The Girl from Ipanema (shot in Rome in 1970, unfinished)

[ilpjohn]

Have you ever seen The Girl from Ipanema?
(It seems it was to be a part of Orson's Bag)

[Glenn Anders]

I think we need a little more information.

Vinícius de Moraes, the Brazillian artist who wrote the lyrics for "The Girl from Ipanema" (and many others), was something of a Wellsian genius, himself. He was named after a character in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo Vadis, and published his first book of poetry at age 20, before having a classical education, taking a law degree, and then beginning a long career in the Brazillian diplomatic corps. He met and became a friend of Orson Welles, when he welcomed him to Brazil in 1942 as part of his official duties. Moraes is said to have studied film with Welles and Greg Toland, when he was stationed in LA during 1947. He wrote the play on which BLACK ORPHEUS was based, a film Welles had an interest in.

But the reference to ORSON'S BAG doesn't ring a bell.

Glenn

[ilpjohn]

I know who's the guy.

But I also know that Welles shot something called The Girl from Ipanema, in 1970, in Rome (while he was editing The Deep and shooting some scenes for London episode at Safa-Palatino Studios) with Oja Kodar as leading character and De Moraes' song as soundtrack.
Like Mauro Bonanni - the italian editor, the one who owns the negatives of Don Quixote - said, the Orson's Bag episodes are not only London, Vienna, The Merchant of Venice, but also The Girl from Ipanema, maybe unfinished, and a version of The Magic Show.

So I'd like to know some more about that, if somebody could help me.

[ilpjohn]

Some scenes are used four years later in F for Fake: in the beginning and when Oja Kodar meets Picasso.
You can see Oja walking and people looking at her, and listen to The Girl from Ipanema too, while Welles' voice off says: "Her name is Oja. Oja Kodar. But this is another film", or something like that.