Two years ago, Orson Welles’ unfinished film, “The Other Side of the Wind,” made its debut during the fall film festival circuit. The feature was accompanied by an entire documentary about the making of the film. But even though it seemed as if the story of ‘Other Side’ was exhausted by that moment, apparently there was much more to cover, including an incredible conversation between the filmmaker and Dennis Hopper, which is getting the spotlight in the new doc, “Hopper/Welles.”
Now, Venice is set to debut “Hopper/Welles” and Deadline has the first clip from the feature, which shows the two men discussing filmmaking at a very pivotal moment in the careers of both. You see, when “The Other Side of the Wind” was being filmed, Welles had already reached the zenith of his career and had a ton of insight into the industry, and Hopper was just coming off of “Easy Rider,” with the full weight of his legendary career ahead of him.
The film was pulled together from hours of never-before-seen footage by producer Filip Jan Rymsza and editor Bob Murawski. The meeting took place because Hopper agreed to cameo in Welles’ unfinished film, “The Other Side of the Wind.” And amongst the 1,083 reels of footage for the film, “Hopper/Welles” was born.
Considering there was so much footage to be found from the meeting between the two filmmakers, it’s no surprise that “Hopper/Welles” clocks in at over two hours in length. And over the course of their discussion, as seen in the clip from Deadline, the two talk about filmmaking, as well as general topics of sex, politics, violence, America, and religion. You know, the things you always talk about with people you just met.
“Hopper/Welles” is set to premiere out of competition at Venice on September 9. You can watch the clip over at Deadline.
