A May 7th New York
Times article about the effort noted that the producers involved with the film
project--as well as Peter Bogdanovich, one of the film's stars--were "hoping
to raise at least $2 million by June 14 to help pay for editing, music and
other postproduction costs."
As of this writing, more than $275,000 has been raised. The financial goal has been
revised; $1 million is now being sought. The fundraising period, too, has been extended; it will end in ten
days. I am hopeful that the campaign will reach its
goal.
(A note about this particular fundraiser: it is described, on its Indiegogo page, as a
"flexible funding" project. Unlike
some crowdfunding efforts, in which donors only pay if the financial target is
reached, all of the funds pledged to the Orson Welles project-- whether the $1
million goal is achieved, or not--will be allotted to the campaign.)
In recent years I've become increasingly interested in the work
and life of Mr. Welles--drawn in particular to his extraordinary film career,
as director, writer, and actor. Recently,
after watching films by Welles, on
television (such as The Stranger, The Magnificent Ambersons, and A
Touch of Evil), I have consulted--with enjoyment--the book This is Orson Welles, to learn more
about the particular films. The book,
which first appeared in 1992, features lengthy conversations about Welles's
work, between Welles and Peter Bogdanovich (Mr. Bogdanovich, of course, is himself known
as the director of such exceptional films as Paper Moon, The Last Picture
Show, and What's Up Doc?).
Another story about Mr. Welles, by the way, recently appeared
in the news. As a May 20th New York Times article noted: "Archivists at the University of Michigan
said this week that they have discovered extensive fragments of, and notes for,
a Welles autobiography in a trove of papers newly purchased from Oja Kodar. Ms.
Kodar, a Croatian actress, was Welles’s companion in the years before he died
in 1985."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/movies/archivists-find-fragments-of-an-unfinished-orson-welles-autobiography.html?ref=books
(Image above: cover of 1998 edition of This is Orson Welles, published by Da Capo Press)
(Image above: cover of 1998 edition of This is Orson Welles, published by Da Capo Press)
