Richard Samuels (Me and Orson Welles) #1: Because Zac fascinates us in 1937 and 2008
 

Welcome to the "Me and Orson Welles" Thread #1

"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.

Alternative (longer) summaries of the novel can be found here.
Another synopsis can be found on the movie page of the Isle of Man Film website here.

Cast & Characters – credits on IMDb
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
Imogen Poots
Aidan McArdle

Directed by................................Richard Linklater

Filming & Release Info

• Release date: TBD
  Note: A release date will not be available until the movie has a distributor; for independent movies that happens most of the time only after post-production has been completed and the movie was sold eg at a festival.
• The movie will be shot from mid February to end March 2008
• Filming locations are Isle of Man, Buckinghamshire close to London (Pinewood Studios) and New York
• The Isle of Man part will be filmed from 24th February to 14th March in the Gaiety Theatre (Virtual Tour of the theatre)
• They need up to 800 extras: 240 people for 3 dates (March 3, 4 and 9) and additional 390 people for March 9 (which makes it 630 extras total for that date). Various extra casting calls have been made public; the extras agencies involved are Ex-Isle, Universal Extras Ltd & The Casting Network. More info available here, here & here.

Articles & Interviews

• Confirmation of the project at The Hollywoodreporter (18 Jan 2008): Efron hangs with 'Welles'
• Official press release from the Isle of Man Film (30 Jan 2008).
• Claire Danes joins the cast (IoM Today - 30 Jan 2008)
• Claire Danes, Ben Chaplin, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan, Leo Bill, Imogen Poots and Aidan McArdle join the cast: Variety - 31 Jan 2008, Hollywoodreporter - 1 Feb 2008, ComingSoon.net - 30 Jan 2008
• Zac talks a bit about the project: Zac Efron Gets Serious For ‘Orson Welles And Me’ (MTV Movies Blog - 7 Feb 2008)
• Kelly Reilly is playing Muriel Brassler, cast is currently rehearsing for film (Daily Mail - 14 Feb 2008)

Images & Videos

• 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:
  
  http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...erson_1937.jpg
• New Zac candids, sporting his new hairdo for the movie (16 Feb 2008, courtesy of zac-e.com)

Reviews & Test-Screenings
Duh! It's a little bit early considering that filming isn't finished yet, not to talk about post. ;)

Additional Info

• Get Robert Kaplow's novel at Amazon

Supporters List

1. othfan628
2. nyychick2
3. BrendaSaysHi
4. ~Jewel~
5. LivvyxBaby
6. yagirlbee925
7. sarahbeth0587
8. Lizzie♥Z&V
9. RainbowChaser
10. *°*Peryne*°*
11. V-Nessa
12. tyubi
13. bettybaby
14. HSMloveOTH
15. Sweet_Honeycomb
16. zanessatroygabriellalover
17. Z+Vfan
18. Miss Fate
19. zac'sgirl
20. write2me
21. krizzteh
22. blackgreywhite

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.

Um, you should add me. :P

Oh love it! Could I be added to this list please?

The opening post looks great Bee. Thanks for opening this. This will be a great surprise for when Jule returns. Can you add myself and her as well?

Ill be added. So it's official then? He's going to be doing this movie?

You are all added. :)

I'm not a graphic designer and Photoshop-challenged, so if somebody wants to make a better banner, please feel free to. If you want the picture with Orson Welles in the Mercury Theatre for it (which is used in the current one) just let me know and I'll send it to you.

The answer is right there in the opening post.

oh wow threads up already, eh?

can you add me please :flowers:

i'm really excited to see how this is gonna turn out..

Ooh, add me please :D

Can you add me please??
Just imagine Zac in his 1930's clothes :sigh: he's gonna look extremely hot

Really? Couldn't see it! Its hard to tell whats official and ****e on here.

Its under additional info. First Bullet.

Livvy, try and control your language, please.

Language? How can it hurt anyone if it's censored. Wow and even the word I wrote wasnt even a swear word. Whatever.

Could you add me to the list as well?

Everyone's added in. :)

I'm surprised nobody has commented yet on the boy in the last picture - that's the real-life boy Zac is playing. He's 17 in that pic - obviously the same age Zac's character is going to be.

The guy looks like 12 though to me. Just in appearance Arthur and Zac look years apart - not only the 3 years Zac is older than the character. On the other hand, Orson Welles is 22 in that picture and Christian McKay who will portray Welles is older than that too.

I'm wondering if Zac will have to play the ukulele too. :P

He does look really young, it might just be the times too. it's funny how you can see how we've really changed

Agree. Interestingly, Orson Welles looks much older than 22 imo - it's just the opposite. Times certainly change.

