ORSON WELLES
Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, writer, and producer who is remembered for his innovative work in radio, theatre and film. He is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. In 1937, he and John Houseman founded the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory theatre company that presented a series of productions on Broadway through 1941. In 1938, his radio anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air gave Welles the platform to find international fame as the director and narrator of a radio adaptation of H. G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds, which caused widespread panic because many listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was actually occurring. His first film was Citizen Kane (1941), which is consistently ranked as the greatest film ever made, and which he co-wrote, produced, directed, and starred in as Charles Foster Kane. His distinctive directorial style featured layered and nonlinear narrative forms, uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unusual camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. He has been praised as “the ultimate auteur”. (More from Wikipedia)
In fact, Holly Ramos had basically pulled an Orson Welles a few years later by writing, producing and starring in a short film in 2004 called The 100 Lovers of Jesus Reynolds; this film was also directed by Ilya Chaiken. For many years, the entry for this film on my website was at the top of the alphabetical list in the index that I at length completed around the middle of last year. There are three entries ahead of it now. I really should try to track down the indie films that Holly Ramos has been in; perhaps it is not an impossible mission.
(Year 9 Review)
