James Tupper joins “M&OW”

The Hollywoodreporter reports (6 March 2008) that James Tupper joined Me and Orson Welles as Joseph Cotten.

Here is the article:

Tupper tapped for Welles biopic

“Men in Trees” star James Tupper will portray actor Joseph Cotten in Richard Linklater’s indie biopic “Me and Orson Welles” with Claire Danes and Zac Efron.

Tupper, who recently signed with ICM for representation, will portray the star whose career was launched with roles in Welles’ classic “Citizen Kane” and “The Magnificent Ambersons.” He starred in several Alfred Hitchcock films and memorably tangled with Welles in the 1949 thriller “The Third Man”

Holly Gent Palmo and Vincent Palmo Jr. adapted the screenplay from Robert Kaplow’s 2003 novel, which follows a teen (Efron) who is cast in Welles’ 1937 Broadway staging of “Julius Caesar” opposite Cotten. Principal photography has begun in the Isle of Man, London and New York.

Tupper recently starred opposite Sissy Spacek and Alfre Woodard in the CBS telefilm “Pictures of Hollis Woods.”

Marc Samuelson, Anne Carli and Linklater are producing the film with financing from the Isle of Man Film Commission and Framestore Feature. Steve Christian, John Sloss and Steve Norris are executive producing, and Sloss’ Cinetic Media is handling domestic sales.

Tupper also is repped by Untitled Entertainment and attorney Jamie Mandelbaum.

Also, I had missed a while ago a brief article on ComingSoon.net which reveals which characters will be played by Eddie Marsan and Leo Bill.

Efron’s Me & Orson Welles to Start Filming

February 5, 2008

Coming-of-age romantic comedy Me & Orson Welles will start principal photography in the Isle of Man on February 24th, before moving to Pinewood Studios, London locations and New York.

Zac Efron (Hairspray, “High School Musical”) and Claire Danes (Stardust, Romeo & Juliet) head a starry ensemble cast in the CinemaNX production of the romantic theatrical comedy “Me & Orson Welles,” to be filmed by Oscar®-nominated director Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Before Sunset).

The screenplay by Holly Gent Palmo and Vincent Palmo Jr. is based on the novel by Robert Kaplow, a coming-of-age story set in the heady world of New York theatre. Efron plays a teenage student who lucks his way into a minor role in the 1937 Mercury Theatre production of “Julius Caesar,” directed by 22-year-old genius Orson Welles. In the words of Kaplow’s protagonist: “This is the story of one week in my life. I was seventeen. It was the week I slept in Orson Welles’s pajamas. It was the week I fell in love. It was the week I fell out of love.”

Newcomer Christian McKay, an alumnus of RADA and the Royal Shakespeare Company, stars as Orson Welles, alongside Ben Chaplin (The New World, The Truth About Cats And Dogs) as George Coulouris, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan as John Houseman and Leo Bill as Norman Lloyd. The featured cast also includes Imogen Poots and National Theatre and RSC actor Aidan McArdle. Further casting to be announced.