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Me and Orson Welles - Claire Danes, Zac Efron, Christian McKay, Richard Linklater

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

New York, November, 1937: Seventeen-year-old Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) spends his days dreaming of the bright lights of Broadway. After meeting Gretta (Zoe Kazan), a fellow aspiring creative, at a music store, Richard happens upon Orson Welles (Christian McKay) and his fledgling Mercury Theatre company. Richard impresses Welles with an impromptu audition and lands an unpaid bit part in the Mercury's forthcoming run of Julius Caesar. He is taught the ropes by a beautiful, ambitious production assistant, Sonja (Claire Danes). Richard quickly falls for Sonja.

Richard relishes his exciting new life as an actor (despite the chaotic rehearsals and Welles' notorious artistic temperament). When Richard goes out with Sonja and they wind up spending the night together, he's on cloud nine. However, when Sonja transfers her affections from Richard to Welles for the sake of her career, Richard's new world begins to crumble. The morning of the opening, Richard ill-advisedly confronts Welles about his womanising ways. Welles promptly fires Richard. When Welles later reconsiders and asks Richard to return to the theatre, the boy's hope is restored. Opening night is a huge success, and the play opens to acclaim. Afterward, Richard discovers that Welles only asked him to return for the sake of the opening, and has already recast his part. A deflated, but worldlier Richard returns to school, resolves to pursue a writing career and embarks on a romance with Gretta.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Me and Orson Welles theatrical one sheet image

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

  • Film drama romance theatre Thirties Shakespeare Julius Caesar Orson Welles Mercury history

Persons of interest

  • 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)
  • Janie Dee .... Mrs Samuels
  • Marlene Sidaway .... Grandmother Samuels
  • Garrick Hagon .... Dr Mewling
  • Megan Maczko .... Evelyn Allen (Calpurnia)
  • Travis Oliver .... John Hoyt (Decius)
  • Michael Brandon .... Les Tremayne
  • Saskia Reeves .... Barbara Luddy
  • Aidan McArdle .... Martin Gabel (Cassius)
  • Michael J McEvoy .... IL Epstein
  • Thomas Arnold .... George Duthie (Artemidorus)
  • Jo McInnes .... Jeannie Rosenthal
  • Daniel Tuite .... William Mowry (Flavius)
  • Emily Allen .... Virginia Welles
  • Robert Kaplow .... Author
  • Holly Gent Palmo .... Screenwriter
  • Vincent Palmo Jr .... Screenwriter
  • Richard Linklater .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

You don't have to be a dick to be an actor, but acting is one of the professions where it doesn't hurt the least bit. Orson Welles is a dick, a legendary dick, but he is forgiven by friend and foe alike because he does it with such great (a) style and (b) innovation. He is also (c) talented but this is not such a great thing in the theatre.

Christian McKay owns the screen (and the stage) as if the film was written for him. Even in the little scenes, he's overwhelming, just like the real thing. Claire Danes is ok. Zac Efron has undergone puberty and is keen to show off his acting chops after a seemingly endless series of High School Musicals. He's still quite pretty and he still has a voice and he certainly has a certain something something (I'd tap that) but he needs to be able to grow a beard before he can be considered a serious actor.

If you like the theatre then you'll adore this insider's look at treading the boards as it was in the Thirties, under the steely-eyed glare of one of it's greatest heroes. If you like Zac Efron then you'll like Me and Orson Welles because he's in it. This is no Withnail & I but it's made by Americans so you can't expect too much. ;)

The drama, romance, theatre movie Me and Orson Welles is directed by Richard Linklater and stars Claire Danes, Zac Efron, Christian McKay.

Government security censorship classification

PG (Mild coarse language and sexual references)

Surveillance time

114 minutes (1:54 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

Film: 29 July 2010

Cinema surveillance images

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