Dear Tony, Yes, we are ready to explain to you why we refused to take part in the promotion of our book Orson Welles au travail when it was published in France in 2006. The text is 100% ours, except the one on the jacket. However, our original concept for the illustrations was rejected by […]
If you have followed the legal battles revolving around Orson Welles’ work in recent years, then you’ll be aware that Welles’ youngest daughter Beatrice has been suing Turner Entertainment for the rights to Citizen Kane, Magnificent Ambersons, and Journey Into Fear, claiming copyright over said works due to some unearthed contract. A recent trawl through […]
I’m sure most of you are aware that last year the most definitive study we are likely to ever get about Welles’s Brazilian/Latin American period was published: “It’s All True: Orson Welles’s Pan-American Odyssey”, by Catherine Benamou, (University of California Press ISBN-13: 978-0520242487) . Here’s a link to a terrific interview with Ms. Benamou about […]
The Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California is presenting a nearly complete retrospective of films directed by Orson Welles, including rare screenings of Chimes at Midnight and The Immortal Story. Unfortunately, these two films will be shown in 16mm versions. Also, there will be no rare material from the Munich archive, and quite sadly, no […]
We all know Orson Welles never won as Oscar as best director, but let’s face it, given all the great directors who haven’t won Oscars, it’s really more of a honor to be on the long list of Oscar losers than among those who have actually won. Besides Welles, the list includes Hitchcock, Hawks, Kubrick, […]
Joe McBride, a great friend of Wellesnet sends along the sad news that the beloved wife of cinematographer Gary Graver has passed away. Joe was good friends with both Gary and Jillian, and introduced me to Jillian at the Tiburon Film Festival a few years ago, where we had a marvelous time together talking about Orson Welles. […]
SALE IS NOW OVER The University of California Press is having a big sale at the moment, with plenty of great stuff available for very cheap prices. There are a handful of Welles and Welles-related titles in there as well: Catherine Benamou’s It’s All True: Orson Welles’s Pan-American Odyssey (just $12.95 hardback or paper, regular […]
Craig Weinstein and Drew Reiber, two Wellesnet correspondents in Florida wrote to report that Peter Bogdanovich appeared at the Florida Film Festival in Orlando last night (March 30th) and announced that Showtime’s long simmering deal to finance the completion of The Other Side of the Wind has finally been consummated. Apparently the contract was as […]
Gary Graver’s memorial tribute will take place at the Egyptian Theater on Hollyood Blvd. Sunday January 21 at 2:00 pm It is FREE and open to all. Gary Graver Memorial Tribute Independent filmmaker and cinematographer, Gary Graver toiled away on all different kinds of movies during his long and prodigious career – exploitation, […]
Your humble, often absent webmaster here, hoping you had a happy holiday season and new year and all that. Being a new year, I thought I would throw out a few things in regards to the state of the site and its status in the coming year. If youve read any number of previous […]
Many of Wellesnets friends and contributors will be speaking at what promises to be an exceptionally exciting three-day event on Orson Welles career in Europe at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. Entitled The Transitional Orson Welles, the symposium will focus on Welles filmmaking inEurope from 1948 onward. The event will be taking place at […]
Wellesnet mourns the passing of Gary Graver, who was not only a great friend and source ofinformation for Wellesnet, but a trulywonderful person. Of course, Gary was Orson Welles’s invaluable cameraman, and along with Oja Kodar, probably his most important collaborator since their first memorable meetingat the Beverly Hills Hotel in1970. We send our deepest […]
As everyone knows, Gary Graverwas loyal to Orson Welles for 15 years, often working for little or no salary. Gary survived by being the DP or director on A films, B films, and even soft-core; in other words, he was a trooper who made his living workingin thefilm industry. Heworked on these otherfilmswhile waiting for […]
BY LAWRENCE FRENCH David Thomson mentions the recent conversation I had with him in a San Francisco bookstore�(aboutThe Other Side of the Wind)�in his Nov 7th piece�appearing�in The Guardian. In it, he argues�for�cutting back on the glut of film festivals�so we don’t have to make all those demanding choices about�which movies we�can�now actually see, instead of […]
Click photos for large versions. ‘Druga Strana Wellesa’ or “The Other Side of Orson Welles” is a terrific documentary. I’ve recentlyreceived a copy from one of the directors, Daniel Rafaelic (Leon Rizmaul is the other one)and it’s a very nice addition to that group of documentaries focussing on Welles’s work in other countries, […]
Here’s a rare�treat.� A long scene from Orson Welles script of… � ��� THE DREAMERS (1982)� Directed by Orson Welles. Screenplay by Orson Welles and Oja Kodar, based on The Dreamers and Echoes by Isak Dinesen.� Cinematography (in color) by Gary Graver.� Music by Erik Satie.� � Starring Orson Welles as Marcus Kleek� Oja Kodar […]
To completethe series of poems about Orson WellesI’ve includedtwo selections from one of Welles favorite poets, Mr. Robert Graves. Both of these poems would seem to fit neatly into theWelles canon, as 1915 is the year of his birth and JONAH obviously needs no explaination, since Melville’s MOBY DICK was quite an obssession withWelles. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ […]
Shout! Factory will release a 4-DVD set on September 12thof the Dick Cavett TV showfocusing on 15 Legendary Hollywood actors and directors.This 4-DVD set will contain 12 episodes featuring: Directors: Orson Welles, John Huston, Frank Capra, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich,Mel Brooks and Alfred Hitchcock. Actors: Katharine Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Bette Davis, Groucho Marx, Robert Mitchum, […]
Robert Gitt is the senior film preservation officer at the UCLA film archive, who over the years has been responsible for many important film restoration projects, including the 1980 restoration of Orson Welles original 108-minute version of Macbeth. I talked with Mr. Gitt last year about both his original restoration of Macbeth, and thanks to […]
I might have mentioned this previously, but it’s worth making sure: the Bernard Herrmann site is up and running again, after being in hibernation for a few years. If you’re a Herrmann fan, this is the place to go: http://www.bernardherrmann.org/news/ Tony
