THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND Thread - 2015-2017

[RayKelly]

Rymsza and his team were less than honest with Welles fans and raised money under false pretenses. (They said they had all rights to the negatives, but apparently they didn't). And after taking our money, they disappeared like robbers in the night.

The producers believed the contract they had signed with Oja in October 2014 was binding when they launched Indiegogo, she does not. (The disagreement apparently centers over who was at fault -- Oja for not allowing 3rd party inspection of the negative to satisfy financiers, or the producers for not making payment despite this).
The lack of communication by the producers has been absolutely horrible, no doubt. However, I don't feel as though I have been robbed by anyone.
After going through their nine-page line item budget, it is obvious they have sunk a great deal of their own money into the project before Indiegogo.
Right now, it appears the lawyers are the only one coming out ahead.

[Wich2]

>it appears the lawyers are the only one coming out ahead.<

As one of O.W.'s favorite authors once wrote -

"The first thing we do, let's..."

[jbrooks]

Ray,

Is the following statement from the indiegogo page consistent with the truth as you understand it?

Q: Are you in possession of all the negatives and do you have all the legal rights required to make this film?
A: We own all of the rights to the negatives and they are currently being shipped over from Paris.

Did the producers ever actually own all rights to the negative? If they did, how did Oja stop them from taking it? Anyone who has bought a house knows there is a big difference between having a contract to buy a house and actually owning one. You don't own it until the closing -- when you get the deed. Even under the deal they thought they had, would the producers really have been getting all the rights? Didn't Oja retain certain distribution rights and certain rights to disapprove any shots in the film involving her nudity (which is a very significant portion of the film)? And was the print ever "being shipped"? Did Oja hijack a Fed Ex plane? Or did the producers perhaps overstate the actual degree of control they had over the negative?

[RayKelly]

Did the producers ever actually own all rights to the negative? If they did, how did Oja stop them from taking it?... Did Oja hijack a Fed Ex plane? Or did the producers perhaps overstate the actual degree of control they had over the negative?

The producers acquired the rights held by Les Films de l'Astrophore and the family of the late Mehdi Boushehri; obtained the endorsement of Beatrice Welles; and signed an agreement in October 2014 to buy the rights held by Oja Kodar. However, the deal with Kodar has never been fulfilled for reasons outlined at length in http://www.wellesnet.com/netflix-in-talks-to-complete-distribute-the-other-side-of-the-wind/. Therefore, the negative could not be removed from the lab outside Paris.

Even under the deal they thought they had, would the producers really have been getting all the rights? Didn't Oja retain certain distribution rights and certain rights to disapprove any shots in the film involving her nudity (which is a very significant portion of the film)?

From what Sasha Welles indicated, Oja Kodar had retained Croatian distribution in the October 2014 deal, but Netflix wanted global rights, and is willing to pay for that. I have not seen her contract or read a news report about a clause on nude shots. It would not be surprising or unreasonable if she requested that. It is my understanding that other actresses have such clauses about flattering/unflattering angles. (Again, I have not seen her contract and I am only speculating based on what you are saying).


In the past 18 months, I have talked to producers, Beatrice Welles, Indiegogo donors, Sasha Welles, surviving TOSOTW crew members, Welles scholars, and fellow journalists -- and the the word most often used is frustrating. If you are upset with the current situation, you can take a (very) small amount of comfort in knowing you are not alone.

[Wellesnet]

Frank Marshall: Netflix would be ‘great place’ for ‘The Other Side of the Wind’
http://www.wellesnet.com/frank-marshall-netflix-would-be-great-place-for-the-other-side-of-the-wind/

For several months, producers have been tight-lipped about the status of The Other Side of the Wind. Fans have been understandably edgy after donating $406,405 to an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign last summer to help edit the more than 40-year-old footage. In probing the lengthy delay, Wellesnet confirmed from multiple sources that the deal with Kodar had to be rewritten to include the producers' recent partnership with Netflix.