I'm off for tonight. I'll add everyone new in tomorrow morning.

Night Bee and thanks for opening. And yea, Orson looks way older

:cheerleader::cheerleader::cheerleader::cheerleader::cheerleader:

Thanks for openiiiiiiiiing !!! :love:

Definitely want to be added, please ? :flowers:

I'll be off today, cause I have work, but I can't wait to be back tonight to talk with you guys, and catch up on all I've missed =)

xoxo

Does it have an actual date when its coming out?

Thanks for opening! :hug:

Add me please? :flowers:

ADD ME TOO, please :flowers:
I have to read that book.. I'm not reading books often but for Zac.. I would do everything!

Alternative summaries/reviews of the "Me and Orson Welles" novel by Robert Kaplow:

Summary from American Library Association via Production Charts:

Quote:

In 1937 the world was preparing for war, but Richard Samuels, a 17-year-old in suburban New Jersey, was preparing himself for the role of a lifetime. All his life he had wanted to be on the stage, and one day he wandered onto a set in the theater district, where a chance encounter changed his life forever. There Richard met the 22-year-old Orson Welles, who offered him a bit part in a bold new interpretation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. When Welles was not directing the play, he was busy being famous, womanizing, and boozing. The awestruck Richard saw this as his own chance to leap to fame, with Welles as his mentor. The theater, however, quickly jades even the youngest of participants, and when the megolomaniacal Welles casts his eye on the woman with whom Richard himself had fallen in love, all hell breaks loose.

Summary from Publishers Weekly:

Quote:

"This is the story of one week in my life. I was seventeen. It was the week I slept in Orson Welles's pajamas. It was the week I fell in love. It was the week I fell out of love." Thus does the precocious protagonist of Kaplow's first adult novel summarize his adventures as a bit-part player in the landmark 1937 Mercury Theater production of Julius Caesar that helped catapult the 22-year-old Welles to the top of the entertainment world. Kaplow wastes no time setting up his unlikely scenario; after an impromptu sidewalk audition, Richard Samuels, a New Jersey high school student, lands the part of Lucius, a minor character. The conceit forms a nice counterpoint to the coming-of-age material, as Kaplow alternates scenes about Samuels's high school and home life with a series of rehearsal passages that bring the brilliant but mercurial Welles to life. Samuels falls in love more than once: first with fellow high school actress Caroline, then with a lovely, flighty production assistant named Sonja who is also involved with Welles, and finally with Gretta, an aspiring writer. The climax features a colorful showdown between Samuels and Welles after the boy confronts the married Welles about his affair with Sonja. Kaplow doesn't quite capture the dark side of the enigmatic Welles, but his bright, enthusiastic writing about Samuels's introduction to the world of high-stakes theater makes this an entertaining offering.

Summary from School Library Journal:

Quote:

Adult/High School-In November, 1937, Richard Samuels, 17, a high school senior drifting relatively painlessly through school and relationships, feels there might be more to life. The New Jerseyite spends weekends wandering in Manhattan looking for a connection, preferably theatrical, that would excite him. He happens upon the yet to open Mercury Theatre and is noticed by its mercurial muse, Orson Welles. He is given a small part in Julius Caesar, which is ultimately a grand success, and spends a week in a fantastic whirl as part of the troupe. The following few days are exciting, frustrating, and, finally, both triumphant and devastating to the would-be thespian. Kaplow brings the New York of the late 1930s vividly to life, especially the theatrical world. The novel is fast paced and very funny, and the brilliant but unpredictable Welles is a perfect foil for the sardonic but inexperienced young man. Welles at 22 is close to Richard's age, but far from the center of his moral compass. Incidents of anti-Semitism and misogyny distress the teen, yet the actor/producer's brilliance and daring are like a magnet. Richard's dreams of a Broadway career soon fade, but he emerges from the experience with a desire to write, possibly a new romance, and certainly an important new friendship.

:yay:

soooooo excited for this movie :woot: and i agree, zac in a period piece: smoking :hotpinkie:

please add me to the list!

Everyone is added. :)

Regarding filming times - if I would have to guess I would expect that they film only a few days in NYC and London each.. for external shoots. Then the most of the film would take place inside the theater or other interior locations which will be filmed on the Isle of Man. That typically has to do with tax benefits and costs - you only get them if you have all or the majority of the movie done in that location and from what I got from the official Isle of Man website they do have movie incentives. On the other hand, the USD-GBP exchange rate is anything than favorable at the moment.

So, personal guess: 2-5 days NYC, 2-5 days London, 4-5 weeks Isle of Man.

I hope we'll get more info soon.