Check This: Teaser Trailer for 'Me and Orson Welles'
Is that Ebert quote accurate?
A promo trailer for Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles showed up online yesterday and seems entertaining enough and with Zac Efron should be able to draw a few wandering pop culture eyes and for those of you that remember Claire Danes, well, she's in it too. The film made the festival circuit last year, but has yet to be picked up for distribution, which seems odd considering it has a wildly out-of-place quote from Roger Ebert attached to it:
Possibly the best movie about the theatre I've ever seen.
Strangely enough, I can't find that quote anywhere online, and considering the number of fantastic films about the theatre I have a hard time believing Ebert would rush to such a judgment. Take All About Eve for example, it's on Ebert's greatest films list. I would like to ask him to compare the two and see if he still thinks Me and Orson Welles is still "possibly" the best, and if so, why isn't anyone picking it up for distribution? I would also throw 42nd Street in the mix as a personal close runner-up.
Nevertheless,
you're here to check out a trailer for a film you may have to wait for some time to see. It's set in 1937, and centers on a high school student (Efron) who, while strolling the streets of New York, happens upon the yet-to-open Mercury Theatre and is noticed by its mercurial founder, Orson Welles (Christian McKay). The man lands a bit part in "Julius Caesar," the production that catapulted Welles to the top, and spends the next week learning about life and love.
Obviously, if that quote isn't accurate it wouldn't be the first time. Hell, just yesterday I saw a quote on a press release for a direct-to-DVD animated film called Donkey X that said, "…cinema's finest computer animation to date" – Variety. I wondered what the "…" was replacing and it just so happens the full quote reads, "A lively but clumsy comic retelling of the Cervantes classic, pic reps Spanish cinema's finest computer animation to date, but its humdrum script leaves it flailing at windmills." Hmmmm… looks better the other way eh?
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Yes, the Ebert quote is accurate. It was part of his TIFF reviews and it is currently not on his site; I assume because it was part of an article with several reviews and the movie is not out yet and therefore didn't get its own review page so far (the last part is my specualtion but I've seen the review with my own eyes on his site).
@Olivia: Thanks for that clarification, would definitely be interested in reading that full review and I guess the question stands, "Why isn't anyone picking it up for distribution?"
@Brad Brevet: I can give you a link to a Zac fansite with the entire review: Roger Ebert review. That's probably better than nothing.
It will get released in the UK on 4 December (and will probably be opened in 150-200 theaters). They've been playing the trailer there in front of Zac movies since HSM3.
Based on the fact that the trailer is on the 17 Again blu-ray, I guess it means it's coming out in the US too but I don't know more than that. Linklater also said at SWSX after a surprise screening that it will come out later this year. HTH
I don't care about Zac and, frankly, Dunst looks flat in this. (What happened to the edgy young TV actress?) But even just a glimpse of Christian McKay is intriguing. I'm adding this one to my list of wannasees.
This looks awful. Is this serious? Really? You're kidding, right? Why is Hollywood stuck in either "Let's make movies about the swinging 20s" or "Let's make movies about the Reagan 80s" mode? Going to the theater is like bad History Channel programming nowadays. Except I don't think there's a Monster Garage or Deadliest Catch movie….yet. How about something truly original? Remember the late 70s, early 80s? When movies (especially in science fiction) were being done, that HADN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE? Wasn't that cool??? What the heck happened?
@Patricia: I assume you were talking about Danes, and not Dunst, right? :-) Anyway, if she's in, I'm in. I consider her performance in "Shopgirl" one of the best performances of the decade.
@Brad Brevet: Here is a better link to the review (it's still a blog but at least not a messageboard). It also contains all the other TIFF reviews for the film.
The official movie site (http://www.meandorsonwellesthemovie.com/) has more choice quotes.
And while the UK distribution might not be of interest for you but according to Screen Daily they are using an innovative model there. The production company partnered with a major movie theater chain there and distributes it themselves.
Feel free to delete the previous link/comment.
@Adriano: Yes, I did. I drive myself crazy with names sometimes. I'm glad she still has fans because even when I like what's she's in, I don't particularly like her work. I'll give "Shopgirl" a look see.
In regards to the distribution: In recent interviews, Linklater makes it sound like the indie distribution business has shrunk considerably in the past year or so. And he's right, of course, with several indie distributors shutting down and a lot of studios shuttering their indie branches. With fewer people buying, it makes it a lot more difficult for even established directors. He's even had a hard time getting financing for future flicks.
Also, there is one interview at Blackbook, where he talks about how due to marketing costs even indies have to be very profitable and it's become a vicious cycle of increasing expectations since some indies do so well. There's another that I can't find at the mo, where he takes some of the blame for his tendency to stay outside Hollywood circle and not network or make a lot of friends.
Check out this review which highlights Christian McKay's performance as Welles himself: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/movies/13durbin.html. Looks good from here.
@Brad Brevet: In case you're interested, the first real trailer just popped up at The Guardian.
The one you've posted here was a specific teaser for Zac fans since it was included on the 17 Again DVD/Blu-ray