"Me and Orson Welles"

[François Thomas]

Thanks, Micheál !

[RayKelly]

from washingtoncitypaper.com:

But few are likely to see (Zac) Efron’s star rise in Me and Orson Welles, at least not any time soon. Despite wrapping in 2008, the film–directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, School of Rock) and based on the book by Robert Kaplow–has been languishing in the festival circuit. Despite rave reviews from SXSW and Toronto Film Festival screenings, the film has yet to snag a distributor. In September, however, the film will have another shot at attracting a distributor when it plays at the 2009 Woodstock Film Festival.

[RayKelly]

The trailer is now online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fd5RQWLG_0

[Glenn Anders]

Thanks, Ray. This trailer has been out for some time, but one can see a steady interest in the film, and the pull of Zac Efron might well help the career of Christan McKay, revive the memory of Orson Welles, and not detract from that of Jack Armstrong the All American Boy!

Glenn

[Alan Brody]

That blurb from Roger Ebert especially ("Possibly the best film about the theatre I've ever seen") could really give it's chances a boost. Ebert gets it that, in order to help little indie fims, critics sometimes have to exagerrate their enthusiasm a bit. Or maybe he really means it. In any event, here's hoping it helps get the film some kind of release. From the trailer it looks like at least a good movie.

[Glenn Anders]

Unfortunately, Alan, that kind of endorsement by Roger Ebert, like many others of its kind, will seem over the top, as they say in theater; if not, it will appeal to a relatively few veiwers in the populace . Ebert has a habit of writing that kind of thing, which tends to be abused in ads to the point of meaninglessness by PR people. [He helped invent "thumbs up, thumbs down," now a cliche in modern critical shorthand, after all.] But I agree that for a small indie film, appealing to a niche group, Roger Ebert's judgment will catch some attention, and every even over the top bit helps. I still think that, whatever the quality of his performance here, however callow his role, Zac Efron's "heart throb factor" could make ME AND ORSON WELLES a sleeper hit.

Just read those adoring comments, mostly by young girls, I presume -- over 200 in number. Most of these fans are not referring to Orson Welles or the Theater. Only incidentally do they indicate that Zefron, a modern idol, has come to aid of an older one. Or more incidentally, The Theater.

Glenn

[Alan Brody]

That reminds me that John Simon once described Siskel & Ebert as "thumb and thumber". That was before Siskel's fatal illness of course, but in Simon's case that may not have mattered. You may be right Glenn, that Ebert's hyperbole may backfire on the film, but let's hope his credibility with discerning filmgoers hasn't been exhausted yet.

Zac's adoring female fans ignoring everything but him is a similar situation to the 2002 Ambersons remake, when much of the online discussion afterwards was from young females drooling over Johnathon Rhys-Myers. The story was irrelevant. But then, teenybopper idols come and go. If the film itself is a good one, it'll find a way to endure, hopefully.

[Glenn Anders]

Very true, Alan.

[RayKelly]

I am surprised that Zac Efron's presence alone hasn't won Me and Orson Welles a US distributor.
"17 Again," a non-High School Musical creation starring Zefron that drew lukewarm reviews, took in $64 million domestically at the box office -- and $23 million came in the opening weekend.

[Glenn Anders]

It is a puzzlement, Alan.

The only thing I can come up with is that the main production company, CinemaNX [gb], is centered in Isle of Man. The company's goal appears to want the Isle on the World Cinema Map, but so far, of the half dozen pictures it has backed [Chico & Rita (2009), Heartless (2009), The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009), Wild Target (2009), A Bunch of Amateurs (2008), Me and Orson Welles] , only A BUNCH OF AMATEURS (UK) and ME AND ORSON WELLES (US) have gotten promise of distribution.

Zac Efron and Christian McKay may offer a change in fortunes.

Let's hope so.

Glenn

[Alan Brody]

Ray, I think it's possible that the fact that Zac has become a bonafide box-office commodity may actually hurt "Me and Orson Welles's" chances of being released. They may not want an arty indie messing up a proven formula. Sometimes I wonder if that isn't what happened to "Touch of Evil", two years after Heston played Moses and a year before he played Ben-Hur.

[Glenn Anders]

Ray, Alan: You may both be right.

