McBride knows his Welles: he’s been writing about him since 1970. He watched Kane 60 times before approaching Welles for an interview. Not long after he did, Welles cast McBride in The Other Side of the Wind—Welles’ legendarily unfinished final film. Continue reading WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ORSON WELLES?
The legacy of Orson Welles looms large in the history of cinema. So large, even Welles himself fell into its blackness. “The word genius was whispered into my ear—the first thing I heard—while I was still mewling in my crib,” … Continue reading A Matter of Persistence: Orson Welles
Every year is a great year for the movies, but when was the best? Was it 1939, the year Hollywood gave us The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? Or was it the great global year … Continue reading 2018: An Embarrassment of Riches
Let us raise our cups. Standing as some of us do on opposite ends of the river, and drink together. … To the movies. To good movies. To every possible kind.” —Orson Welles’ AFI Life Achievement Award acceptance speech, Feb. … Continue reading One Last Toast to the Wunkerkind: Dispatches from the 2018 Telluride Film Festival
Michael J. Cinema 