ORSON WELLES: There is a grand place, where the ancient cliffs hold a million stories. Where the mystic forests whisper time worn tales. Where the glacial lakes drown secrets from the ice age. There is a grand place called New Hampshire. A brand new stage for adventure and romance…
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It’s rather amazing that Orson Welles work in the arts is so vast it is still being catologued and discovered – more than 20 years after his death. This of course, not only applies to his own unfinished films, most of which we know about, but also to the incredible amount of radio and voiceover work Welles did, much of which is still unknown to even the most vervent of Welles scholars.
The recent posting at Wellesnet of many of Welles brilliant radio shows from the forties is a prime example. Like a cache of hidden treasure, Store Hadji has provided us with many rare Welles radio shows that were very seldom heard.
Suffice it to say, Welles total career is like a glacier from the ice ages of New Hampshire’s lakes. We are still discovering bits and pieces of his work which pop up at the most surprising time and places.
Such as this last week, when the biggest story about the new Transformers movie, seemed to be that Orson Welles had provided a voice for the old Transformer movie. Thankfully, Welles had no connection with the new one, but if he did, perhaps he could have used a one per cent cut of the $70 million opening week gross to finish The Other Side of the Wind.
Another Welles unknown gem: In 1982, after the success of On Golden Pond, Welles did a promo piece to lure other Hollywood filmmakers to the state of New Hampshire, persumably after well-known New Englander Katherine Hepburn said “no.” It has now been revised for a new short film about filming in New Hampshire, which can be viewed here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM5REtS3hUM
As it is yet another masterpiece of Welles vocal acumen, it should be welcome viewing for all.
Here is the complete press release from The New Hampshire Film office about the film:
NEW HAMPSHIRE FILM FEATURES ORSON WELLES PROMOTING STATE AS FILMING LOCATION
(CONCORD — July 11, 2007) The New Hampshire Film and Television Office has produced a new promotional video to showcase the Granite State as a potential filmmaking destination, featuring New Hampshire personality Fritz Wetherbee and a narration track from the late and legendary Orson Welles.
The 9-minute video was released Friday and posted onto the popular online Web sites YouTube and MySpace. It also will be used in a forthcoming DVD promotional piece and in an e-mail marketing campaign to motion picture and television studios, as well as production companies and advertising agencies worldwide.
“Orson Welles was one of the greats and has been a lifelong influence on me in both theatre and film,” says Van McLeod, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Resources. “It was thrilling to revisit this piece and bring his voice back to life.”
Welles originally recorded narration for a similar video to promote filmmaking in the state in 1982. The New Hampshire Film and Television Office decided to update the video, laying Welles’ voice track over fresh, high-definition footage of the state and included bookend remarks by Fritz Wetherbee. The video was produced with Gary Anderson of New Hampshire Movies, Inc. in Deerfield.
Matthew Newton, a film specialist managing the New Hampshire Film and Television Office, is looking to capitalize on the viral nature of videos distributed over the Internet to have the piece reach its target audience.
“Independent filmmakers are increasingly using online distribution as a means to having their work seen,” said Newton.
“It makes sense to tap into the same online resources that filmmakers are using to generate viewership. It’s really an innovative and fun way to get our message directly to filmmakers on a global scale.”
The New Hampshire Film and Television Office, as part of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources, works to expand business activity and employment throughout the state by acting as a liaison between the film industry and an established network of government agencies, the state’s film industry workforce and local property owners.
The office is responsible for location assistance, public relations and general production support in an effort to broaden the cultural and economic impact of film and television production in the state.
ON THE NET
The video can be seen on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM5REtS3hUM
And on the New Hampshire Film and Television Office page on MySpace at www.myspace.com/nhfilmoffice.
For details about film and television production in New Hampshire, call 271-2220 or visit www.nh.gov/film.