by jeezbee on 28 November 2009
With the release out this week in the US and next in the UK, we see more and more new reviews. You can find earlier reviews from last year’s TIFF here (professional reviews including Hollywoodreporter, Variety & Screen Daily reviews) and here (more private blogs etc), and SXSW’s are here.
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by jeezbee on 9 September 2009
Finally news about the US distribution for M&OW came out. As previously stated, the film will open 25 November 2009 in the US (limited in NY & LA) and then expand after.
I guess having the special Zac-focused trailer of Me and Orson Welles on the 17 Again DVD/Blu-ray makes now even more sense seeing that WBHV is handling the DVD release.
Here’s the article from Screen Daily, 9 September 2009: [more…]
by jeezbee on 19 August 2009
Me and Orson Welles will screen at two film festivals in September and October:
At the Deauville American Film Festival in France: 4 – 13 September 2009
At the Woodstock Film Festival in the US: 30 September – 4 October 2009
Currently there is no information available who from the cast or crew will attend or if Zac will be there.
Also, a small tidbit: Victor Diaz from News 8 Austin is reporting that according the Richard Linklater Me and Orson Welles will have a premiere in Austin (Paramount Theatre) this fall.
Here are the full announcements regarding the film festivals:
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by jeezbee on 15 August 2009
Zac Efron’s film Me and Orson Welles finally got a US release date! Courtesy of EW’s fall movie preview the film will be released in the US on 25 November 2009!
Update: According to an interview with Richard Linklater at the Austin premiere of Extract, the movie will open in New York and Los Angeles on the 25th and expand the week after.
As reported earlier, the UK release date is 4 December 2009.
by jeezbee on 15 August 2009
Mark Malkin is reporting that there is talk going on about turning a new novel called Spin from Robert Rave into a starring vehicle for Zac. The book is supposed to be in the vein of The Devil Wears Prada but set in the PR world and based on the synopsis it also seems to be a bit more scandalous and raunchy.
My personal take on the rumor: I think Mark does have some sources so I can see this definitely being true and this has more credibility to me than most of the recent rumors which are downright silly. It’s stated though that nothing is signed so this is just a possibility and it might or might not come true – as usual.
Considering that the book comes out next week and the guy who wrote it has worked in PR, it seems not unlikely that he leaked the info himself to Mark. What better way to drum up some buzz for the book just days before the release? That doesn’t mean there haven’t been any talks (actually, considering that the author called Dane Cook an ass for his comment about Vanessa at the TCA’s a few days ago, it sort of makes sense that there is some talk because otherwise that comment would have been totally out of the blue) but Zac’s camp is typically pretty tight-lipped about any future projects so it makes perfectly sense for the book author to leak this kind of info to E!Online himself. It doesn’t tell us about the seriousness of the talks though.
As for the project itself ~ Gawker had a few posts about the book already and based on that info and the comments made in the recent articles, it seems the book is pretty scandalous, raunchy and also full of clichés. That doesn’t have to be bad though. I’m a big advocate of saying that execution determines if a movie is good or bad and in that vein I think this could be a really good movie for Zac if the script, director and cast is good; in a movie like this the script is pretty crucial imo. It sounds like a very commercial premise (which is good) and could be a good project for Zac to move further away from his goody two shoes teen heartthrob image and expanding his fanbase but at the same time still catering to them to some degree (ie it might not be a pure chick flick – the jury is still out on that – but it certainly caters to his female demo). It all depends on execution.
If the project comes through, I’m sure it’ll be some time before it happens though. It sounds like they are looking into optioning the book rights… typically a few years go by until those films are made then. A lot depends also on the success of the book itself and if it fits into some studios schedule/plan.
Here is the full article:
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by jeezbee on 13 August 2009
Zac signed up for a new movie, The Death and Life for Charlie St. Cloud, after he dropped out of Footloose back in March/April. The movie is a supernatural romantic drama based on Ben Sherwood’s novel of the same name and will be directed by Burr Steers and distributed by Universal in 2010.
The film recently started filming in Vancouver. Official shooting dates are from 31 July through 22 October 2009 (based on production lists from various Canadian guilds).
So far only a few cast members have been announced:
Here is a summary of the book courtesy of Ben Sherwood (note: synopsis naturally contains spoilers):
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by jeezbee on 12 August 2009
Screen Daily reported on 18 June 2009 that CinemaNX partnered with the theather chain Vue Entertainment and will release some of their movies directly through the chain bypassing a traditional distributor in the UK. The first movie using this model will be Me and Orson Welles.
In the meantime the release date has been set for 4 December 2009 in the UK and the plan is to release the film to 150-200 screens.
Just to show how wide the release is, here are three other numbers to compare:
- 17 Again was released in 407 theaters
- HSM3 was in 485 theaters
- Hairspray was in 358 theaters
So, while it’s not as wide as the Zac’s previous movies, it’s still a substantial release. Actually, it has fantastic reach considering that it is an indie and not a highly publicized studio release.
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by jeezbee on 10 August 2009
This is obviously a bit late but with the M&OW teaser trailer out, here are the reviews from the professional sites and media outlets the movie got at TIFF08 last year:
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by jeezbee on 10 August 2009
Here is the second post with reviews from Me and Orson Welles coming out of TIFF 2008. These reviews are all from private blogs etc, not professional critics. In that respect it’s important to keep in mind that many of them are not trying/claiming to give a fair, balanced or objective review; they are personal comments and the authors are entitled to them, even if you can see their bias from a mile away.
The TIFF08 reviews from film critics can be found here.
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by jeezbee on 10 August 2009
Me and Orson Welles had been screened at SXSW 2009 in March 2009 as mystery screening, ie people showed up without knowing which movie they are going to see until it started. Considering that Austin is Richard Linklater’s hometown many people suspected that it’s going to be M&OW though.
