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Just came across the fact that there areorsonwelles spiders on the Hawaiian Islands, with the species names referring to his films: Orsonwelles ambersonorum; Orsonwelles arcanus. Not a particularly chubby spider, but does have a long reach.

Can somebody just find Lady from Shanghai or Ambersons unedited, Jesus H Christ!!

hearthesilence wrote: Tue Sep 25, 2018 3:26 pm It could be worse.

I'm just a tad bit frustrated that so many things Orson turn up, but not these damn original intent versions. I've read so much about them - and their disappearance (or destruction) - over the years now that it simply frustrates me to think these are beyond saving.

Shanghai, even if the cut footage were found, would still need some kind of score produced to adhere to something like Welles' original idea for the film. He had temp-scored the film before it was pulled from him by Columbia. There is at least a lengthy document about the music and sound that could be used for such a restoration, should the miraculous, or a time machine, surface.

Just a heads-up for Chicago-area Orsonists ... the Gene Siskel Film Center is offering an Welles retrospective starting in late January with weekly lectures by Jonathan Rosenbaum.

Compilation of Orson Welles' commercials

I'd never seen his board game commercial + also had no idea Paul Masson sold so many varieties.

The board game Commercial I never saw before. I totally forgot about the Vivitar spot. He really pushed the wine didn’t he.

My first exposure to Welles besides the Paul Masson ads were his appearances on Dean Martins Variety Show and Celebrity Roasts.

Oh boy, I remember that Dark Tower ad. In fact, a number of these were part of the ambiance of 1980s network TV that I soaked in as a kid, before I knew anything about Welles.

Lots of celebrities prostitute themselves for ads, but something about Welles—a man of such protean talents and formidable intellect—doing so, and even invoking his own reputation in the process, seems especially tragic.

Was he trying to get any films off the ground at the time the later of these were made, or were they pretty purely to put food on the table?

Dark Tower was a cool game.

Very interesting. Restoration Games is working on revising and updating a new reprint of Dark Tower for the modern tabletop gaming scene (they recently revitalized Fireball Island). Had no idea Welles did the commercial.

There was a sketch I remember from the 80s, I'm sure it was from Spitting Image, which satirised his ads - something along the lines of "My name is Orson Welles, Over 40 years ago I directed Citizen Kane, the greatest film ever made. Now I'm doing crappy sherry commercials".

whaleallright wrote: Thu Feb 28, 2019 6:02 am ...Was he trying to get any films off the ground at the time the later of these were made, or were they pretty purely to put food on the table?

Both. This was Welles' main source of income during these years since his "actor" status had diminished (which was something he never really pursued with vigor since he was more interested in directing films). What money didn't go to daily expenses was put into shooting his own films which were often elaborate "demos" to entice financial backing (The Dreamers, for instance).

The supposed tragedy of Welles being "reduced" to a pitchman is a canard; once he became known as a radio personality, he pitched soap, soup, and, yes, even wine, throughout the late 30s and 40s. This aspect of his career was a constant.

Yeah, it's the same stupid bullshit schadenfreude that chased Welles in his final decades in life (and really to this day), and generally people like to pile on celebrities who do pitches in general.

I think Welles was an easier target because he was open to doing more of them because he needed the money to fund his own endeavors just as any independent filmmaker would (Cassavetes, etc.) On the other hand, someone like Bob Dylan barely gets tarnished, possibly because he doesn't appear in many commercials. It's even news when he merely licenses one of his songs for a commercial, which he does once in a blue moon. I think it helps that he's a bit more selective partly for financial reasons. Dylan honestly doesn't give a shit, but he has no pressing need for the extra income so he can afford to be selective, which translates to a bigger payday each time out.

hearthesilence wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 5:28 pm
The supposed tragedy of Welles being "reduced" to a pitchman is a canard; once he became known as a radio personality, he pitched soap, soup, and, yes, even wine, throughout the late 30s and 40s. This aspect of his career was a constant.

That's good info to have. Have some of those older (I presume radio and print?) ads surfaced online?

Someone animated his frozen peas radio ad here.

The Pinky and the Brain version is still the best.

On Thursday 4/18, MoMA is premiering Paramount's restored DCP of It’s All True, the part documentary and part reconstruction directed by by Richard Wilson, Bill Krohn and Myron Meisel on Welles's ill-fated project. Myron Meisel will be there to introduce the film.

Remerbering the Orson Welles Cinema in Cambridge, 50 Yrs later.... Have any members been there?

Went to the Orson Welles several times during my 4 years at Harvard (but no recollection as to what I saw there).

I went to the Orson Welles Theater on occasion back when I lived in the Boston area. The one film I recall specifically that I saw there was Werner Herzog’s Woyzeck.

I went far more frequently to the Nickelodeon near BU, the Coolidge Corner, and the Brattle.

Robert L Carringer says, in his preface to the revised edition of "Making of Citizen Kane", that he has rewritten Chapter Six, to reflect his further research on Ambersons. Chapter Six runs from p. 121 to p. 134 in the original edition, and from p. 122 to p. 136 in the revised edition. Is there substantial new information in Chapter Six, in the revised edition, to warrant a re-purchase of the book?

Thanks in advance for any information!