Jose Maria Castellvi was an important photographer in Spain, who worked for several magazines, including Playboy and Penthouse. He was also the personal photographer for Julio Iglesias for many years. While Orson Welles was living in Spain, he met Jose Maria and asked him to take some “artistic” pictures of Oja Kodar. Welles liked the pictures of Oja, so when he went to Arizona to begin shooting on The Other Side of the Wind, Welles asked Jose to go with him as the unit still photographer.
The result is nearly 1,000 images that document Welles directing his cast and crew, including John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, Edmond O’ Brien, Norman Foster, Oja Kodar, Mercedes McCambridge, Cameron Mitchell, Paul Stewart and many others who appeared in the film.
Although an occasional shot taken by Jose Maria Castellvi has surfaced in the past, the extent of these precious images only became apparent when his nephew recently sent me 20 contact sheets of Jose Maria’s work. A selection of the contact sheets, along with some larger shots can be seen at the Wellesnet Facebook page HERE.
Looking at these shots, it seems obvious they would make a wonderful book documenting the making of The Other Side of the Wind. It would be an especially welcome volume, since after 30 years, the film itself still remains out of reach. However, when (and if) a deal with Showtime is reached to finish The Other Side of the Wind, they certainly won’t have trouble providing the pictures needed to promote the film!