There have been a bunch of reviews (mostly private) coming out of this screening which you can find below.
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by jeezbee on 24 June 2009
Zac has recently signed up for new project, a thriller; the plot is unfortunately kept under wraps. He will headline the project which is written by Leslie Dixon. Zac will also executive produce. Here are a few more details…
Official press release from Mandate Pictures (23 June 2009):
ZAC EFRON AND LESLIE DIXON TAKE A THRILL RIDE WITH MANDATE PICTURES
LOS ANGELES, CA, June 23, 2009– Coming off of the success of 17 Again and having established himself as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after young stars, Zac Efron has signed on to star in an untitled thriller project for Mandate Pictures. The original project is being written by veteran scribe Leslie Dixon (Freaky Friday, The Thomas Crown Affair), who solidified her relationship with Zac after their hit, Hairspray. The plot, which is being held closely under wraps, has been described as a sexy thriller.
Frequent Mandate collaborator Greg Shapiro of Kingsgate Films (The Hurt Locker, the Harold and Kumar franchise), Jason Barrett (17 Again), and Leslie Dixon will produce the film with Zac Efron and Mandate’s Nathan Kahane executive producing. Nicole Brown will oversee the project for Mandate. [more…]
by jeezbee on 6 September 2008
Once again, I haven’t been updating the blog as I wanted… so I’ll be trying to play catch up – again.
To start things off, the very basics about last night’s premiere of Me and Orson Welles at the Toronto International Film Festival. There were many articles leading up to the premiere indicating high hopes for this movie (which I’ll put together in a later catch up post). There aren’t many reviews out yet (and not really any important ones) but the first reaction seems to be that the film is good but not brilliant. I’ll try to stay at least on top of the reviews. For this post, here is the entry about Me and Orson Welles from the festival website (written by the TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey) and a first clip from the movie.
Me and Orson Welles
Following on from School of Rock, Before Sunset and A Scanner Darkly, Richard Linklater continues to range across American cinema with the freedom of a true maverick. Is it any surprise that he has arrived at the doorstep of Orson Welles?
It is November, 1937, and teenager Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) dreams of making it on Broadway. One day he runs into Welles (Christian McKay), years before Citizen Kane but already a famous New York dramatist. With his new Mercury Theatre troupe as his instrument, Welles plans to mount a production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that will shake the foundations of American stagecraft. But he needs a bit player. Young Richard impresses him with his bravado and his singing voice – he’s hired.
Like a moth to a flame, Richard seeks the approval of the quick-tempered director, but soon finds himself distracted by Welles’s girl Friday, Sonja. Crisply played by Claire Danes as a woman with equal parts candour and ambition, she is irresistible, and knowingly so.
As Welles whips the troupe into shape for the pending premiere, egos and passions simmer to a boil. Richard falls for Sonja, but Sonja has a soft spot for more powerful men. Welles erupts into roaring fury when things don’t go his way, but can turn on a dime to charm an investor or a pouting actor.
McKay was discovered for this role doing a one-man show as Welles, and his performance is pitch perfect in voice and gesture – nothing short of dazzling. Efron is stretching his talent in new directions. He shows truly impressive range here, as the heady environment of the theatre awakens his character’s confidence and brings him to an inevitable clash with Welles.
Based on the novel by Robert Kaplow, Me and Orson Welles offers all the thrills of watching genius through the eyes of an innocent. The man who rose from Julius Caesar to War of the Worlds to Citizen Kane must have been hell to live with, which is the delicious pleasure of Me and Orson Welles.
And here is the short clip where Richard auditions for Orson Welles in front of the Mercury Theatre:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kteUGbN9CD4[/youtube]
by jeezbee on 12 July 2008
by jeezbee on 9 July 2008
Disney published a press release about the start of their promotional campaign with a “First Look” thingie on the Disney Channel hosted by Zac and Vanessa and the trailer as well as the launch of the online campaign on Disney.com.
Well get to see some footage as well as the opening song “Now or Never” during that 5 minute “First Look” as well as a trailer which will be show for the first time on 13 July on the DC. The song debuts even earlier (11 July) on Radio Disney. The online launch will kick off on Disney.com on 14 July at 12:01 a.m. ET.
Here is the full press release: [more…]
by jeezbee on 7 July 2008
USA Today has a new article about HSM3 in today’s edition (7 July 2008). Additionally, a second report with Corbin Blue also has a few tidbits.
Here’s what we learn in the article – WARNING Spoilers:
- 45-day shooting schedule; it might have been tight and long days but they succeeded
- Production values went up but are still in line with the previous look-and-feel of high school
- Budget is bigger for HSM3 compared to the previous two (the article say they don’t know how much; IMDb says it’s $33 mil which seems realistic)
- The finale is a big dance-and-song number on the football field – it’s the graduation scene
- The movie includes a over-the-top number for Sharpay. It’s a dream sequence, in which she envisions herself and twin brother Ryan (Grabeel) as superstars. The song for it is I Want It All. In that number Troy plays a crazed fan at a movie premiere for Sharpay and is dressed in a T-shirt with Sharpay’s image silk-screened on the front and has a big red heart tattoo on his bicep with an “SE” (for Sharpay Evans) in its center. The number has 4 minutes screentime and took 3 days to shoot.
- Troy and Chad have a big musical number The Boys Are Back. The number is in the junkyard where their characters spent a lot of their childhood pretending to be pirates and ninjas. It’s a whole fantasy about them being kids again. For the flashback scenes, child actors were cast to play young Chad and Troy — with the junior Chad donning a wig resembling Bleu’s trademark locks.
- Corbin’s dad will also play Chad’s dad in HSM3
And here is the full article: [more…]
