| Director | David Fincher |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film |
| Runtime | 131 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $122,572 |
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 the Democratic 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 and Herman's alcoholism. He finishes 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 (the films were an ironic suggestion by Herman after a discussion on why he wouldn't publicly endorse Frank Merriam, Sinclair's Republican opponent in unity with Mayer and the studio's brass). 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 about the role he played in the smear campaign (he personally supported 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 is 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 attacks Hearst for not supporting Sinclair as Sinclair supported Hearst as a champion of Socialism in his youth as a budding newspaper magnate. 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.
In 1940, despite pressure from Hearst, Welles is determined to make the film and intends to do a re-write without Herman. He visits Herman and offers him a buyout from the studio. However, reneging on the terms of his contract and with the Screen Writers Guild having been recently revived, Herman requests credit for the script, declaring it his greatest work. An upset Welles tells Herman that he has gone to bat for him before leaving angrily. Herman ultimately receives joint credit with Welles, and they win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film (Citizen Kane) two years later.