By RAY KELLY

The fact that the word Wellesian was added to the venerable Oxford English Dictionary in 2018 was hardly surprising.

Orson Welles ― who has been dead for 33 years ― had one of the best years of his career in 2018.

This could have been the year his fans simply reflected on the boy wonder’s stunning success 80 years earlier with the infamous The War of the Worlds radio broadcast or marked the 50th anniversary of The Immortal Story and 60th of Touch of Evil.

Instead, 2018 was the year we finally saw a “new” Orson Welles movie, a stellar home video release of a classic film, three informative documentaries on his work and much, much more.

Here are a few of the highlights of the past year:

• The Other Side of the Wind ― Peter Bogdanovich ― with considerable help from producers Frank Marshall and Filip Jan Rymsza, editor Bob Murawski and Netflix― made good on a four decades old promise to complete Welles’ unfinished take down on Hollywood. The result is a film that challenges audiences and been included on three dozen Best Films of 2018 lists. It was featured at the Venice, Telluride and New York film festivals. Fans would be remiss not to thank the rights holders ―  Oja Kodar, Beatrice Welles and the family of the late Mehdi Boushehri― for agreeing to the completion. And kudos to the post-production team, whose members included Ruth Hasty, Mo Henry, Dov Samuel, Scott Millan, Gregg Rudloff, Daniel Saxlid, John Knoll, Joe Ceballos, Brian Meanley, Michel Legrand, Ellen Segal, Alyssa Swanzey and Frank Lomento.
• The Magnificent Ambersons― Along with the completion of The Other Side of the Wind, nothing has generated as much chatter in Wellesnet’s forums as seeing a decent home video release of Welles’ sophomore film. Thanks to The Criterion Collection, we now have a gorgeous 4K transfer with illuminating commentaries and features from “The A-Team” of Welles scholars: Robert Carringer, Joseph McBride, James Naremore and Jonathan Rosenbaum. Tip of the hat to Criterion’s Issa Clubb and Peter Becker for giving fans this gem.
• Exceptional documentaries ― In any other year, the release of any one of these three documentaries would be the talk of Wellesnet. We were blessed this year with They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (Morgan Neville),  A Final Cut for Orson (Ryan Suffern) and The Eyes of Orson Welles (Mark Cousins). Neville looked back at the making of The Other Side of the Wind in the sly style of Welles’ F For Fake. Suffern provided an essential look at what it took to finish Other Wind. Cousins (working with Beatrice Welles) examined Welles’ stage and cinematic work through his seldom-seen paintings and drawings.
• Essential books ― Three books devoted to Welles caught our eye in 2018.  The collection Orson Welles in Focus (edited by James N. Gilmore and Sidney Gottlieb) brings together some of the best Welles scholars in one book. The  Too Much Johnson footage intended for a 1938 Mercury stage production is explored in the Italian language publication of Alle origini di Quarto potere. Too much Johnson: il film perduto di Orson Welles (Massimiliano Studer). The filming of  the ill-fated The Deep in Yugoslavia is chronciled in the handsome Orson Welles in Hvar (Dusko Kovacic and Daniel Rafaelic).
• Turin archive discovery ― Massimiliano Studer, co-founder of Forma Cinema, and Alessandro Aniballi, co-founder of Quinlan.it, cast a spotlight on the little-known collection at Museo Nazionale del Cinema’s Bibliomediateca Mario Gromo — the multimedia library at the National Cinema Museum in Turin. There are papers related to The Other Side of the Wind, F For Fake, The Trial, The Deep, The Immortal Story and Don Quixote, as well as unrealized movies such as Brittle Glory, Because of Cats and Soldier, Soldier.  Author Matthew Asprey Gear has combed through the archives and found what appears to be a lost English language novel by Welles and more. A thrilling find for sure.
• Stage shows ― Welles’ legacy inspired new stage and musical productions in 2018. Most notable were Orson Rehearsed, an ambitious opera by Daron Hagen; and Joel Pettigrew’s Mercury Man., which finds a 70-year-old Welles examining his life during his voice-actor work on The Transformers.
• Woodstock sculpture ― Welles considered Woodstock, Illinois, where he spent his youth, to be home. His adopted hometown continues to pay tribute to him. A bronze sculpture, created by artist Bobby Joe Scribner, now sits near the outdoor mural honoring his career. It’s a short walk from The Orson Welles Stage at the historic Woodstock Opera House.  Heartfelt thanks to Scribner, RB Thompson, Michael Stanard, Mark Adamany, Kathleen Spaltro and those who have continued to highlight the important relationship between Woodstock and Welles.

As Master Shallow might remark, “Jesus, the days that we have seen!”

On a personal note, I had (briefly) thought of packing it up this year.

The website, done right, takes a considerable amount time and energy. There have been challenges at home and work that made 2018 a less than glorious year.

However, Sally, my lovely wife of 30 years, warned me that I would regret walking away ― and as much as it pains me to admit, she is usually much wiser about things.

So, rest assured that Wellesnet will be here in 2019 to keep the flame burning and  report on new books, films and stage productions.

Finally, I would be remiss not mention just some of the many wonderful people I have met through this website and who have lent a hand by writing an article or serving as a valued sounding board, especially the great Mike Teal.

Much health and happiness in 2019 to Alberto Anile, Matthew Asprey Gear, Michael Hinerman, Larry Jackson, Josh Karp, Joseph McBride, Roger Ryan, Kathleen Spaltro, Massimiliano Studer, Todd Tarbox, Leslie Weisman and Tony Williams.

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