Author Clifford Irving in a scene from the film F for Fake.
Speaking in conjunction with the traveling exhibit, Intent to Deceive: Fakes and Forgeries in the Art World, Irving, 83, recalled his 1969 book Fake! The Story of Elmyr de Hory, the Greatest Art Forger of our Time and his involvement in Welles’ 1973 film essay.
F for Fake evolved from a François Reichenbach documentary about de Hory. Reichenbach gave the film to Welles, who shot additional footage with Reichenbach serving as cinematographer.
“It was originally a BBC documentary, and the BBC hired me on Ibiza to be their intermediary, a kind of point man. As a result, I owned part of the profits,” Irving told Sarasota. ” I like Orson’s movie a lot — it was unique, it’s stood the test of time, and it’s become a cult movie. But only the first part focused on Elmyr and me as iconoclasts in the art world. The last part is some silly business about Orson and his beautiful Hungarian girlfriend (Hungarian-Croatian actress Oja Kodar), who has a fantasy relationship with Picasso.”
Irving revealed Hollywood is interested in a feature film about de Hory, which would be based on his biography Fake!
“The movie rights to Fake! are under option to a top independent company called Anonymous Content and a producer named Steve Golin. They asked me to write the screenplay, and I did. They told me, ‘We love it, it’s great.’ But the English director they hired wanted to make it darker, a tragedy instead of an absurd comedy, and I couldn’t come to terms with that vision — which I find, ironically, to be fake — so AC has hired another screenwriter to write a second draft. They want Johnny Depp or Javier Bardem to play Elmyr. I hope the movie gets made.”
Read the full interview with Irving online at sarasotamagazine.com
[br]
_________
Post your comments on the Wellesnet Message Board.