- published: 19 Nov 2015
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Joseph Cheshire Cotten (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair. He first gained worldwide fame as the star of the Orson Welles films Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), and Journey into Fear (1943), for which Cotten was also credited with the screenplay. He went on to star in such popular films as Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Duel in the Sun (which remains one of the top 100 highest grossing films of all time when adjusted for inflation), Love Letters (1945), Portrait of Jennie (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
Joseph Cotten was born in the year 1905 in Petersburg, Virginia, son of Joseph Cheshire Cotten, Sr., an assistant postmaster, and his wife Sally Willson Cotten. He worked as an advertising agent after studying acting at the Hickman School of Speech and Expression in Washington, D.C. His work as a theatre critic inspired him to become involved in theatre productions, first in Virginia, and then in New York. Cotten made his Broadway debut in 1930, and soon became friends with Orson Welles.
Actors: Richard Linklater (director), Simon Atherton (miscellaneous crew), Steve Christian (producer), Richard Linklater (producer), Eddie Marsan (actor), John Sloss (producer), Jools Holland (actor), Claire Danes (actress), Zac Efron (actor), Chris Wilson (actor), Michael Brandon (actor), Greg Bennett (actor), Garrick Hagon (actor), Matt Curtis (miscellaneous crew), Libbie Barr (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: In November 1937, high school student and aspiring thespian Richard Samuels takes a day trip into New York City. There, he meets and begins a casual friendship with Gretta Adler, their friendship based on a shared love and goal of a profession in the creative arts. But also on this trip, Richard stumbles across the Mercury Theatre and meets 'Orson Welles' (qv), who, based on an impromptu audition, offers Richard an acting job as Lucius in his modern retelling of Julius Caesar, which includes such stalwart Mercury Theatre players as 'Joseph Cotten (I)' (qv) and 'George Coulouris' (qv). Despite others with official roles as producer 'John Houseman (I)' (qv), this production belongs to Welles, the unofficial/official dictator. In other words, whatever Welles wants, the cast and crew better deliver. These requests include everything, even those of a sexual nature. Welles does not believe in conventions and will do whatever he wants, which includes not having a fixed opening date, although the unofficial opening date is in one week's time. In turn, Welles realizes that his name will either be strengthened or ruined in the theater community by this production. Richard is taken under the wing by the production's Jane-of-All-Trades, Sonja Jones. Known as the Ice Queen by the male cast, Sonja deflects much of the unwanted sexual attention by jokingly implying that she and Richard are having a fling, which Richard wants nothing more than to be the truth. As the end of the week and opening night approaches, Richard, having seen Welles' behavior, has to decide if acting in this production is worth it at any cost.
Keywords: 17-year-old, 1930s, actor, actors'-equity-association, actress, ambition, ambulance, ambulance-siren, apology, applauseActors: Ridley Scott (producer), Melanie Griffith (actress), Brenda Blethyn (actress), Fiona Shaw (actress), James Cromwell (actor), Liev Schreiber (actor), Kerry Shale (actor), Jay Benedict (actor), Liam Cunningham (actor), David Suchet (actor), Cyril Shaps (actor), Roy Scheider (actor), John Malkovich (actor), John Altman (composer), Tony Scott (producer),
Plot: Coming to Hollywood as a celebrated boy genius featuring a spectacular career arc in New York including his "War of the Worlds" radio hoax, Orson Welles is stymied on the subject for his first film. After a dinner party at Hearst Castle, during which he has a verbal altercation with Hearst, Welles decides to do a movie about Hearst. It takes him some time to convince co-writer Herman Mankiewicz and the studio, but Welles eventually gets the script and the green light, keeping the subject very hush-hush with the press. When a rough cut is screened, Hearst gets wind of the movie's theme and begins a campaign to see that it is not only never publicly screened, but destroyed.
Keywords: 1940s, actress, anti-semitism, bankruptcy, based-on-documentary, based-on-true-story, censorship, director, film-director, film-industryActors: B.J. Ward (actress), Jan Tríska (actor), Anne Haney (actress), Elizabeth Taylor (actress), Richard Dysart (actor), Joyce Van Patten (actress), Jane Alexander (actress), Edith Fields (actress), Bonnie Bartlett (actress), Denise Crosby (actress), Tim Robbins (actor), Mark L. Taylor (actor), Jason Wingreen (actor), Nolan Miller (costume designer), Charles Bernstein (composer),
Plot: Struggling actress Hedda Hopper can't get a break in Hollywood, even though an acquaintence of hers is the extremely powerful gossip monger Louella Parsons - maker and breaker of careers (and lives) through her daily syndicated newspaper column. The big movie moguls, fed up with Parson's power over their stars, decide to de-claw her by setting up gossip Hopper as a competitor in the rumour industry. What they couldn't forsee was that Hopper would become as big as Parsons -- and every bit as much of a pain. Based on the true life stories of two of the most powerful (and arguably dangerous) women of Hollywood's hay-day.
Keywords: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, actress, based-on-novel, based-on-true-story, docudrama, female-protagonist, film-critic, film-industry