[Le Chiffre]

Someone on Facebook posted this, the best summation of the Wind situation I've seen:

[Wellesnet]

From Britain's The Independent today:

The Other Side of the Wind: The unfinished Orson Welles movie trapped in cinematic purgatory

.... Forty years after Welles finished shooting, the film is as close to being completed now as it ever has been. Kodar’s nephew Sasha Welles has confirmed that his attorney is working on a new agreement with the producers. Whether Kodar will sign off on it is, of course, another matter.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-other-side-of-the-wind-the-unfinished-orson-welles-movie-trapped-in-cinematic-purgatory-a7171761.html

[Le Chiffre]

The irony about The Other Side Of The Wind is that, this time round, there are no arguments about how the film should be finished. Bogdanovich is still expected to supervise the editing of the film.

“I have not heard from anyone that the delay is over artistic merits,” Kelly says. “No one is disagreeing over how it will be completed; nobody is disagreeing over the editing; no one is disagreeing over who will do what or who will be involved. From what I understand, the negotiating sticking points have been monetary and distribution.”

I'm sure there's probably much more to this story then meets the public eye. For example, they may say publicly that it's only about money and distribution, but I find it hard to believe that Oja doesn't want some kind of artistic control over a film she supposedly co-wrote with Welles, and also, according to Jonathon Rosenbaum, directed part of. I'm just guessing, but something tells me that, if they offered her the opportunity to do her own separate version of the film, and distribute it in her own country, she'd authorize Sasha to sign.

[Wellesnet]

Ray Kelly on "The Continuing Wait For The Other Side of the Wind":
http://www.wellesnet.com/the-continuing ... -the-wind/

Two years after plans to complete the late Orson Welles' unfinished The Other Side of the Wind were trumpeted on the front page of The New York Times, the film's negative remains unedited and locked away in a laboratory outside Paris.

Complex negotiations to overcome obstacles/challenges that emerged after that announcement have continued to drag on. The parties involved have been tight-lipped about those talks, which involve the global streaming giant Netflix.

Meanwhile, here are some recent comments from the TOSOTW Indiegogo page:

Frank Weinert (7 months ago)
The film is going to be completed. To all the cynics and bellyachers out there: get over yourselves. We’re only talking a matter of months since this campaign began. The late Gary Graver spent decades fighting for this film, and he did so at a great personal cost, which makes him a true hero, something of a cinema saint. We should honor his memory, not to mention that of the late great Mr. Welles, with those essential virtues—patience, faith, and humility. The film will be completed.

Hadrien Perrin (1 month ago)
How about we start on a 6 months based updates system ? Just in case our contributions were not spent on champagne and weed.

M.L. van Hasselt (26 days ago)
At this point I have formally requested a refund.

Michał Bajer (25 days ago)
Refund please.

Steve (23 days ago)
any updates?

M.L. van Hasselt (21 days ago)
Tried contacting Filip Jan on Twitter.
Maybe if more people do so we might get some kind of response?
https://twitter.com/RoyalRoadEnt
https://twitter.com/filip_jan

Agathe Majou (10 days ago)
It would be nice to get an update. Anyone backing an Orson Welles film will understand delays. It is rather more difficult to accept this silence.

anthony.lawrie (5 days ago)
An update would be nice, the silence is pretty bad form seeing as you’ve banked everyone’s money! Quite shocking actually!

Sander Strijbos (3 days ago)
I agree with a lot of the fellow backers: updates would be nice. I am not looking for a refund, nor will I, but a monthly update where we are would be a nice gesture. I am confident the people behind the project are working hard, but these crowdfunding projects live and die with communication. I have seen Kickstarter projects burn out faster simply due to the lack of communication. Keep up the hard work!!

