Select footage of '' Me and Orson Welles '' was screened at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival where financing and sales agency Cinetic Media were looking to sell the film to a distributor . Before its Cannes premiere , '' The Hollywood Reporter '' predicted that the film would attract distributors with Linklater 's résumé and Efron 's teen " heartthrob " status to appeal to a younger demographic , but '' Me and Orson Welles '' failed to secure any American acquisitions . Its first full screening was at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival , running September 4 – 13 , 2008 . In spite of its failure to find a buyer at Cannes , Toronto 's co-director Cameron Bailey predicted that it would be " one of the hottest films " in the lineup , Anne Thompson of '' Variety '' magazine also believed that the film would be one of " only a few lucky winners " to secure a seven-figure deal
2008 Cannes Film Festival
2008 Cannes Film Festival
Me and Orson Welles