Cinephiles have waited decades to seeOrson Wellesfinal film,The Other Side of the Wind, which was left unfinished at the time of his death in 1985. But when streaming giant Netflix acquired the global rights to the film last year, it became a pressing reality that the film might never hit theaters at all. Fortunately, producerFrank Marshallhas revealed that Netflix is planning a theatrical release for the film. PerIndiewire,The Other Side of the Windwill have numerous theatrical showings, but the details are still being worked out.
Marshall worked as a production manager during the original shoot, which spanned years and was famously plagued by financial troubles, andspearheaded the campaignto get the movie completed. After the streaming service rescued more than 1,000 reels of film negatives from a Paris vault, Marshall led a team of editors to complete and restore the film with with consultation fromPeter Bogdanovich, who also co-stars in the picture.
A semi-autobiographical Hollywood satire starringJohn Hustonas a legendary director struggling to forge his last great comeback in his final days,The Other Side of the Windalso starsOja Kodar, Robert Random, Lilli Palmer, Edmond O’Brien, Cameron Mitchell, Mercedes McCambridge, Susan Strasberg, Norman Foster, Paul Stewart, andDennis Hopper.
The film was one of five features Netflix pulled from consideration for the 2018 Cannes Film Festival after the fest’s artistic directorThierry Frémauxand his executive board established a hard line on theatrical distribution. At the time, Welles’ daughterBeatrice Wellesspoke out against the decision. ““I saw how the big production companies destroyed his life, his work, and in so doing a little bit of the man I loved so much,”Beatrice wrote. “I would so hate to see Netflix be yet another one of these companies.”
While The Other Side of the Wind ultimately wasn’t the “movie that “[bridged] the gap between Netflix and Cannes” as she hoped, the film will ultimately see a proper theatrical release. Netflix previously screened the film for aselect few earlier this year, includingPaul Thomas Anderson,Quentin Tarantino, andRian Johnson.
