Mank Movie Storyline. In 1940, Orson Welles is given complete creative freedom for his next project by RKO. For the screenplay, Welles recruits Herman J. Mankiewicz, who is in Victorville, California, recovering from a broken leg he sustained in a car crash. Herman dictates the script to his secretary, Rita Alexander, who notices similarities between the main character (Charles Foster Kane) and William Randolph Hearst. Producer John Houseman is concerned about Herman’s dense, nonlinear screenplay, while Herman’s brother Joseph worries that it may anger the powerful Hearst.
In 1930, Herman visits an MGM location where he and the female lead, Marion Davies, recognize each other. She introduces him to Hearst, her benefactor and lover, who takes a liking to Herman. In 1933, Herman and his wife Sara attend Louis B. Mayer’s birthday party at Hearst Castle with many Hollywood bigwigs. They discuss the rise of Nazi Germany and the upcoming gubernatorial election, in particular candidate Upton Sinclair. Herman and Marion go for a stroll, where they bond over discussions on politics and the film industry.
In 1940, Houseman grows impatient over Herman’s lack of progress. Rita is also concerned with the timing of the writing, as well as Herman’s alcoholism. He does finish the screenplay in time. Houseman is impressed but reminds Herman that he will receive no credit for his work.
In 1934, Herman and Joseph begin working at MGM under Mayer. Studio executives, including Irving Thalberg, actively work against Sinclair’s gubernatorial campaign. The studio produces propaganda films for a smear campaign, funded by Hearst, against Sinclair. Herman approaches Marion to pull the films, but is unsuccessful as she has already left the studio for Warner Bros. Herman and Sara later attend an election night watch party at the Trocadero Nightclub, where Mayer announces the winner, Frank Merriam. Herman’s colleague, director Shelly Metcalf, shoots and kills himself after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and guilt-ridden over his role in the smear campaign, in spite of personally supporting Sinclair.
In 1940, Charles Lederer picks up the screenplay from Herman to deliver to the studio. Joseph visits Herman after reading it, warning him of Hearst’s reaction and how it might affect Marion. He does, however, believe that it’s the finest thing Herman has ever written. Marion also visits and does her best to persuade Herman to change the screenplay but to no avail. She tells Herman she will try to stop the picture from getting made.
In 1937, Herman crashes a party at Hearst Castle, where he drunkenly pitches the idea for the film he will later write in 1940, offending everyone present including Hearst, Mayer and Marion. An enraged Mayer reveals that Herman is on Hearst’s payroll and calls him a court jester. Hearst tells him an allegory about a monkey and an organ grinder and sees him out.
Mank is a 2020 American black-and-white biographical drama film about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his development of the screenplay for Citizen Kane (1941). The black-and-white film was directed by David Fincher, based on a screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher, the film was produced by Ceán Chaffin, Douglas Urbanski, and Eric Roth. It stars Gary Oldman in the title role, alongside Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, Joseph Cross, Jamie McShane, Toby Leonard Moore, Monika Gossman, and Charles Dance.
Jack Fincher wrote the script in the 1990s, and David originally intended to film it after he completed The Game (1997), with Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster as the leads. It never came to fruition, and Jack Fincher died in 2003. Eventually, the project was officially announced in July 2019, and filming took place around Los Angeles from November 2019 to February 2020. To pay homage to the films of the 1930s, Mank was shot in black-and-white using RED cameras.
Mank had a limited theatrical release on November 13, 2020, and began streaming on Netflix on December 4. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Fincher’s direction, as well as the acting (particularly Oldman and Seyfried), cinematography, production values, and musical score.
The film earned a leading-ten nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Fincher), Best Actor (Oldman) and Best Supporting Actress (Seyfried), and won for Best Production Design and Best Cinematography. It also received a leading-six nominations at the 78th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama.
Mank (2020)
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Charles Dance, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, Joseph Cross
Screenplay by: Jack Fincher
Production Design by: Donald Graham Burt
Cinematography by: Erik Messerschmidt
Film Editing by: Kirk Baxter
Costume Design by: Trish Summerville
Set Decoration by: Jan Pascale
Art Direction by: Chris Craine, Dan Webster
Music by: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
MPAA Rating: R for some language,
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: December 4, 2020
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