Me and Orson Welles

Me and Orson Welles (DVD) (*)

~~$24.99~~ $18.97

Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
British Independent Film Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
Danish ( Subtitles )
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Finnish ( Subtitles )
Norwegian ( Subtitles )
Swedish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Sweden ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
109 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Making Of
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2008 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Richard Linklater

Written By:
Holly Gent Palmo
Robert Kaplow

Actors:
Zac Efron ..... Richard Samuels (Lucius)
Claire Danes ..... Sonja Jones
Christian McKay ..... Orson Welles (Brutus)
Ben Chaplin ..... George Coulouris (Mark Antony)
Zoe Kazan ..... Gretta Adler
Eddie Marsan ..... John Houseman
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)

Synopsis:

Me and Orson Welles is a 2009 period-drama film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay, and Claire Danes. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to perform in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar, where he becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant.

New York, 1937: RICHARD SAMUELS (17) is bored with school and dreams of treading the boards on Broadway. After a chance encounter with a theatre company outside a derelict theatre, The Mercury, Richard soon finds himself inside chatting with Orson Welles, the Director of Broadways first Shakespearean production, Julius Caesar. Welles is a bullish, competitive character who is having an affair with the leading lady, MURIEL BRASSLER, despite his wife VIRGINIAS pregnancy. Richard plays on Welles egotistical nature and manages to bluff his way into the role of Lucius; Welles swiftly couples him with the gorgeous production assistant SONJA JONES (20), to rehearse. Richard, along with the rest of the crew, is captivated by Sonjas vivacity and ability to manage everything behind the scenes by schmoozing all the right people. It soon becomes apparent that she is willing to do anything to get her big break. As rehearsals progress Richards total lack of acting ability becomes increasingly apparent and the rest of the company begin to express their concern over the state of the production. However, the wildly flirtatious Orson is too busy conducting radio interviews and seducing young women to take note, whilst Sonja seems more intent on furthering her career and her relationship with Richard. When Orson decides the company would benefit from a team-building game which involves everyone pairing off and going for a drink, Richard cheats to ensure he is paired with Sonja. Their date goes well and after spending the night together Richard declares his love for her at the theatre, the following day. His declaration is met with an indifferent response from Sonja and at the preview matinee she tells him she is to spend the night with Orson. The day of the opening, Richard is distraught to discover that Sonja slept with Orson because he promised to introduce her to Selznick, the producer of Gone With the Wind. After an argument Orson fires Richard and he storms out. Orson finds him on a park bench and apologises and Richard agrees to return to the production. The opening night is a success but its short-lived for Richard as he soon learns that Orsons apology was merely a ruse to ensure a successful first night and Orson has secured a child actor to take over Richards role. To add insult to injury, as Richard sees Sonja waiting outside the Theatre for Selznik to pick her up he learns that Sonja knew of Orsons plan all along. Richards return to normality hits him hard: he tells his family he quit because it didnt pay and he returns to school and decides to pursue a career in writing instead of acting: he has an idea for a novel about a celebrity genius.

A teenager is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of 'Julius Caesar' directed by a young Orson Welles in 1937.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 22 June, 2010.

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