by Kevin Coupe
Orson Welles lives. And is crowdfunding his latest movie.
Well, not exactly. But sort of. And it isn't just his latest movie, but his last movie.
Let me explain.
Orson Welles, the genius filmmaker who gave us Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, but later in his career, unable to get film projects funded by Hollywood studios, found himself doing wine commercials and performing card tricks on Dean Martin's TV show, died in 1985. At the time of his death, he had shot 1,083 reels of film for a project called The Other Side of the Wind - he'd shot it over a series of years funding, actors and crews became available, but hadn't been able to edit it into anything watchable.
Now, a number of filmmakers - including Peter Bogdanovich and Frank Marshall - have acquired the rights to complete the movie, and have listed the project on Indiegogo to get it crowdfunded to the tune of $2 million.
Once they have the money, it is expected that the work will be detailed and laborious, but hardly impossible - Welles' estate has detailed notes for how the movie is to be edited, and so it seems entirely possible that this most modern of funding options will make it possible for us to see a "new" Orson Welles movie sometime next year.
Of course, the phrase "once they have the money" is fraught with complications.
One of the stories I read about this project indicated the $2 million is a "modest" amount, and that when producers went online looking for an identical amount to make a sequel to the movie "Super Troopers," they got it in 24 hours.
I checked this morning, and after 24 hours of fundraising, The Other Side of the Wind only has raised $74,545 ... which tells you something Eye-Opening about modern tastes.
If you're interested, by the way, you can check out the project here.
Orson Welles lives. And is crowdfunding his latest movie.
Well, not exactly. But sort of. And it isn't just his latest movie, but his last movie.
Let me explain.
Orson Welles, the genius filmmaker who gave us Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons, but later in his career, unable to get film projects funded by Hollywood studios, found himself doing wine commercials and performing card tricks on Dean Martin's TV show, died in 1985. At the time of his death, he had shot 1,083 reels of film for a project called The Other Side of the Wind - he'd shot it over a series of years funding, actors and crews became available, but hadn't been able to edit it into anything watchable.
Now, a number of filmmakers - including Peter Bogdanovich and Frank Marshall - have acquired the rights to complete the movie, and have listed the project on Indiegogo to get it crowdfunded to the tune of $2 million.
Once they have the money, it is expected that the work will be detailed and laborious, but hardly impossible - Welles' estate has detailed notes for how the movie is to be edited, and so it seems entirely possible that this most modern of funding options will make it possible for us to see a "new" Orson Welles movie sometime next year.
Of course, the phrase "once they have the money" is fraught with complications.
One of the stories I read about this project indicated the $2 million is a "modest" amount, and that when producers went online looking for an identical amount to make a sequel to the movie "Super Troopers," they got it in 24 hours.
I checked this morning, and after 24 hours of fundraising, The Other Side of the Wind only has raised $74,545 ... which tells you something Eye-Opening about modern tastes.
If you're interested, by the way, you can check out the project here.
- KC's View:
