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NEW DOCUMENTARY ON 'THE FORTY DAYS OF MUSA DAGH' AND HOLLYWOOD
by Lilly Torosyan
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/10/05/new-documentary-on-the-forty-days-of-musa-dagh-and-hollywood/
October 5, 2012
Franz Werfel's 1933 novel, The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, portrayed one
small Armenian community's efforts to resist deportation and massacre
during the genocide. The novel was highly controversial-having been
banned by Nazi Germany and Turkey-and several attempts to produce a
Hollywood film were blocked. The documentary Epic Denied: Depriving
'The Forty Days of Musa Dagh'depicts the trials and tribulations of
Hollywood's multiple attempts to produce a film based on Werfel's
bestseller, which, according to Variety magazine, has become "the most
on-again and off-again motion picture production in Hollywood history."
'Epic Denied' will explore the fate of the Musa Dagh epic in Hollywood.
The documentary, however, has yet to be completed. In order to
finance the project, the producers have launched an online fundraising
campaign. One of the producers/filmmakers, Edwin Avaness, spoke with
the Weekly about the importance of this feature-length documentary
making its way to the public.
The objective
"Our goal is to give audiences a unique look at the controversy
surrounding the novel, and the unprecedented political maneuverings
by foreign forces to halt the production of the motion picture,"
explained Avaness. He also noted the key themes that will be explored,
including conspiracy, complicity, collusion, and blatant censorship
in the context of Hollywood's history, and infringement of the First
Amendment by a foreign power.
"After reading the book, we saw the importance of the content and
decided to option the rights and make a documentary," he said. The
project is thoroughly documented based on research in the MGM archives,
the U.S. State Department, the Franz Werfel Papers at the UCLA Special
Collections Library, the American Film Institute, and interviews of
personalities involved in the film project. The "basic components of
historical research are covered in a manner that finally unveils the
truth of a film denied," Avaness said.
"Organizers and activists know the power of the media and how a good
documentary motivates audiences into action. That is why we also plan
to invite civil liberties organizations to use [our documentary] as a
tool of engagement, and to promote the importance of free expression
in media," Avaness told the Weekly.
Future Hollywood production?
Prominent directors and actors such as Elia Kazan, Rouben Mamoulian,
and Sylvester Stallone throughout the decades have attempted to produce
the film based on Werfel's novel. Avaness describes how Dore Schary,
the successor to MGM Studio boss Louis B. Mayer, believed that The
Forty Days of Musa Dagh was one of the few great books written since
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and dreamed of making the movie.
In 1934, MGM purchased the rights to make the novel into a motion
picture. "Undertaken by veteran producer Irving Thalberg in the
1930's to unknown millionaire John Kurkjian in the 1980's, the project
faced enormous foreign intervention and blackmail, preventing it from
reaching the silver screen," he explained.
Avaness noted that today's Hollywood is not the same as it was in the
1930's. "Therefore, the question becomes how profitable an epic film
based on Franz Werfel's novel will be?"
Next step
Research and development of the documentary have already been
completed. "Our next phase is interviewing individuals in the
entertainment industry who were involved in various capacities through
the many incarnations of the project, as well as scholars who have
the expertise to shed light on this untold story," Avaness detailed.
He stressed that The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is "an important part
of the Motion Picture history. We need everyone's help to document it."
To make a tax-deductible donation to "Epic Denied: 'The Forty Days
of Musa Dagh,'" visit www.indiegogo.com/EpicDenied.
For more information about the project, visit www.epicdenied.com.
From: A. Papazian
by Lilly Torosyan
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/10/05/new-documentary-on-the-forty-days-of-musa-dagh-and-hollywood/
October 5, 2012
Franz Werfel's 1933 novel, The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, portrayed one
small Armenian community's efforts to resist deportation and massacre
during the genocide. The novel was highly controversial-having been
banned by Nazi Germany and Turkey-and several attempts to produce a
Hollywood film were blocked. The documentary Epic Denied: Depriving
'The Forty Days of Musa Dagh'depicts the trials and tribulations of
Hollywood's multiple attempts to produce a film based on Werfel's
bestseller, which, according to Variety magazine, has become "the most
on-again and off-again motion picture production in Hollywood history."
'Epic Denied' will explore the fate of the Musa Dagh epic in Hollywood.
The documentary, however, has yet to be completed. In order to
finance the project, the producers have launched an online fundraising
campaign. One of the producers/filmmakers, Edwin Avaness, spoke with
the Weekly about the importance of this feature-length documentary
making its way to the public.
The objective
"Our goal is to give audiences a unique look at the controversy
surrounding the novel, and the unprecedented political maneuverings
by foreign forces to halt the production of the motion picture,"
explained Avaness. He also noted the key themes that will be explored,
including conspiracy, complicity, collusion, and blatant censorship
in the context of Hollywood's history, and infringement of the First
Amendment by a foreign power.
"After reading the book, we saw the importance of the content and
decided to option the rights and make a documentary," he said. The
project is thoroughly documented based on research in the MGM archives,
the U.S. State Department, the Franz Werfel Papers at the UCLA Special
Collections Library, the American Film Institute, and interviews of
personalities involved in the film project. The "basic components of
historical research are covered in a manner that finally unveils the
truth of a film denied," Avaness said.
"Organizers and activists know the power of the media and how a good
documentary motivates audiences into action. That is why we also plan
to invite civil liberties organizations to use [our documentary] as a
tool of engagement, and to promote the importance of free expression
in media," Avaness told the Weekly.
Future Hollywood production?
Prominent directors and actors such as Elia Kazan, Rouben Mamoulian,
and Sylvester Stallone throughout the decades have attempted to produce
the film based on Werfel's novel. Avaness describes how Dore Schary,
the successor to MGM Studio boss Louis B. Mayer, believed that The
Forty Days of Musa Dagh was one of the few great books written since
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and dreamed of making the movie.
In 1934, MGM purchased the rights to make the novel into a motion
picture. "Undertaken by veteran producer Irving Thalberg in the
1930's to unknown millionaire John Kurkjian in the 1980's, the project
faced enormous foreign intervention and blackmail, preventing it from
reaching the silver screen," he explained.
Avaness noted that today's Hollywood is not the same as it was in the
1930's. "Therefore, the question becomes how profitable an epic film
based on Franz Werfel's novel will be?"
Next step
Research and development of the documentary have already been
completed. "Our next phase is interviewing individuals in the
entertainment industry who were involved in various capacities through
the many incarnations of the project, as well as scholars who have
the expertise to shed light on this untold story," Avaness detailed.
He stressed that The Forty Days of Musa Dagh is "an important part
of the Motion Picture history. We need everyone's help to document it."
To make a tax-deductible donation to "Epic Denied: 'The Forty Days
of Musa Dagh,'" visit www.indiegogo.com/EpicDenied.
For more information about the project, visit www.epicdenied.com.
From: A. Papazian