For the past week or so, I’ve been waiting for the calls from Spielberg and Tarantino.

Actually, I thought I’d get calls from Coppola or Altman 44 years ago. But then the long wait began.

You see, I was an extra in Orson Welles’ “The Other Side of the Wind,” which Welles (think “Citizen Kane,” “Touch of Evil”) began shooting in the early 1970s. It was just released a week or so ago in select theaters and on Netflix.

It all began when I was a graduate student at Arizona State University in 1974. I was walking across campus with friends when two guys stopped and asked if we would like to be in an Orson Welles film.

We were skeptical, but they explained that Welles was shooting scenes at the old Dick Van Dyke TV studio out in Carefree. They said to show up at 2 p.m. the next day.

We got there on time and sat watching the film crew set things up.

Five hours later, we were still sitting there. About 7 p.m. some of the actors, including Susan Strasberg and Peter Bogdanovich, showed up and sat around talking. About an hour later Welles and John Huston appeared. They all continued sitting around talking.

Finally, the shoot began. We extras were portraying young filmmakers, film buffs and hangers-on to the great director Jake Hannaford, played by the great director John Huston (think “Maltese Falcon”).

Sometime about 11:30, one of the crew told us they were breaking for dinner. I thought ̶̶ wow ̶̶ dinner with Orson Welles and John Huston. But then the guy told us there was a bar a mile from the studio if we were hungry but to be back in an hour.

The shoot lasted until about 3 a.m., and in one scene I was amazed – Welles actually grabbed me by the shoulder to move me where he wanted me.

But then the years went by. In 1977, the American Film Institute honored Welles with its Life Achievement Award and showed a short clip from a scene I’d been in, but I wasn’t visible. I was sure the film must be about to come out. But then nothing.

Apparently, the film was being held up by tax issues, investment disputes and the Iranian Revolution (parts of the film were in Iran.)

In 1985, Welles died; years later, I excitedly read that Peter Bogdanovich was attempting to gather all the film footage and raise money to finish the project. But the years went on.

Then recently Netflix announced it was releasing the film. The night of the release, my wife and I broke out the champagne, and against all expectations, I showed up for a second in the first two minutes of the film, then again a half hour later. This was it – the long-awaited beginning of my film career.

Hang on a second, the phone’s ringing. … Nope, just a call telling me they had some important information about my credit accounts.