The enigmatic not-quite-autobiographic Orson Welles film that started out as a not-quite-biographic film about Hemingway crossed a promising benchmark last fall when producers Filip Jan Rymsza, Jens Koethner Kaul, and Frank Marshall struck a deal with Welles's heirs and the film's production company.

This Vanity Fair piece details all the trials and tribulations of working with a director as erratic as Welles, an unpaid crew of devotees, and a revolving door of lead actors. The hijinks bordered on fatal when a drunk John Huston drove down the wrong side of the highway while filming what was supposed to be a muted scene in a convertible.

Read the captivating story on Vanity Fair now.