Fans of David Fincher have spent the last six years wondering when a new film would be ready to follow the director’s belvoed 2014 adaptation of “Gone Girl.” Now the answer has arrived as Netflix is set to release Fincher’s biographical drama “Mank” this fall. The film is a passion project for Fincher as the screenplay was written by his father, Jack Fincher, before his death in 2003. The story centers around Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he overcomes personal and professional demons to get “Citizen Kane” made. Timed to the 79th anniversary of the wide theatrical release of “Citizen Kane,” check out first look images, courtesy of Netflix, for the film below.
While Fincher has been absent from filmmaking for the last six years, he’s released new material as the executive producer of Netflix’s original series “Mindhunter” and the director of several episodes of the show. “Mank” is the latest collaboration between Fincher and the streaming giant following not only “Mindhunter” but also “Love, Death & Robots” (the animated anthology he produces) and “House of Cards.”
Leading “Mank” in the role of Herman J. Mankiewicz is Gary Oldman, a Best Actor Oscar winner for “Darkest Hour.” The supporting cast includes Amanda Seyfried as actress Marion Davies, Lily Collins, Tuppence Middleton, Charles Dance, “Ozark” breakout Tom Pelphrey, and “The Souvenir” favorite Tom Burke as Orson Welles. Key crew members include Fincher’s “Mindhunter” Season 2 cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt and the director’s longtime composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who won the Oscar for scoring “The Social Network.”
In an interview earlier this year, Seyfried said Fincher was up to his usual tricks during the production of “Mank” and filmed one set piece nearly 200 times. Producer Eric Roth has added about the film, “It’s an incredible piece. He did a black-and-white ’30s movie. It looks like a ’30s movie and feels like one.” The producer also joked, “Six people will go see it, but it’s pretty amazing.”
“Mank” is one of Netflix’s top awards contender this upcoming season alongside Ron Howard’s “Hillbilly Elegy” and George C. Wolfe’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” The streaming giant also has Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” as part of its Oscar slate.