From left, assistant cameraman Mike Stringer, , cameraman Gary Graver, Bob Random and director Orson Welles in Culver City, Calif., filming “The Other Side of the Wind” in 1970. (Robert Aiken photo)
By RAY KELLY
A report in Hollywood Elsewhere yesterday speculated on what has been increasingly obvious to many Orson Welles fans: A completed The Other Side of the Wind will not be ready in time for the Cannes Film Festival on May 13-24.
This is not unexpected to news. Cataloging, editing and scoring a two-hour feature film within a six-month window always seemed a tad too ambitious and rushed – especially when the architect of the motion picture is not there to provide guidance. Add to that the search for a suitable distributor to bring Welles’ final movie to the big screen and May 6 sounds like rush job.
Four months after news broke that The Other Side of the Wind would be completed in time for the Welles centenary, producer Filip Jan Rymsza detailed the process of sorting through the 18 or 19 hours of negative footage in Paris. At the Sedona International Film Festival on Feb. 27, he described the creation and following of a blueprint, using five linear feet of scripts and treatments – “a huge amount of information and that’s the first stage to just create a work flow for ourselves.”
While we all wish to see The Other Side of the Wind as soon as possible, the delay is not unexpected. We hope to have an update on the progress from producers soon.
[br]
________
[br]
Post your comments on the Wellesnet Message Board.