Felix Lizarraga (3 days ago)
Well, here’s the thing that has been pointed out time and again: I don’t think most backers expected this project to be finished in no time, bang-bang-thank-you-ma’am style. But we did not expect to be completely cut off from it. Maybe right now the project creators are working their asses off to finish it. Or maybe not. The problem is, we just don’t know. The creators’ behavior is, in one word, unacceptable.

Oh, and to Frank Weinert, he of the sycophantic comments, you are insulting the people who backed this project with their hard-earned money and are simply demanding their due: information and transparency. We see neither here.

[Wellesnet]

2016...gone with no Wind...

[RayKelly]

... they may say publicly that it's only about money and distribution, but I find it hard to believe that Oja doesn't want some kind of artistic control over a film she supposedly co-wrote with Welles, and also, according to Jonathon Rosenbaum, directed part of. I'm just guessing, but something tells me that, if they offered her the opportunity to do her own separate version of the film, and distribute it in her own country, she'd authorize Sasha to sign.

Everything I have heard, both on- and off-the-record, from BOTH sides is that talks have focused on monetary issues and worldwide distribution. I have heard absolutely nothing to make me believe that Oja Kodar is battling over the final cut.

Just so no one thinks I have lost interest, I make routine calls to the parties involved, checking the pulse to see if the patient is still alive.

[Le Chiffre]

Not THE final cut, just A final cut. I call it the "two-state" solution.

Ray, I'm sure everyone here appreciates your efforts to find out any info about what is going on with this project. The stony silence from both camps is really inexcusable, especially from Filip Jan Rymzsa's camp, which took money from Welles fans and promised regular updates. But also from Oja's camp, blamed for the collapse of the Showtime deal some 10-15 years ago, according to Josh Karp's book. They've offered absolutely nothing themselves, except to blame Filip for everything because he's a "crook". But that argument holds limited water after Josh's explanation of the Showtime debacle.

Nobody that contributed to Indiegogo wants their money back; they want a completed film instead. But if demanding a refund is a way to get some attention and an update, then it might be worth considering, especially if it was done en masse. End of vent.

[atcolomb]

Last year was a good year for some of the movies like Chimes to come out on Blu-ray so lets hope the good luck continues and have The Magnificent Ambersons and positive news on a TOSOTW release for 2017.

[Le Chiffre]

Yes, 2016 was a good year, aside from that. It's not easy to stay positive about Wind, but I try. A couple of years ago I posted on Wellesnet Facebook, predicting that THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND would be completed right after the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. At the time, Ray said it was the cruelest thing I'd ever said, but guess what? Half of the prediction is now true. Let's hope for the other half.

[NoFake]

The last update I received was on April 7 of last year. I'm assuming it's the one everyone got, but just in case there's a Wellesnetter who didn't, let me post it here:

The ‘Finish Orson Welles' Last Film’ team just posted:

1 new Announcement:

Dear Contributors,

Since the end of our Indiegogo campaign on July 6, 2015, we have been diligently exploring means of distribution for the film, so that it can be seen in the best and widest way possible. Naturally, our conversations with potential partners have been confidential, making it impossible to provide you with the timely updates you all deserve. We have been very close, at times a week or weeks away, but, through no fault of our own, those weeks turned into months.

I would like to address a few points:

First and foremost, we are working tirelessly to finish the film.

The perks you selected will be delivered as promised.

We have not received any, formal refund requests and fielded only one such inquiry.

The intense attention the film has received and our long silence have fueled rumors and false news stories, which threaten to jeopardize our plans. Even this update, which is admittedly long overdue, and the frustration being voiced by some fans, however justified, will likely create even more unwanted press … but I owed it to you to break our silence.

As our new partners on this 30-year journey to finish Orson’s final film, I know we all have the film’s best interests at heart. We could not have come this far without your support. I greatly appreciate your patience and hope to share our exciting plans as soon as I am able.

Sincerely,

Filip

Reply directly to this email to respond to the campaign owner, The Other Side of the Wind. Visit the campaign page to view all comments and updates for this project.

Help spread the word about the campaign!