The crowdfunding campaign to complete The Other Side of the Wind concluded late Sunday night. It raised $406,605 of its $1 million goal.
More than 2,800 contributors, ranging from casual Orson Welles fans to successful directors, donated to the Indiegogo drive.
A $50,000 contribution was made by Dean DeBlois, who directed Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon. A pair of $25,000 gifts came from filmmaker Dax Phelan (Jasmine) and South African writer Len Kloosman (Out of Angola).
The Other Side of the Wind co-producer Filip Jan Rymsza posted the following statement on the Indiegogo campaign’s website.
Dearest Orson Fans,
On behalf of all the Producers and the whole Orson Welles team, we’d like to offer all of you a big THANK YOU for your support.
It’s been a wonderful, wild ride and we can’t tell you how much we appreciate your kind words, inspired ideas and generous contributions. We raised over $100,000 in the last few days, ending the campaign on a high note.
A few things to add as we finish up:
1) Your incredible contributions have given us a big push. Stay tuned for some exciting updates in the coming weeks.
2) If you’re expecting a T-shirt, Poster, Coffee Table Book or any other memorabilia, your pledge rewards will be filled in due time. The Blu-ray/DVDs and Digital Downloads will obviously take longer, so thank you for your patience.
3) If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and ask. We appreciate you and are happy to offer any insight we can.
Thanks again! It’s been a long journey for us, but we’re now 3,000 stronger, and one big step closer to making this historic film come to life. More to come soon!
Sincerely,
Filip
Rymsza, and co-producers Frank Marshall and Jens Koethner Kaul secured the partial ownership rights for The Other Side of the Wind that were held by Les Films de l’Astrophore and the late Mehdi Boushehri. Agreements were reached last year with Beatrice Welles, who heads the Estate of Orson Welles, and Oja Kodar, who inherited the late director’s ownership.
Affonso Gonçalves has been chosen to edit The Other Side of the Wind. Gonçalves is best known as the editor of Beasts of the Southern Wild and Winter’s Bone. He earned an Emmy Award for his work on HBO’s True Detective.
In addition the workprint, Welles left behind scripts and detailed editing notes. Both Marshall and director Peter Bogdanovich worked on the 1970s shoot and will be involved in the editing process.
Principal photography wrapped on The Other Side of the Wind in 1976. The film takes place at the 70th birthday party of director Jake Hannaford (John Huston), who is struggling to complete a youth-oriented comeback during the rise of New Hollywood. The party is attended by young directors, like Brooks Otterlake (Bogdanovich), hangers-on, critics and movies freaks – many of whom are patterned after people in Welles’ life. Hannaford dies at the conclusion of the party. His final hours are recounted in footage shot at the party, interspersed with scenes from his unfinished comeback movie.
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