Robert Caparo wrote a novel called "Me And Orson Welles" a few years ago, and the novel has topped the sales charts of " The New York Times " as soon as it was published . In 2008, this novel was photographed by independent filmmaker Linklater, who has directed "Before Sunrise" and "Rock Campus", and moved to the screen. When talking about the novel, Linklater said: "It's very good, it's simply overwhelming. The author imagines himself as an actor, and uses his own eyes to see the society and young Wells in 1937. This idea makes I'm crazy. And the story he wrote is still a fact, a real event in the history of drama. Before going on the movie screen, Wells was a figure who ruled the American theater and radio drama. And the novel wrote His story happened just before he was about to enter the film industry and shoot "Citizen Kane". This is the most legendary turning point of Wells's vitality. The kind of power and passion he showed deeply attracted me. "
After having the novel, Linklater did his best to create the script. He removed some of the minutiae in the original work and the description of the society at the time, deepened the love story in the original work, and portrayed Wells as a dubious "dictatorship". By". Linklater said: "I deal with Wells in this way, in fact, in accordance with basic historical facts. A large number of interviews and materials have shown that he is a somewhat stubborn guy. He is very angry and will anger others at every turn. Of course, this is also from Another aspect shows that Wells is a talented artist. However, all outstanding artists have their own temper and character. "Since the image of Wells has been established, then we should find out who will play Wells next. And the actor who plays with it.
The first person who came into the director’s line of sight was the handsome boy Zac Efron. The director said: "Actually, I have many choices, and many actors are qualified for this role. The reason why I choose Efron is that firstly, he is very dedicated, and secondly, he is in The performance in "High School Musical" is indeed energetic. We need such a handsome young man. Moreover, he has a box office appeal among young fans. With him, we basically don’t have to worry about the younger generation not coming to the theater to watch movies. "For Efron, this role is a big challenge. He said: "I don't think I'm the best person to play Samuel. I have to read a lot of scripts every day to figure out the drama. Beautiful. This is a test and a challenge for me."
With Efron, Linklater began to look for Orson Wells in his heart on a large scale, but this was almost an impossible task. Linklater interviewed a large number of native American actors, and without exception, the results were unsatisfactory. When the director was at a loss, the novelist recommended to him a guy who is active on the stage of the drama: Christian McKay. Linklater said: "I decided to use him at the first glance. Whether it is appearance or temperament, he is the same as Wells. I know that he is the key to the success or failure of the film, but his superb acting skills completely conquered me. Especially his voice and tone. He completely showed the subtlest difference between Wells’ voice on stage and in life. I auditioned many American actors. This is the key to my US investment, but I I always felt that Wells needed an Englishman to play, because he appeared on the London stage and performed William Shakespeare's plays. Finding Christian McKay was the biggest gain for me in making this movie."