I'm sure that the Hollywood money people see Zac Efron as an already proven bull in the box office, on the model of past teen idols like Tab Hunter, John Derek, John Saxon, etc. But like a couple of them, he has shown signs of not being entirely comfortable as a sex object. In fact, he is widely quoted in interviews as saying that he wants to be a serious actor. At the moment, he is filming THE DEATH AND LIFE OF CHARLIE ST. CLOUD, due out in 2010, with Kim Bassinger playing Charlie's mother. Here's its storyline from the IMDb:

"Charlie St. Cloud is a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother. [They were in a car accident together.] So much so that he takes a job as caretaker of the cemetery in which his brother is buried. Charlie has a special lasting bond with his brother though, as he can see him. Charlie meets up with his brother (Sam) each night to play catch and talk. Then, a girl comes into Charlie's life and he must choose between keeping a promise he made to Sam, or going after the girl he loves." Written by CBlodg

Still sounds a bit fey, in the manner of the last picture of his released, 17 AGAIN, but much more somber than HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL! It makes ME AND ORSON WELLES sound like either a hybrid or a transition.

Glenn

[Alan Brody]

Looks like he's already starting to show the studios some backbone according to this recent report:

Zac Efron backed out of the deal on the Paramount fast tracked Footloose re-make where we last heard he got script approval as well. When we reported this last October we were told that Efron was in the process to set a deal that will pay him a mid-seven-figure salary and give him script approval.

Here is what First Showing says,

“Zac Efron has officially dropped out of Footloose movie after being announced back in October. Efron has said that “he didn’t want to make a musical at this point [in] his career” and HitFix is reporting that he was “also incredibly disappointed in the script the studio was trying to fast track into production.”

Well I guess Efron used that script approval and showed Paramount the door. I wonder if there is more to the story? Theory - maybe Efron is getting more money on another project? Maybe Johnny Quest is getting more push and they really want him in the film and there was a scheduling conflict? Obviously I am speculating majorly but who knows. To be honest I bet the script sucked and Efron is tired of doing musicals, I would be after being Disney’s pawn for 3 musicals.

[mido505]

When an actor starts to "show the studios some backbone" it is usually the beginning of the end. Regarding the 'Footloose' remake - I am sure that "the script sucked"; so did the script for the original, the difference between the two being that the young pretty boy star of the original monster hit was not given script approval. I am sure that Efron is "tired of doing musicals...after being Disney's pawn for three musicals". Unfortunately for Efron, had he not been "Disney's pawn for three musicals", no one would be paying him any attention, offering him script approval, and giving him "a mid-seven-figure salary".

How impressive that Ephron wants to be a serious actor; so did Elvis. Well, no one flocked to see 'Charro', but they sure turned out in droves for 'Clambake'. The paradox is that, had anyone other than Elvis been in 'Clambake', no one would have gone to see it! 'The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud' sounds like a magnum of chloroform; a few more of those, and with the bloom off the rose, as it were, pretty little Zachy will find himself at the Z-list table at the Viper Room with the likes of Corey Haim. Zac Ephron is now a star because he has excelled, vividly, and much to his credit, as a performer in a series of films that updated and injected new energy into a marvelous and beloved film genre (the musical). "Serious" dramas about "serious" subjects starring "serious" actors giving "serious" performances are a dime a dozen; glorious, ecstatic, effervescent, musicals in the old Hollywood tradition are not. I just rewatched all the old Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland/Busby Berkley/MGM musicals; they are some of the greatest movies of all time. What is the shame in being in THAT company? Tennessee Williams once named Mickey Rooney as the greatest actor in Hollywood history, and I will bet you a pile that it wasn't because of Rooney's performance in 'Baby Face Nelson'.

Zac's only other hit, besides the 'High School Musicals', was 'Hairspray', another musical. Go figure. There is no shame in an actor wanting to do "serious" roles, but don't shit where you eat. The lesson that Zac Ephron should have learned from doing 'Me and Orson Welles' is that not everyone is Orson Welles. Not every "has-been" is a "has-been" that keeps on writing, directing, and acting in masterpieces long after most of the world has stopped watching or caring. Sometimes a "has-been" is just a "has-been".

[Glenn Anders]

Much of what you say may be true, mido505, but we were talking about how Zac Efron's desire to be a "serious actor" might have brought him to the subject of ME AND ORSON WELLES, how that desire may encourage him to defend his choice, and how his celebrity may bring people to see the film, including a young crowd who otherwise does not know or care much about Orson Welles.

No matter how foolish, in a career sense, his ambition may seem, as you conclude, he may recognize that, in the end, he probably will be a "has been," but it is better to be a "has been" like Orson Welles, independent and creative to the end, than one of these vacuous old troupers we see grovel, eating tarantulas for the approval of "The Tribe" on some "reality show."

Glenn