Peter Shillingford (first five adverts only) Cinematographer: Mike Chevalier First assistant camera: Randall Robinson Ad synopses 1978: Original ad—Beethoven, Emerald Dry The first Paul Masson ad had Welles listening to the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on a record player, and remarking: John Annarino recalls that Welles could be difficult on set, and the first ad was no exception: A brief out-take survives from the first advert, of Welles scowling upon being told, "Action!", holding his hand up and saying, "Do you mind not saying 'Action'?" Subsequent commercials 1978: Dressing room, Rhine Castle The second ad showed Welles with a bottle of Rhine Castle riesling in a theatre dressing room, in theatrical costume and makeup, telling the camera: The setting of a theatre was a somewhat incongruous one—at the time of shooting, Welles had neither acted in nor directed any plays for 18 years. Annarino remembers filming the commercial: 1978: House party, "Champagne" This showed Welles hosting a party, supposedly in his home (actually filmed in a rented Los Angeles mansion), with background piano accompaniment, telling the camera, It was during the filming of this ad that Welles complained about the extras hired for the scene. Welles's biographer Barbara Leaming describes the occasion: 1979: Gone With the Wind, Emerald Dry Reading a copy of Gone With the Wind at a table in the garden of his real-life house at 1717 North Stanley Avenue, off Hollywood Boulevard, Welles says: This ad was reportedly a last-minute improvisation by Welles after he dismissed the original script he was given, which compared Paul Masson wine to a Stradivarius violin. 1980: "French" "Champagne" In what inadvertently became the most famous Paul Masson ad due to the leaked out-takes (see below), Welles was found sitting at a drinks party with two unnamed young people, announcing, Welles's drunken inability to get through this script without severely slurring his speech, visibly swaying as he propped himself up at the table, formed the basis of the out-takes. (At the time, laws around Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) did not prevent Paul Masson from advertising its Californian sparkling wine as "champagne." Subsequent changes in 1992 made this illegal for any wines not made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France.) 1980: Chateau tasting party, Chablis This had Welles seated in the gardens in front of the portal of Paul Masson's chateau (the entrance to an eighteenth century Spanish