Orson Welles's "The Other Side of The Wind" (IndieGoGo campaign)

[bboisvert]

Didn't see a thread about this. 24 days left to get in on it, $50 for a blu-ray and the other usual goodies...

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/f...st-film#/story

HELP FINISH ORSON WELLES FINAL UNFINISHED FILM

If you haven't heard of The Other Side of The Wind, it was supposed to be Orson Welles' comeback title. After years spent working in Europe, Orson returned to Hollywood intent on making a film about filmmaking, but managed to hit an obstacle at every turn and, although he finished shooting it, he did not finish editing and the film was never released.

The film is the epic story of film director J.J. “Jake” Hannaford, played by John Huston. In the film, Jake sets out to make his own career re-defining film, also titled 'The Other Side of the Wind '.

Orson said that the film "(was) not autobiographical" and revised the script daily on set. It was shot on a mix of 35mm, 16mm, and 8mm formats in both color and black & white.

Years later, still unfinished, The Other Side of the Wind would come to be regarded as the most celebrated film never to be released.

WHY INDIEGOGO?
To say that Orson was an innovator and a renegade would be limiting, but if we are meant to define him, he was an artist and an independent thinker. Citizen Kane was his first and only true experience crafting his cinema without outside interference. Orson would constantly experience the heavy scissors of studio heads and financiers time and time again on his subsequent films despite being labeled a ‘wunderkind’ for his early achievements.

Most famously he had to bear witness to The Magnificent Ambersons and Touch of Evil, which were both recut and even reshot despite Orson’s strong protests. More than 40 minutes of his cut of Ambersons is forever lost and destroyed. As for Evil, it took 40 years to restore the film based upon Welles’ famous 58-page memo.

Indiegogo and crowdfunding are extremely powerful tools and ones that we know that Orson would have basked in; equal elements of freedom as well as participation.

Orson Welles often self-financed his own film, though he would later turn to a mixture of financiers (German, Spanish and Iranian) to complete the The Other Side of the Wind . Things turned for the worse when a producer absconded funds and the Persian revolution complicated the Iranian investors involvement.

Orson came to an eventual impasse with the Paris-based, Iranian investor. During that time potential resolutions came and went, and new financiers came and went, but Orson was never given the chance to fulfill his own vision of the film. Taking admittedly mediocre acting jobs in film, television and in commercials to help finance his attempts to finish the film, Orson would spend the very last years of his life battling to regain full control of The Other Side of the Wind.

After his passing, three decades of legal feuds ensued, until 2014, when the rights issues were finally resolved by Producers Filip Jan Rymsza, Frank Marshall and Jens Koethner Kaul.
This brings us to now.

WHY IS MAKING THIS MOVIE IMPORTANT?
What if Mark Twain lost a manuscript - Or if Mozart lost his sheet music for a final Sonata? - Or a lost book of poems by Walt Whitman was discovered hidden away in a dusty attic?

Would you want to see that art realized?

The Other Side of the Wind is an important film that explores the myth of the Hollywood, macho director, the avant-garde movement of the 1970s and the culture of celebrity and its sycophants. It is material the remains as prescient today as it did forty-five years ago.

Very rarely do we also have an opportunity to see something new from that Era that hasn't been seen, even more so to have it directed by the late, great Orson Welles.


This film is a piece of film archeology, without The Other Side of the Wind - Orson's final film - we'll never fully grasp the whole body of his work and understand his legacy.

This is not a restoration or a re-release. The Other Side of the Wind is a NEW FILM, and it can only exist with your help.



Through the power and support of Orson’s most loyal fans, cinephiles and art lovers everywhere, we can deliver on what was once deemed undeliverable –– Orson Welles’ final creative vision.

[Bucky]

There was a thread about this in the Movies section (link in signature)

[MTRodaba2468]

Originally Posted by Bucky

There was a thread about this in the Movies section (link in signature)

*shrug*

I wasn't aware of it until I saw this thread. Went ahead and donated to get a Blu-Ray, too...

[Bucky]

Originally Posted by MTRodaba2468

*shrug*

I wasn't aware of it until I saw this thread. Went ahead and donated to get a Blu-Ray, too...

Another thread about this is not a bad thing. The more people who can be made aware of this the better.

[noirjunkie]

According to this article, they dropped the goal from $2 million to $1 million because other investors will match the $1 million and bring up the total to their original goal.

Everyone, if they have the money, should donate at least a few bucks to this project. It's a chance to see the final work of one of film history's most influential minds.

And thanks, Bucky, for adding the link to your signature and spreading the word.

[MouseHouse55]

Finally, a new and very positive update!

