Monday, April 02, 2007

Other Side Of The Wind The Other Side Of Christmas?

According to The New York Sun, Orson Welles's final unfinished masterpiece - in a career pepper with unfinished masterpieces - is likely to be completed and released next year. The Other Side of the Wind has fallen into pretty safe hands, too - Peter Bogdanovich is the man with the sewing needle.

Bogdanovich has been negotiating with an unnamed cable network for seven years in order to move the film's postproduction along, and now the deal is "99.9% finished". This means work could begin very soon, and there's talk of the film being in cinemas at some point in 2008.

Up to fifty minutes of the finished film were already cut by Welles, giving Bogdanovich a good starting position. He's acting in the film though, so I hope Bogdanovich the editor doesn't indulge Bogdanovich performer.

Sadly, Gary Graver has now passed on too, so his contribution won't be possible. Nonetheless, this is all very exciting news. Even if the film turns out to be a little bloated, confused and indulgent (
Excerpt from the piece: Welles's footage is believed to be purposefully rough) it should still be dazzling and inventive.

Any other real fears? Here's an excerpt that should clue you in:

Mr. Bogdanovich said he will work in a supervisory capacity on the editing of the film and is considering adding a further framing device to the story, depicting the lengthy struggle to get The Other Side of the Wind to the screen. The credits will, however, read "Directed by Orson Welles," according to Mr. Bogdanovich.

Frank Marshall, a line producer on the original production, could also be involved in the new release, according to Mr. Bogdanovich.

No comments: