Me & Orson Welles

Director: Richard Linklater Richard Linklater

Overview

High-school student Richard (Zac Efron) dreams of a life on the stage, so he takes trips into Manhattan and, on one of these occasions -- thanks to his drum- and ukulele-playing skills -- manages to BS his way into the cast of Orson Welles' (Christian McKay) newest production. The impressionable kid immediately gets swept up into this exciting new world. As he learns from his brilliant, mercurial new mentor, Richard attempts to win the affections of Sonja Jones (Claire Danes), an ambitious secretary at the theater who has designs on meeting David O. Selznick. Young Richard also befriends fellow actors Joseph Cotten (James Tupper) and Norman Lloyd (Leo Bill), leading to a wager among the trio of men over who will be the first of the three to seduce the heretofore unattainable Sonja. What Richard doesn't expect is that he will have to compete not with them, but with Welles himself for her attention.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/13/2011
UPC:	0883929202638
Original Release:	2009
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:54:00
Sales rank:	39,492

Special Features

The Making of Me And Orson Welles; The Real Orson Welles; The Gate Q & A; The Mercury's Caesar; Deleted Scenes

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Zac Efron	Richard Samuels (Lucius)
Claire Danes	Sonja Jones
Christian McKay	Orson Welles (Brutus)
Ben Chaplin	George Coulouris (Mark Antony)B11
Zoe Kazan	Gretta Adler
Eddie Marsan	John Houseman,Actor
Kelly Reilly	Muriel Brassler (Portia)
James Tupper	Joseph Cotten (Publius)
Leo Bill	Norman Lloyd (Cinna the Poet)
Al Weaver	Sam Leve
Iain McKee	Vakhtangov
Simon Lee Phillips	Walter Ash
Simon Nehan	Joe Holland (Julius Caesar)
Imogen Poots	Lorelei Lathrop
Patrick Kennedy	Grover Burgess (Ligarius)
Janie Dee	Mrs. Samuels
Marlene Sidaway	Grandmother Samuels
Garick Hagon	Dr. Mewling
Megan Maczko	Evelyn Allen (Calpurnia)
Aaron Brown	Longchamps Kid #1
Travis Oliver	John Hoyt (Decius)
Nathan Osgood	Radio Announcer
Robert Wilfort	Radio Director
Michael Brandon	Les Tremayne
Saskia Reeves	Barbara Luddy
Aidan McArdle	Martin Gabel (Cassius)
Mike McEvoy	I.L. Epstein,Composer
Thomas Arnold	George Duthie (Artemidorus)
Jo McInnes	Jeannie Rosenthal
Daniel Tuite	William Mowry (Flavius)
Emily Allen	Virginia Welles
John Young	Longchamps Kid #2
Eddi Reader	Singer
Jools Holland	Band Leader
Steve Parry	Mercury Trumpet Player
Jay Irving	Mercury Percussion Player
David Garbutt	Mercury French Horn Player
Simon Lee Philips	Walter Ash

Technical Credits

Vince Palmo

Holly Gent Palmo

Richard Linklater	Director,Producer
Vince Palmo	Screenwriter
Holly Gent Palmo	Screenwriter
Ann Carli	Producer
Marc Samuelson	Producer
Steve Christian	Executive Producer
Steve Norris	Executive Producer
John Sloss	Executive Producer
Rob Duncan	Special Effects
Lucy Bevan	Casting
Ed Hart	Executive Producer
Bruce Lunsford	Executive Producer
Colin Nicolson	Sound Mixer

Editorial Reviews

Orson Welles' 1937 staging of Julius Caesar for his newly founded Mercury Theatre is widely regarded as one of the most audacious, memorable, and exciting plays ever performed in America. Richard Linklater's Me & Orson Welles, puts the viewer in the middle of the hectic week leading up to the ambitious show's opening. High-school student Richard (Zac Efron) dreams of a life on the stage, so he takes trips into Manhattan and, on one of these occasions -- thanks to his drum- and ukulele-playing skills -- manages to BS his way into the cast of Welles' newest production. The impressionable kid immediately becomes swept up into this exciting new world. As he learns from his brilliant, mercurial new mentor, Richard attempts to win the affections of Sonja Jones (Claire Danes), an ambitious secretary at the theater who has designs on meeting David O. Selznick. Young Richard also befriends fellow actors Joseph Cotten (James Tupper) and Norman Lloyd (Leo Bill), leading to a wager among the trio of men over who will be the first of the three to seduce the heretofore unattainable Sonja. What Richard doesn't expect is that he will have to compete not with them, but with Welles himself for her attention. Linklater's movie is a handsomely mounted period piece/coming-of-age tale -- sort of a Dazed and Confused for theater geeks. Richard learns bittersweet truths about sex, love, friendship, and Shakespeare -- but what makes it something of a must-see is Christian McKay's riveting performance as the 22-year-old Orson Welles. At this stage, Welles was the enfant terrible of the theatrical world -- a kid genius who would deceive, browbeat, cajole, charm, and manipulate everyone around him in order to bring his vision to life. McKay not only gets all of the physical aspects of Welles down -- the sly smile, the mischievous, twinkling glint in the eye, the jaunty gait -- but he captures the monumental grandiosity of Welles' unmistakable voice. He nails Welles' ability to shift from seductive, velvety smooth tones to a commanding, bestial roar in a heartbeat. Let's be clear -- this is not just an impersonation, it's a masterful piece of acting because the role demands a full-blooded performance, not a simple evocation of our collective memories of the man. A sequence where he hijacks a live radio play gives us insight into how quickly he could think on his feet, as well as how his gargantuan ego made him both a living legend and an impossible person to deal with. For those familiar with Welles, you'll giggle during the first half of the movie whenever he opens his mouth because you can't believe what you're seeing and hearing, but during the second half you'll simply accept that you're looking at Welles in all his complicated glory. McKay steals the film, in a performance Welles himself would have adored.