"

Dear Contributors,

My sincere apologies for the long silence.

At long last, I’m thrilled to share with you the news that Netflix has acquired global rights and will finance the completion and restoration of The Other Side of the Wind. Working closely with Netflix, Producer Frank Marshall and I will oversee the restoration and completion of the film with consultation from Peter Bogdanovich.

With Netflix’s unparalleled global reach, The Other Side of the Wind will be Orson Welles’ widest release ever… and, hopefully, introduce a whole new generation of film lovers to his work.

However, given Netflix’s unique business model, making this happen meant renegotiating certain rights deals. Once I engaged in those talks, I was unable to comment on the state of the film, hence the extended silence. All told, the deals took a year and a half to close, but, in the end, every painstaking moment was worth the effort. I needed to take a step back so that we could take this giant leap forward.

Thanks to your contributions, we were able to continue working throughout this time, prepping the negative outside of Paris... and I can confirm that the negative is now in Los Angeles and work will commence immediately.

I must commend everyone on your patience and thank you for your faith, trust and commitment. I hope you are as proud as I am to be part of something historic... and now, because of our collective efforts, the film will be seen the world over.

For those of you worried about your perks, we’ll start to roll those out in the coming weeks… and, in a rare move, Netflix is honoring our commitment to you by allowing the production of a limited-edition DVD/Blu-ray, just for our contributors.

More to come… more frequently.

Sincerely,

Filip"

[Antiochus]

So no Blu-ray for non-contributors? That sucks, I only recently found out about the campaign.
(On the other hand, it's great that the film will be finished and released at all.)

[ElectricPeterTork]

Originally Posted by MoneyLover

So no Blu-ray for non-contributors? That sucks, I only recently found out about the campaign.
(On the other hand, it's great that the film will be finished and released at all.)

Hopefully, they'll produce one eventually.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by ElectricPeterTork

Hopefully, they'll produce one eventually.

I'm so glad I backed this, as it guarantees my copy of the blu-ray. I had heard rumblings of this deal for a while, but it's wonderful to get an official confirmation.

[javi92]

This is indeed good news. I had pretty much written my contribution off at this point.

[noirjunkie]

This now has a (general) tentative release date: 2018.

More good news: a feature-length documentary that charts the final fifteen years of Welles' life will be included with the blu-ray. This comes from a statement from Filip Jan Rymsza in a message to campaign backers:

Today we unveiled another piece of the Orson Welles puzzle.

Academy Award-winning documentarian Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom, The Best of Enemies) will be directing a companion documentary which will explore Orson’s return to Hollywood during the period he was working on The Other Side of the Wind:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/m...wind.html?_r=5

The documentary, tentatively titled They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (which references the Welles quote “God, how they'll love me when I'm dead!”) will make use of The Other Side of the Wind outtakes and other, archival materials, and Netflix will release the two films in tandem in 2018.

We incorporated this documentary into our rights renegotiation and felt that its prospects were well worth the extra effort even if it extended negotiations.

For those of you getting the limited-edition DVD/Blu-ray, thanks to Morgan and Netflix, we’ll be including the doc alongside the film.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

This now has a (general) tentative release date: 2018.

More good news: a feature-length documentary that charts the final fifteen years of Welles' life will be included with the blu-ray. This comes from a statement from Filip Jan Rymsza in a message to campaign backers:

Did Welles leave any notes behind on how he wanted this edited?

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Did Welles leave any notes behind on how he wanted this edited?

Yes. He had already edited forty minutes of the film, and he apparently left behind detailed notes about how to edit the rest of it.

[noirjunkie]

Two updates:

1. The film will have its world premiere on Friday, August 31 in Venice.

2. The film and the accompanying making-of documentary, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, will be available on Netflix on November 2. Hopefully, the blu-ray release of both films for Indiegogo backers will soon follow.

[reason108]

Exciting news that there is an actual release date available, and so soon, too.

[Richard--W]

I wish I had known about this effort sooner, I would have donated with a glad heart.

But I am delighted to learn a restoration is being concluded and that Orson Welles' last film will finally be seen.

[javi92]

I had written off my contribution to this campaign a while ago. Would be pleasantly surprised if it gets fulfilled in the end.

[78deluxe]

Wish I'd known about this as well. Too bad it isn't getting a wider format release. But this is one of the only times nexflix has peaked my interest.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

Wish I'd known about this as well. Too bad it isn't getting a wider format release. But this is one of the only times nexflix has peaked my interest.

It might get a wider release eventually.

Also, I know I'm being pedantic, but

[Show spoiler]Netflix has piqued your interest.

[klauswhereareyou]

I hope this film ends up being more than just a curiosity.