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NEW DOCUMENTARY ON ''THE FORTY DAYS OF MUSA DAGH'' AND HOLLYWOOD
ARMENPRESS
8 October, 2012
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS: 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. As
Armenpress reports citing The Armenin Weekly, 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." 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. "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. 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?" 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."
ARMENPRESS
8 October, 2012
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS: 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. As
Armenpress reports citing The Armenin Weekly, 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." 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. "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. 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?" 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."