A 2015 ad for the Indiegogo campaign.
Crowdfunding donors can look forward to a digital download of Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind on, or before, its November 2 premiere on Netflix, though it will be a longer wait for the Blu-ray and coffee table book.
Producer Filip Jan Rymsza posted an update on the Indiegogo website tonight for the nearly 2,900 contributors. It was the first since the world premiere, though he has engaged with some donors via email and Twitter.
“I’m incredibly proud of how the film turned out,” said Rymsza in his update. “Its critical reception has been very strong and it’s left festival-going audiences transfixed. I keep hearing the same feedback – that the film is an experience. It’s unlike any other film. It’s dark and dense, and at times confounding, so I’m in awe of anyone who can articulate their thoughts and feelings after a single viewing.”
He added, “The end result is not only a product of Orson’s genius, but a testament to everyone’s passion and dedication. It wouldn’t be the film that it is without editor Bob Murawski, who won the “Passion for Film” prize in Venice, and his team led by assistant editors Dov Samuel and Ray Boniker and additional editor Paul Hart, post supervisor Ruth Hasty, composer Michel Legrand, sound marvels Scott Millan and Daniel Saxlid, music editor Ellen Segal, negative cutter Mo Henry, colorist Mike Sowa, everyone at Technicolor, especially our ambassador Mark Smirnoff, Netflix… and all of YOU. We should all be very proud. We made film history.”
Much of his post focused on the promised perks for contributors.
Among the key points:
- The Maverick T-shirts, film cans, rush prints, commemorative cigars, and plush robe perks have already been honored.
- Digital downloads will be emailed by November 2.
- Posters will be shipped shortly after the premiere.
- Those waiting for the limited edition Blu-ray or DVD of the film and companion documentary They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead will have to wait longer as a delivery date has not been set. But to make it more comprehensive, it will now include the essential documentary short A Final Cut for Orson, as well a “few other, never-before-seen curios.”
- Limited theatrical runs beyond New York and Los Angeles are in the works and may include Chicago, Austin, Portland and San Francisco.
- Rymsza is in talks with publishers about the coffee book, which will include images from the José María Castellví photo collection.
During a two-month period in 2015, 2,859 people contributed $406,405 to the campaign. Donors were offered perks, ranging from digital copies of the completed film to tickets to various premieres.
The crowdfunding drive took place before Netflix signed on and bankrolled the completion, which reportedly exceeded its initial $5 million budget.
Here is the full text of the update:
Dear Contributors,
Greetings from Lyon, France, where THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND just had its French premiere.
It’s been a busy past few months, as we finished the film and prepared for the premieres in Venice, Telluride and New York.
I’m incredibly proud of how the film turned out. Its critical reception has been very strong and it’s left festival-going audiences transfixed. I keep hearing the same feedback – that the film is an experience. It’s unlike any other film. It’s dark and dense, and at times confounding, so I’m in awe of anyone who can articulate their thoughts and feelings after a single viewing.
Martin Scorsese joined us for a discussion during the New York Film Festival. He said “I was totally surprised by what I saw. It was, in turn, exhilarating and so distressing. To see (Orson), somebody you love, someone that means so much to you go through that agony, that pain.” The distress, he clarified, was the empathy he felt for Welles – for the pain he must have endured in not being able to complete the film himself. “He was pushing the boundaries of image and sound. Trying to create something new, a new form of communication.”
The end result is not only a product of Orson’s genius, but a testament to everyone’s passion and dedication. It wouldn’t be the film that it is without editor Bob Murawski, who won the “Passion for Film” prize in Venice, and his team led by assistant editors Dov Samuel and Ray Boniker and additional editor Paul Hart, post supervisor Ruth Hasty, composer Michel Legrand, sound marvels Scott Millan and Daniel Saxlid, music editor Ellen Segal, negative cutter Mo Henry, colorist Mike Sowa, everyone at Technicolor, especially our ambassador Mark Smirnoff, Netflix… and all of YOU. We should all be very proud. We made film history.
Additionally, Frank Marshall and I produced a behind-the-scenes featurette directed by Ryan Suffern titled A FINAL CUT FOR ORSON: 40 YEARS IN THE MAKING. It premiered in Telluride and will be on Netflix on November 2nd, alongside the film and documentary. It shows just how much hard work went into finishing THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and I encourage all of you to seek it out.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND will have theatrical runs in New York, Los Angeles and a few other cities, which we hope will include Chicago, Austin, Portland and the San Francisco Bay area. I hope all of you will get a chance to see it on the big screen.
Some of you joined us at the World and New York premieres, and the t-shirts, film cans, rush prints, cigars and robes have been mailed and there are more perks to come.
A link to the digital download will be emailed on or before November 2nd and the official posters will follow soon after.
As for the coffee book, I acquired the famed José María Castellví photo collection. We’re in discussion with a few publishers and remain hopeful that it will result in something worthy of your coffee tables. I will keep you updated.
Lastly, the DVD/Blu-rays. We still don’t have a delivery date, but I can share this much – in addition to THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and the documentary, THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD, it will include the behind-the-scenes featurette, A FINAL CUT FOR ORSON: 40 YEARS IN THE MAKING, and a few other, never-before-seen curios.
Sincerely,
Filip
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