a "day-by-day" analysis of his father's peregrination within the Belgian Resistance clandestine escape and evasion organizations. "Even though we've been complimented on our tenacity in the pursuit of this dream, there were those times when it all seemed a bit foolhardy. But even when the prospects for funding the project seemed out of reach, there was always the story and the research to inspire us - to keep us going. Every clue provided in some old, forgotten document was like finding hidden treasure. And the stories they revealed were mind-boggling. My father and his helpers in the Belgian Resistance - my friends and I were writing our own history book. For a guy like me, it was heaven!"
"I've been blessed," says Grosvenor. "I've been blessed with friends and allies, here in Austin, and around the world that have come together with all of their talents to make this film happen. Ramona, Mat, Wilson. Walter in Belgium. And Michael up in Canada. I managed to hook up again with one of my earliest childhood friends, Stephen Barber, who composed and orchestrated the soundtrack. Amazing stuff! And I've been blessed with a father who was willing in his own way to lead me back to his darkest days. When there was hope, and little else. Yeah, I've been blessed."
