THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND Thread - 2002-2014 discussions

[Peter Tonguette]

This is probably >the< ultimate can-of-worms topic on this forum, but...

What is the current status of "The Other Side of the Wind"? I've heard Showtime is interested in completing it with Graver/Bogdanovich's involvement. I've heard there are plans to release it as a documentary with extensive clips, ala "It's All True." I even recall a brief article that mentioned that Donald Cammell's former editor (his name escapes me at the moment) was going to complete the editing.

So. Has there been any progress on getting this film released and/or does anyone know if any of the above stories are true?

Peter

[ToddBaesen]

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Gary Graver is currently working on a deal with Showtime to get THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND shown there.

But guess what?

Miss Beatrice wants a big fat payment to allow it to be shown! (Even though she has no rights to the film).

For more details and an interview with Curtis Harrington on the problems Beatrice is presenting see the posts on the other OSOTW page in this forum.

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[Jeff Wilson]

According to info on the Mobius Home Video Forum, a deal between Showtime and Oja Kodar & Gary Graver to finish The Other Side of the Wind was halted by Beatrice Welles. Graver and Kodar didn't actually get to the point of starting work (which Showtime would have financed), though. So it appears that unless someone either pays Beatrice her required go-away money, or fights her in court, we'll never see OSotW.

[Harvey Chartrand]

The Curse of Orson Welles lives on 17 years after his death.
That Brazilian witch doctor put a hex on Welles that just won't quit.
Sixty years on and it just keeps going and going and going...
I consider myself fortunate to have caught the AFI Tribute to Welles in 1975, because that's all of TOSOTW I'm ever gonna see. (By the way, are these AFI awards shows available on video?)

[Cole]

There's an article on this in yesterday's edition of the Sunday Telegraph. Despite the unresolved dispute with Beatrice over the ownership rights to the film, it sounds like Oja unilaterally entered into an agreement with Showtime to finish producing the film. Beatrice, asserting her claim to the film, intervened in some fashion putting a stop to the production.

What would be real nice is if Beatrice and Oja could agree to let the production go through, with the proceeds of the film (assuming it makes a profit) going into an escrow account, trust, or be deposited with a court. That way the film gets finished, the world finally gets to see it, and the feuding parties can resume their dispute over the film profits after it's completed. This seems like the smartest option for both parties because only then will they have any real idea about the true monetary worth of the film. Unfortunately for us, there must be such deep enmity between the parties that they can't make any headway on their never ending disputes.

Harvey, you may be on to something with your witch doctor theory.

[Jeff Wilson]

As I understand it, there is no issue over ownership; Welles left all unfinished works to Oja Kodar, plain and simple. Beatrice simply wants cash, as she always has. No one seems willing to spend the money to get things sorted out in court, where if the terms of the will are as clear as I've always heard, Beatrice would lose and things could proceed. But that would cost money, more than is obviously feasible for anyone so far to undertake.

And it seems as likely as peace in the Middle East for the two Welles camps to ever agree on releasing something jointly. I would think Beatrice views Kodar as the other woman who her father cheated on her mother with, and consequently is persona non grata. And she sued Gary Graver over Welles' Kane Oscar, so I think all bridges have been well and truly burned.

[Cole]

If Beatrice has no legal right to the Other Side of the Wind, how can she "halt" anyone from finishing the film? If her position is as meritless as you claim Yoko, I mean Oja, can fight tooth and nail and sock Beatrice with any litigation expenses she incurs. There isn't a jurisdiction in the United States where you can't get your attorney fees and other legal expenses from someone who pursues frivolous and vexatious litigation.

The film would be out in a matter of time if Beatrice released whatever rights she may have in the film, no doubt about that. But the odds of that happening are about as high as the odds of Oja releasing her rights in the film. That's about nil.

[Jeff Wilson]

It beats me. All I have ever read is that Welles left his unfinished work to Oja, the rest to Paola Mori, and a $10,000 bequest to Beatrice. When Mori died, Beatrice inherited her share. If that is true, then you're right, Beatrice has no leg to stand on. Now, I know that some family of celebrities have been able to sue over use of their images in commerical properties, but this isn't such an occasion, as Welles isn't in the film. I can only assume that things are either more complicated than we know, or that Kodar hasn't been inclined to do anything about it.

[jaime marzol]

....................

it happens all the time. a person with no claim, or legal right to something, if he has enough cash, can file motion after motion, dragging the whole thing through the coutrs for years. if showtime wanted to spend that legal battle cash to show it, then spend a few more years of cash getting the dirty party to court to recoup what it cost, they could win.

i have been going through the same thing over real estate for 3 1/2 years now. exact same thing.

[maxrael]

i realise i'm probably being hopelessly naive, but does anyone know a way of contacting Beatrice, by post or via e-mail, to petition her with a simple heartfelt plea?

atb,
max!

