It would be easy just to get hold
of the script and break it down into parts in the usual way.
However, I think that -without first specifying and taking into
account some other factors- we would be making too many calculation
mistakes for the shooting plan and the budget to be valid. Once we
have all the specific information about all the points listed in
this memorandum and, more importantly, once we have established the
essential issues regarding the cast, then and only then will we be
able to devise a realistic plan and calculate a budget we'll be
sure won't be exceeded.
In the pages that follow I have
tried to enumerate the important needs and to describe or explain
them. Thus, in essence, this memorandum represents not just a list
of answers but also a list of questions. Once these questions have
been answered and the main problems analyzed, then and only then
will it make sense for all intents and purposes to have our meeting
in Madrid regarding budgetary matters. What I'm giving you here is,
therefore, a global vision that must be completely understood
before we can develop and implement a realistic plan.
Some of the points listed in the
memorandum are simple, whereas others require deeper review and
reliable information before we can proceed.
Please allow me to highlight that I
would not like you to simply assure me whether a certain point "can
easily be sorted out" or that "it won't be expensive".
It is of considerable interest to
me to make this movie comfortably below the budget we might arrive
at and agree upon. I won't feel comfortable unless all the data and
figures are perfectly clear before we sit down together to prepare
the budget and plan.
As a film producer I am not very
good at keeping an accurate record of my own personal accounts, but
precisely because of that and because I'd like to have a long and
continuous business relationship with you, I want to be sure about
issues regarding costs and timing. I would also like to have all
the specific details at our disposal before reaching a final
commitment to finish our film at a specific date and within the
scope of the agreed upon budget. There can be surprises. I cannot
rule out the possibility that new ideas might occur to us during
the shooting and that these in turn might require more money than
the envisaged amount. For that reason, I want to make sure from the
start that all the elements we intend to include in the production
have been properly calculated and that there is a certain amount
allocated in the event of surprises, changes or innovations. The
only surprise I want to give to you is a cheerful one. I want you
to find yourself with a finished film that has cost you less than
envisaged, including any nasty surprises and pleasant
improvements.
By putting in writing everything
I'm capable of thinking and doing up to now, I am giving you the
opportunity of reviewing all data and figures you may not have
directly at hand, in addition to all the details related to our
needs, especially highlighting my opinion about them.
In this way you will have at your
disposal, in writing, all the information I can give to you. You
will have it on paper, which is better than verbal wrangling in
long conversations.
What undoubtedly is missing here,
obviously, are those elements that necessarily constitute the basis
of the budgetary meetings. For instance, there is only some
indication about the necessary shooting time. Another key factor is
payment to the actors. I'll only be able to determine this last
point after I contact the actors with a firm and final offer and a
firm starting date. I can only deal with them when all the other
expenses have been calculated so that we know how much money we
have left to pay the actors. For example, it will be necessary to
know the weekly salary of John Huston before deciding how long we
will use him. If this actor is too expensive, we must reduce his
working time as much as possible. This will imply that the reverse
angle shots of many of the sequences in which he appears will have
to be shot without him being present. Also, this will determine the
length of time required for the other actors.
I underscore this point as the main
reason why I insist in keeping our conversations as fluid as
possible and in making a decision only when we know all the
possible alternatives concerning the availability of the actors and
how much they will cost us.
This is definitely the opposite
point of view from what Elías Querejeta expressed to me in our
interview in the south of France.
I can't reproach him for adopting
the normal attitude of a producer and for insisting on asking
questions instead of letting me ask first so that I can give him a
definite answer based on the information received. However, I
cannot conceal the fact that I find his rather obstinate rejection
to understand other points of view discouraging.
I have told you more than once, and
I repeat categorically, that the genuine and essential reason for
my enthusiasm to continue with the production of "The Other Side of
the Wind" as mainly a Spanish coproduction, is the true sympathy
and affection I feel for you and -what is more important- my total
professional confidence in you as a movie producer. I am convinced
that our future together will be fruitful and constructive. I don't
want to insist on it more, but I am sure you realize my words are
totally sincere.
Elías is different. He conveys to
me a feeling of great efficiency and intelligence, but in our
conversations I cannot help but notice a certain mental
inflexibility. I am prepared to believe that this is not
characteristic of him but rather, the product of the special
circumstances under which we met. But since I am determined to lay
all my cards on the table while we are working together (and I
sincerely hope that we work together for a very long time), I must
admit that I found it difficult to deal with Elías. Nothing of what
he said to me that afternoon led me to assume that we might one day
enjoy smooth dealings which, in fact, has been the case. This isn't
a polite and tortuous attempt to talk you out of your proposed
relation with him regarding this matter. The fact is, this
association is the result of your own choice, one which I am
prepared to accept although keeping in mind that it is your choice
and responsibility. By this I mean that I haven't myself chosen
Elías as a partner and, quite honestly, it doesn't appeal to me to
have to submit my film to his evaluation or having to sell out to
him in any respect. I think it is fair to wait for you to relieve
me from such a burden. I understand your reasons for finding him
politically useful but, to summarize the issue in a few words, I
want to continue dealing directly with you.
The memorandum that follows isn't
the rough draft of the budget which I had previously prepared. I
have already noted why my explanations and questions must
necessarily precede the process of preparing the budget. I am not
trying to delay the development of the budget and the shooting
plan. On the contrary, I think that basing this work on the results
of your study of the memorandum, we will make more progress when we
get down to establishing the budget. And, more importantly, the
result of our calculations will not amount to vague suggestions,
but will be so precise that we will know exactly where we are
heading and how to get there.
ORSON WELLES