I think I can actually answer this question (for anyone else that find this question through google).
Django 1.4 actually changed the way change_view is defined and some documentation or snippets you might find on the internet have not yet been updated.
In other words, this should work:
class MyModelAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
# A template for a very customized change view:
change_form_template = 'admin/change_form.html'
def get_osm_info(self):
z = Klass()
x = z.final_down()
return x
def change_view(self, request, object_id, form_url='', extra_context=None):
context = {}
context.update(extra_context or {})
context.update({ 'x': get_osm_info(),})
return super(MyModelAdmin, self).change_view(request, object_id, form_url, context)