(MENAFN- Arab Times) LOS ANGELES Oct 21 (Agencies): Chuck Workman's latest bouquet to cinematic history 'Magician' provides a solid overview of Orson Welles' life and output. While little here will be news to cineastes the mix of interviews and archival footage particularly high-quality clips from the subject's directorial features should engage fans while providing a fine introduction for those whose knowledge doesn't stretch beyond recognizing the words 'Citizen Kane.' More a natural for ancillary formats (it'll be a film-studies classroom perennial) than theatrical exposure the documentary plans a theatrical launch on Dec 12.
A straightforward chronological approach in chaptered form starts with '1915-1941: The Boy Wonder' charting Welles' eccentric transient childhood and the thirst for artistic expression that led to adventuresome stage triumphs (like the all-black 'Voodoo Macbeth') in his early 20s. He also became a highly popular radio actor (notably as voice of 'The Shadow' on that mystery serial) and it was in that medium that he became infamous via the 1938 Halloween broadcast of H.G. Welles' Martian-invasion fantasy 'The War of the Worlds.' Dramatized in fake-newscast form it panicked some gullible listeners (though some argue the extent of that reaction was greatly exaggerated). Such notoriety brought Hollywood offers; Welles held out until RKO's terms gave him virtual carte blanche. Though his initial plan to adapt Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' was scuttled as too expensive and risky 'Kane' was scarcely less so not least for being so blatantly inspired by the life of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst who used his considerable might to thwart its success. (Though as one observer points out here the film was just as much a critical self-portrait for Welles.) As a result RKO was all too happy to seize the post-production reins on 'The Magnificent Ambersons' when Welles blithely decamped to South America for the abortive 'It's All True.' The sadly compromised if still brilliant result proved another box office failure ending his cinematic honeymoon. Thus began decades alternating lucrative (if often trivial) acting gigs with erratic directorial work the latter often plagued by budgetary woes or front-office interference. Even his moneymaking 1946 thriller 'The Stranger' couldn't shake his rep for extravagance unreliability and inconsistency with popular taste. Masterpieces Spending most of the next decade in Europe Welles made 'Othello' the first of several projects that were shot piecemeal whenever funding became available. He considered two late masterpieces 'The Trial' and 'Chimes at Midnight' his personal best but they also flopped. Several other projects ('Don Quixote' 'The Merchant of Venice' the improvised 'The Other Side of the Wind') never neared completion. (Some have been or will be released in posthumously constructed form; it's noted that several titles including 'Chimes at Midnight' remain in legal contention.) Meanwhile his slightly embarrassing career as a public bon vivant flourished represented via clips from 'I Love Lucy' 'The Muppet Show' myriad talkshows and commercials etc. Welles' consistent stylistic innovation is amply highlighted via great-looking excerpts from projects both famous and subterranean. (He's heard saying that 'Citizen Kane's' technical daring was largely born from 'the confidence of ignorance.') A segment contrasting the original studio-tampered release version of the incredible opening sequence of 'Touch of Evil' with its much later restored version (reworked per his original editorial notes) underline the brilliance of his instincts as well as the tin ears they often fell on. Workman takes the old-school view of Welles as a maverick too daring for Hollywood's comfort with no consideration of the theory that he may often have been his own worst enemy too impatient and enamored with high living to ride out projects that would wind up abandoned or finished by others. Did he eventually enjoy playing the thwarted genius more than he cared about the work itself One fascinating moment particularly since it raises issues otherwise ignored here comes when a surviving schoolmate still in awe of Welles' precocity qualifies that by saying he was 'the only person I knew who had absolutely no empathetic skills.' In addition to much archival input from Welles himself always willing to talk about himself albeit sometimes via tall tales 'Magician' draws on many commentators living and dead. The latter include such co-workers as Heston Robert Wise and John Houseman. The former range from biographers critics and relatives to present-day helmers still in awe of his influence. (Richard Linklater calls him 'the patron saint of indie filmmakers.') Among those extensively tapped are his close friend Peter Bogdanovich and his final long-term companion Oja Kodar. One fleeting portrait montage provides a glimpse of the many famous beautiful women Welles was involved with. The closing mention of a feud between two of Welles' daughters hints at rich dramatic potential in the messy legacy of legal and personal conflicts still roiling three decades after his death. In an initially amusing device Workman inserts clips from variably worthwhile movies in which Welles is portrayed ('Radio Days' 'Heavenly Creatures' etc.) extending it unnecessarily to films that simply reference him ('Day for Night' 'Get Shorty'). The use of pre-existing music as a score is fine though the choices aren't very imaginative. Otherwise assembly is polished and focused. Also: WELLINGTON New Zealand: The movie trilogy 'The Hobbit' has so far cost nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars to make as the epic continues to set new benchmarks for studio spending. Financial documents filed this month in New Zealand where the three movies are being made show production costs through March had reached 934 million New Zealand dollars ($745 million). The figures include filming and digital effects completed over several years but not the final eight months of production costs leading up to the scheduled December release of the final movie. It's not clear from the documents whether worldwide marketing and distribution costs are included. Warner Bros which is making the movies on Tuesday declined to answer questions about the costs: 'We don't comment on production budgets' wrote Candice McDonough a senior vice-president at New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Entertainment in an email. The cost eclipses previous records for film productions. On a per-film basis however the movies are not the most expensive ever made. At least not yet. Box Office Mojo and Guinness World Records estimate that record goes to 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' which cost about $300 million to make. Box Office Mojo estimates the first two Hobbit movies took in a combined $1.98 billion at the box office. The financial documents filed in New Zealand provide an unusually detailed account of the costs involved in a big Hollywood production. Typically studios provide only vague estimates and have been accused of both underestimating and overestimating costs as it suits them for publicity purposes. But in New Zealand Warner Bros set up a wholly-owned company to handle the trilogy which has filed regular financial reports that are publicly available. The latest documents show the production received $122 million from New Zealand taxpayers through an incentive scheme designed to attract big budget movies to the country. Such schemes are common in US states and countries that compete for movies. Trilogy director Peter Jackson has been promoting the anticipated release of 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' on social media putting up images of movie posters on his Facebook page. 'We're getting closer now' he wrote in a post last month.
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