Jake Hannaford (the director)
After our long conversations
I finally agree with you and am definitely convinced that John
Huston is, inevitably, the right man for this key role.
First, we must find out how
much he will cost us.
That, in turn, will depend on how
long we need him. If he turns out to be as expensive as we fear,
our shooting plan will obviously have to be adapted accordingly.
Many of the scenes he is supposed to appear in can be filmed
without him. This in turn will affect the time required for less
important actors. It will also affect travelling between shooting
locations, daytime and nighttime filming, etc. etc. etc.
All these calculations are
related and, due to the fluidity of my work, particularly in the
very special case of this film, we have many options. We will
however only be able to make our final decisions when the
availability and cost of Huston have been finally
confirmed...
Under ideal conditions, with
no time or money limitations, I'd like to be able to rely on John's
services for three full weeks of shooting.
But the freedom - the almost
improvised fluidity which until now has made this film possible,
and which I must continue to enjoy in order to maintain the movie's
general unity in terms of style- means that I am happily prepared
to go ahead under less than ideal conditions as regards the
shooting time so as to preserve and continue to enjoy that
freedom.
I therefore suggest that our
offer to Huston be the following: a guarantee of seven days with an
additional fee calculated on a pro rata basis (I hope to be able to
finish filming his scenes in six days).
[...]
ORSON WELLES