Are you a big fan of Orson Welles? Is Citizen Kane your favourite movie? Well, then you are in for a treat! Director David Fincher is directing Mank, an American biographical drama film about the struggles between Orson Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz regarding the screenwriting credit for Citizen Kane. David Fincher’s father Jack wrote the script for the movie, and Ceán Chaffin, Douglas Urbanski and Eric Roth are producing the film. What is the movie all about? Is it worth watching? When does it come out? Well, read more to find out!
Mank: Plot and Cast
While Orson Welles is the director, producer, star and co-screenwriter for Citizen Kane, the main screenwriting credit belonged to Herman J. Mankiewicz. Alexander Woollcott of The New Yorker called him the ‘funniest man in New York’. He previously worked with The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and The New Yorker.
Many of his screenwriting work went uncredited and he was often asked to fix the work of other screenwriters. His satirical writing style became a mainstream component of the American film in the 1930s. Citizen Kane is based on the life of Charles Foster Kane, who is thought to have been based on William Randolph Hearst.
Some people defended Hearst after the movie finished filming, which created controversy before the film’s release. Hearst himself tried to stop the film from coming out and tried to libel Welles. Moreover, Welles and Mankiewicz had troubles deciding on the screenwriting credit, which further caused troubles during production. This film mostly focuses on how Mankiewicz wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane.
Gary Oldman plays Herman J. Mankiewicz or ‘Mank’ while Tom Burke plays Orson Welles. Amanda Seyfried plays Marion Davies and Lily Collins plays Rita Alexander. Charles Dance plays William Randolph Hearst while Tom Pelphrey plays Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Mank: Release Date and Trailer
The movie will be released theatrically in November 2020 and will be released on Netflix on December 4, 2020. Watch a sneak peak below: