Seattle, WA, USA (July 27, 2013) -- Octogenarian Jack Clay's Equity union card just turned 50 years old. You may not have seen him, but you have most certainly seen the results of his work. You may not know his brilliance, but rest assured that many top Hollywood stars, including Oscar winners know him intimately. Names like Kathy Bates, (Misery, Fried Green Tomatoes, Titanic, The Office, Harry's Law) and Stephen Tobolowsky, (Groundhog Day, Memento, Buried, Californication, Glee) and Powers Booth, (The Avengers, Sin City, Tombstone, Nashville), Pulitzer Prize winning dramatist and actress Beth Henley, all have Jack Clay in Common. Jack Clay was their acting teacher, mentor and guide to stardom. He is so passionate about his students that when fledgling actress Kathy Bates' parents refused to support her acting career, Jack went to their house and pledged that if they let her act, he would guarantee that she would become a star. The promise was fulfilled. Bates won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe award for her role opposite James Caan in Misery.
Jack Clay's own teachers include Lee Strasberg, who also taught Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Julie Harris, Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and director Elia Kazan. Later alumni of the Strasberg school include Julia Roberts, Uma Thurman, Steve Buscemi to name a few. History might have been different as Jack once auditioned to anchor the CBS evening News against Burgess Meredith but didn't win the position. All the better for the world, as Jack's enormous teaching abilities nurtured generations of the Hollywood talent that has delightfully entertained scores of millions of audience members for decades.
Mr. Clay perfected the Professional Actors Training Program at Southern Methodist University in the 1960s, a program on which most professional actor training programs today are based. Jack Clay founded acting companies and built the careers of the stars that sparkle across the landscape of today's top movies. He fully retired Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington in 1997, as a distinguished member of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. Furthering his legacy of innovation, generosity and achievement, Professor Emeritus Jack Clay established a sizable Endowed Fellowship.
Like Lee Strasberg who rarely acted in front of the camera, (one exception being The Godfather), Jack had spent so much of his talent guiding others to stardom he time and again passed on screen roles. That is until approached by director Timothy Hines and producer Susan Goforth to portray a classic character in the most famous science fiction story ever written. The role was professor Ogilvy in a period screen adaptation of The War Of the Worlds called War Of The Worlds The True Story. The movie follows the premise that we live in world where H.G. Wells’ novel was actually fact and not fiction. Created as a war docudrama, the movie follows the book closely.
And Jack Clay's performance of the character professor of Astronomy Ogilvy, like Professor Jack Clay, is sublime in finding the truth of the old tiger who had risen to top of his field, when he discovers the first invading cylinder from Mars. The role was perfect for Jack Clay. And he brought subtlety and grace to Ogilvy and showed facets of the character that Wells indicated, but few would have gleaned. Clay took the role because, surprisingly, Astronomer Ogilvy had never been portrayed on the screen. Other adaptations had changed the novel so much that Ogilvy was a pale representation of Wells' vision. "Jack Clay's performance anchors the movie in truth," says director Timothy Hines. "As we are presenting the film as a true story, it was essential that Ogilvy be believable and Jack delivered more than anyone could have asked."
Will Jack act again? Hard to say, but for now he's content to stay in touch with his former students and can have a sense of pride as he spends his time between Summers in Seattle, being a grandfather and vacationing in his Winter home in Nicaragua. Jack Clay, having delivered the only screen role of one of the most known characters in science fiction, gives audiences insight as to why so many of his students have become award winning superstars.
Jack Clay plays the role of Ogilvy in War of the Worlds The True Story, (2012). The movie played in theaters across the United States and qualified as a 2012 85th Academy Award Oscar contender. Ain't It Cool News critic raved, "The best film I had the privilege of seeing this week was WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE TRUE STORY. WOTWTTS is one of the coolest little films I've come across in quite a while. As if the Orson Welles radio broadcast wasn't mythic enough, along comes this mock-doc to add a whole new layer of intrigue to H.G. Wells' fascinating story. Highly recommended to those who love revisionist history, alien invasion films, and thrilling real life documentaries."
Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times said, "'War Of The Worlds The True Story' is clever like Wells. Hugely inventive and ambitious, a mock sci-fi docudrama packed with a truly impressive - and clever - mix of editing (a reported 3 1/2 years' worth), special effects, visual artistry and offbeat storytelling." Frank Scheck, critic of The Hollywood Reporter called the movie, "Impressive for its technical achievements. Director/Editor Hines weaves the various styles of footage together in expert fashion."
Shawn Francis critic at You Won Cannes said, "Ever since the 1953 movie adaptation of War Of The Worlds there have been numerous other translations of Wells' novel, even a 1988 short lived TV series, but of all the ones I have seen the only two-yes, only two-I find worthy of repeated viewings is the '53 film and this new 2013 docudrama."
Steven Rose Jr., writer and critic of the Sacramento Examiner gave the movie 5 out of 5 stars, saying "'War Of The Worlds The True Story' carries the suspense and drama of both the 1953 movie and Spielberg's 2005 version but in a more realistic manner through its documentary style."
War Of The Worlds The True Story is rentable right from the Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/waroftheworldsthetruestory. The movie is on DVD with special features and extras through the War Of The Worlds The True Story official website http://www.waroftheworldsthetruestory.com and can be rented in online streaming through Vimeo as well.
Company Name:Pendragon PicturesContact Person: Susan Goforth
Email:news@pendragonpictures.com
Phone: 206-639-3198
Address:1700 7th Ave, Suite 116#170 Seattle, WA, 98101
City: Seattle
State: Washington
Country: United States
Website: http://www.pendragonpictures.com
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