"Me and Orson Welles" Synopsis – IMDb
Set in 1937, the story centers on a high school student (Efron) who, while strolling the streets of New York, happens upon the yet-to-open Mercury Theatre and is noticed by its mercurial founder, Orson Welles. The man lands a bit part in "Julius Caesar," the production that catapulted Welles to the top, and spends the next week learning about life and love.
Zac Efron..................................Richard Samuels Christian McKay............................Orson Welles Claire Danes...............................Sonja Jones Ben Chaplin................................George Coulouris Kelly Reilly...............................Muriel Brassler Eddie Marsan...............................John Houseman Leo Bill...................................Norman Lloyd James Tupper...............................Joseph Cotten Zoe Kazan..................................Gretta Alder
Release date: U. S.:November 25th; UK: December 4th.
Detailed information on the filming of the movie can be found in this post
TPTB went to Cannes 2008 and presented some footage there. There were several articles mentioning M&OW in the Cannes coverage: THR (13 May), IndiWIRE (13 May), Variety (14 May), THR (17 May), Variety (20 May), THR (21 May) and WSJ (16 May)
This picture of Orson Welles and Arthur Anderson (the real life apprentice who Richard Samuels is based on) in 1937 inspired Robert Kaplow to write the book:
Various pictures from the filming of the movie can be found in this post
"He turns in an entirely convincing performance with just the right range"
"Efron, shedding his "HSM" persona, is likable, engaging, and totally relatable"
"Efron takes a more oblique approach, and it pays off handsomely"
"Efron takes a step here from pinup status to actor"
"... Efron more than gets by in his role as the sweet, plucky, starstruck newbie."
Film:
"... one of the best movies about the theater I've ever seen."
"'Me and Orson Welles' is a little velvet sack of diamonds."
"One of the sweetest and most heartfelt movies ever made about a life in the theater"
"... a fiction confected about real people, is too good not to be true."
"This is a movie of great spirit and considerable charm."
"Deft, affectionate, and unexpectedly enjoyable."
"That's what this movie is all about. Its a love letter to the theater."
The opening post gets updated with new information as it becomes available. If you want to be added to the supporters list, please either leave a message in the thread or send me a PM to one of the Mods.
__________________
If it was the other way around, and it was down to me
to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it? I would now. And I'm always honest. » Steve Rogers ♥ Natasha Romanoff
Last edited by Full Hearts; 12-27-2009 at 05:39 PM
I added in a "Future thread titles" section to make it a bit "easier" for next time.
__________________
If it was the other way around, and it was down to me
to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust me to do it? I would now. And I'm always honest. » Steve Rogers ♥ Natasha Romanoff
Last edited by Full Hearts; 12-22-2009 at 02:36 AM
Movies like Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, and Touch of Evil are more than mere classic films, they're deeply entrenched entries in the canon of essential cinema. Though Orson Welles' body of work speaks for itself, for years, books like Pauline Kael's "Citizen Kane Book : Raising Kane," or the HBO docudrama RKO 281 have allowed film buffs to glimpse the dark side of the flashy, bullying, uncompromising director. The outtakes of a frozen pea commercial read (see You Tube clip below) prove Welles was a real handful even when he wasn't calling the shots.
Richard Linkletter's (Dazed and Confused, A Scanner Darkly) delightful film adaptation of Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name looks at a teenager's unlikely weeklong career as a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Plucked off the street by none other than Welles himself, 17-year old Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) is cast as Lucius in the theater troupe's debut 1937 production of Julius Caesar. There's no money in it for the kid, just a foot in the door and "the opportunity to be sprayed by Orson's spit." Naturally, he goes for it.
Welles is played by British actor Christian McKay who, through one of the best performances of the year, ends up looking and sounding so much like the director it's just uncanny. As the boy genius leader of the Mercury Theatre, he badgers his fellow actors and is always quick to remind them that they're only around to service his precise vision. Though he's a self-absorbed ego maniac and tightly wound control freak under incredible deadline pressure, McKay's Welles frequently loosens up and jokes with his cast and staff. He's also quite a charmer with the ladies, most notably with his ambitious production assistant Sonja Jones (played by Claire Danes).
Linkletter's breezy, sweet film is his best coming of age movie since Dazed and Confused and a real love letter to both Welles and theater life as well.
and another, although not a "great one," i like what he says about zac.
Quote:
The "Me" in "Me and Orson Welles" is played by Zac Efron, Disney poster boy from "High School Musical," who portrays a bored teen who talks his way into a 1937 production of "Julius Caesar" in Welles' Mercury Theater on Broadway.
Within five minutes of his 17-year-old character bumping into the theater troupe on a sidewalk, he has met the Mercury's stage director, John Houseman, joked with Joseph Cotten and ultimately charmed Welles himself. Inside of five minutes, young Richard has played the drums, sung a ditty and landed a small role in the genius' shaky upcoming production.
So the film is both a lark and a rather toothless nostalgia trip, awash in name-dropping and only occasionally charming as a coming-of-age story. There are, thankfully, a few performances that keep the picture from emoting its way into pure sentimentality.
One of these is by Efron, who came of age with his turn in "Hairspray," but who adds a previously unseen dramatic element here. Another is that of Christian McKay, a London stage actor and film newcomer who is a near-ringer for Welles, in both looks and the display of ego.
There is a temptation to say that McKay — making grand entrances and holding court every time he speaks — looks less like he is "doing" Welles than he is impersonating Welles doing Charles Foster Kane. But that's Welles, all bluster and brilliance, and McKay captures both the man's antics and his brooding.
The fact is that most of the performances (save for a loopy turn by Claire
Danes as a ladder-climbing Welles assistant with both a heart of gold and an open bed) outshine the sleepy direction by Richard Linklater. His craftsmanship in pictures like "Dazed and Confused" and "Before Sunrise" are unrecognizable in this safe snoozer.
I liked the film's general outline — a stage novice, in the shadow of an entertainment giant, shown in a one-week snapshot of action on a troubled production, with a life lesson learned — better in the form of "My Favorite Year," a comic gem I've seen maybe a dozen times and superior to "Me and " in every way.
Treading the boards on this let's-put-on-a-show material is exceedingly tiresome when a filmmaker has nothing new to add to the story.
But those looking for some brilliant Jazz Age music choices (the Gershwins and loads of lovely Duke Ellington tunes) and a bit of backstage humor can have those modest goals met in "Me and Orson Welles."
Thanks Glads! 
Morgan Evans. 