[Fredric]

I'm with you, Max. I'm running through possible dialogues in my head, and I've done so for months:

"Bea, why don't you just let it go?"

"What would your Father say, if he were still here?"

"You know, this is between your Mom and Orson. They've probably made up on the other side."

"His work was the most important thing to him. Why don't you honor him by letting it come out."

"Bea, you can't take it with you . . . what's the point?"

And so on...

Also, I'm trying to work that Orson quote into my next novel. It reminds me much of C.S. Lewis.

[Jeff Wilson]

You can forget any altruistic feelings where this is concerned. It's about money and personal animosity, which people don't let go of easily. Here are some relevant excerpts from the Telegraph article Cole mentioned. It gives the legal reasons Beatrice thinks she can challenge this:

THE FAMILY of Orson Welles, considered by many to be the greatest film director of all time, is locked in a bitter legal wrangle over the release of one of his previously unseen masterpieces.

Beatrice Welles, his daughter, has blocked an attempt by Oja Kodar, a former girlfriend, to gain a cinema release for The Other Side of the Wind, the project Welles was working on when he died aged 70 from a heart attack in October 1985.

The two women are in dispute over who owns the rights to the two-hour film, considered by the handful of people who have seen it to be one of the Oscar winner's greatest achievements.

In 1970, when work began on the film, Welles, the director of classics such as like Citizen Kane and The Lady from Shanghai, was considered unbankable by Hollywood and had not made a studio film for 13 years.

Showtime, an American cable television company, which is planning a cinema and television release for the film, has agreed to meet the cost of editing the film in line with the director's wishes.

There are now fears, however, that work on the project may never get underway because of the dispute between the two women.

Miss Kodar, a film-maker who lived with Welles for more than 20 years and was his constant companion in his final years, insists that the director bequeathed her the rights to all of his unseen work.

Miss Kodar, who now lives in Zagreb in Croatia, said: "Orson left me the rights to all of his unseen films in his will. He entrusted them to me because he knew I would do all I could to ensure they could find a public. Miss Welles knows that and she did not contest the will at the time. I think it is unfair that she is trying to block the film."

Miss Welles, who was the director's daughter from his third marriage to Paola Mori, the Countess de Girfalco, disputes Miss Kodar's claim. Miss Welles insists that she is responsible for the director's estate and that under she is the rightful owner of the film under United States copyright laws which were introduced to protect the moral rights of the author.

Miss Kodar said: "It is heartbreaking for me. I have worked for years to get this film onto cinema screens. I know in my heart it is what Orson wanted."

Miss Kodar has the support of many of his friends including Bogdanovich and Gary Graver, a cinematographer both of whom collaborated on the film.

Miss Welles, however, has dismissed the agreement with Showtime as meaningless under Californian law, which recognises only the rights of immediate family.

The dispute is an increasingly bitter one with both sides throwing insults at each other. Friends of Miss Kodar have accused Miss Welles of trying to capitalise on the release of a film she has nothing to do with.

Miss Welles, however, claims that she only has her father's interests at heart and would be happy to see the film released in the right circumstances.

Thomas White, an artistic rights enforcement consultant who is representing Miss Welles said: "Miss Kodar may think that she has optioned the film to Showtime but the simple fact is that without my client's consent the company cannot go ahead with the release of this film. As yet my client has not given that consent. Discussions are underway at the moment and she will give her final decision shortly."

He added: "Oja Kodar has nothing to do with the estate of Orson Welles. I don't accept she is the partner of Orson Welles in any sense of the word. Partnership is a relationship based on equality. How can she be equal to one of the world's greatest film talents?"

Mr Graver last night told The Sunday Telegraph: "I am not going to say it is a film as good as Citizen Kane because they are two very different films and I don't think they can be compared that easily."

He added: "I shot every frame of the movie and I think I am safe in saying its a movie worthy of Orson Welles. Oja and I have been working very hard to try and get a cinema release for the film. As far as I am concerned she owns all the rights to Orson's work including this one."

The release of an entire, as yet unseen film, by Orson Welles is likely to generate enormous interest and could be potentially lucrative.

This is not the first time Beatrice Welles has taken legal action in an effort to protect the memory of her father.

In 1998 the Cannes film festival had to cancel the premiere of the Touch of Evil re-release after she threatened it with legal action.

A few months later, she began court proceedings against Mr Graver, disputing his claim that her father had given him his Oscar statuette for Citizen Kane as a gift.

article by Chris Hastings, Telegraph, 8/18/02



Edited By Jeff Wilson on Aug. 20 2002 at 10:18

[Le Chiffre]

Unbelievable.

[Harvey Chartrand]

It's All True.

[Le Chiffre]

Unfortunately.

I'm trying to put myself in Beatrice's shoes. I suppose as owner of the O.W. estate she feels she is entitled to a piece of any Welles action going down anywhere in the U.S.. It may not be just about the money, but about the power and influence too.