Last May, an Indiegogo campaign was launched to help complete Orson Welles' final film, "The Other Side of the Wind." The six-year shoot was plagued by budget cuts, troubles in production, casting and other legal issues. It remained unfinished at the time of Welles’ death in 1985.
Netflix announced today that it nabbed the global rights to the film, the deal implies that they finance the completion and restoration of "The Other Side of the Wind," this would all lead to a full-throttled release in and around the year 2018.
The synopsis is as follows:
"The film covers the 70th birthday party of movie director Jake Hannaford, who is struggling to make a commercial comeback. It opens with Hannaford's death just after the party, and mostly focuses on the night before his death. We also see extracts of Hannaford's daring new film-within-a-film, The Other Side of the Wind. As we learn more about Hannaford at his party, the audience realises that he is a far more complex character than he seems, and harbors several big secrets."
"The film presents a cynical portrait of Hollywood in the 1970s, parodying the passing of the studio system, and the experimental new film-makers of the new Hollywood, as well as mocking successful European directors such as Antonioni. It was shot in a variety of different styles—color, black-and-white, still photography, 8mm, 16mm and 35mm film, all rapidly intercut together, and was planned as a collage of these different styles."
I contributed to the IndieGoGo for this restoration two years ago. Here's what the campaign email said today:
"Dear Contributors,
My sincere apologies for the long silence.
At long last, I’m thrilled to share with you the news that Netflix has acquired global rights and will finance the completion and restoration of The Other Side of the Wind. Working closely with Netflix, Producer Frank Marshall and I will oversee the restoration and completion of the film with consultation from Peter Bogdanovich.
With Netflix’s unparalleled global reach, The Other Side of the Wind will be Orson Welles’ widest release ever… and, hopefully, introduce a whole new generation of film lovers to his work.
However, given Netflix’s unique business model, making this happen meant renegotiating certain rights deals. Once I engaged in those talks, I was unable to comment on the state of the film, hence the extended silence. All told, the deals took a year and a half to close, but, in the end, every painstaking moment was worth the effort. I needed to take a step back so that we could take this giant leap forward.
Thanks to your contributions, we were able to continue working throughout this time, prepping the negative outside of Paris... and I can confirm that the negative is now in Los Angeles and work will commence immediately.
I must commend everyone on your patience and thank you for your faith, trust and commitment. I hope you are as proud as I am to be part of something historic... and now, because of our collective efforts, the film will be seen the world over.
For those of you worried about your perks, we’ll start to roll those out in the coming weeks… and, in a rare move, Netflix is honoring our commitment to you by allowing the production of a limited-edition DVD/Blu-ray, just for our contributors. More to come… more frequently.
Sincerely, Filip"
Deadline has quotes from the main participants of this incredible project, which is finally coming to life before our very eyes.