Hail ‘Caesar’ — Looking back at Mercury Theatre’s first production
Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre production of Caesar was a Broadway sensation 80 years ago.
Norman Lloyd reflects on ‘Julius Caesar,’ ‘Me and Orson Welles’
The Mercury Theatre actor is 101 years old.
Mercury Theatre actor Arthur Anderson to recreate ‘A Christmas Carol’ role in live show
UPDATED ON DEC. 5th: Upon the advice of his doctor, Mr. Anderson will not be taking part in the performance. ______ Mercury Theatre actor Arthur Anderson, 91, will star in a Quicksilver Radio Theater live production on December 6 at St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church in Meiers Corners, New York. Anderson will recreate his role […]
Orson Welles as a special guest on The David Frost Show, May 12, 1970
By LAWRENCE FRENCH Orson Welles appearance on The David Frost Show recorded on May 12, 1970 came before most of the numerous biographies about Welles had been published, providing us with Welles’ own point of view on some very interesting aspects of his life and work. This interview also took place in the midst of […]
Christian McKay on playing Orson Welles – Part III
The members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have voted on this years nominees, and Christian McKay’s performance as Orson Welles has not been nominated. This is not really too much of a surprise, since there was absolutely no support for the film in terms of trade ads, or given the fact […]
Christian McKay on Orson Welles – Part II
On Tuesday morning we will find out the five nominees for best supporting actor. Might Christian McKay’s portrayal of Orson Welles be among them? We will shall know shortly… In the meantime, after talking extensively with Christian McKay when he visited San Francisco, I still found I had many unanswered questions left, so Mr. McKay […]
San Francisco Film Critics pick Christian McKay as the years best supporting actor for his role in ME AND ORSON WELLES
In 1994 I had the great pleasure of talking with the veteran film actor Martin Landau for over two hours about his role playing Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s wonderful movie Ed Wood. Mr. Landau went on to win an Academy Award the following year. I also had the pleasure of talking with the rising […]
Richard Linklater and Christian McKay talk about their new film, ME AND ORSON WELLES opening in 44 cities across America on December 11
Frank Lloyd Wright said architecture was the cathedral of the arts. I think the cinema is. –Nicholas Ray ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Richard Linklater’s new movie Me and Orson Welles will open in 44 cities across America on December 11 and for anyone interested in the arts, it should be a sheer delight. As Nicholas Ray notes, the […]
“Me and Orson Welles” film and theatre study guide for teachers and students now available online
Since Me and Orson Welles was written by Robert Kaplow, a New Jersey English teacher, and concerns a fictional student who discovers the world of the lively arts in 1937 New York, it’s only fitting that the movie will become a subject in classroom discussions. To this end, Film Education in the UK has put […]
On Staging Shakespeare and on Shakespeare’s Stage by Orson Welles
As Me and Orson Welles expands this week to theatres across America, one of the primary audiences who may be especially interested in seeing the film and talking about it will be teachers and their students. Therefore, here is a short excerpt from Orson Welles chapter taken from Everybody’s Shakespeare, the book he wrote in […]
Christian McKay and Richard Linklater delight the San Francisco preview audience of ME AND ORSON WELLES
Christian McKay and Richard Linklater spent one-and-a-half days in San Francisco to talk about their new film Me and Orson Welles and dazzled the preview audience at the Embarcadero Center Cinemas. Having arrived in SF from the Austin premiere the night before, the San Francisco event was a much more low-key affair, since teen heart-throb […]
Arthur Anderson, the inspiration for Zac Efron’s character in ME AND ORSON WELLES, talks about working with Orson Welles on stage and radio
Richard Linklater and Christian McKay talked about their new film Me and Orson Welles for nearly an hour after a preview screening in San Francisco on December 2. In the excerpt below they recall some details of Welles’s production of Julius Caesar, related to them by the only two cast members of the play who […]
Chris Welles Feder and Christian McKay unveil a plaque celebrating Orson Welles’s Mercury Theater (1937 – 1941) on Broadway
Wellesnet is pleased to be able to share this exclusive report from Chris Welles Feder, who attended the New York premiere and after party of Richard Linklater’s new movie, Me and Orson Welles, due to the efforts of your obedient servant. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ME AND ORSON WELLES premiere By Chris Welles Feder ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The premiere was […]
William Alland on working with ORSON WELLES from JULIUS CAESAR to TOUCH OF EVIL
Richard Linklater’s Me and Orson Welles had its New York City premiere on November 23, and the next day, on November 24, there was a dedication by Chris Welles Feder and Christian McKay of a plaque in memory of Orson Welles’s Mercury Theatre which once stood at the site of the current building which now […]