Lest we forget that one of the more highly anticipated films of 2020 comes from David Fincher. Mank is his first feature since 2014’s Gone Girl and finds the veteran filmmaker pairing up with Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman to tell the story of Citizen Kane co-writer Herman Mankiewicz. Today, in celebration of that iconic film’s 79th anniversary, Netflix has unleashed its first look.
As promised, Manx is presented in sterling black in white — a first for Fincher — and the six photos available prove the shift has only given his razor-sharp portraits even more depth. Below, you can see first looks at Oldman as Mankiewicz, Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies, and Charles Dance as William Randolph Hearst. If you weren’t hyped before, well, get ready now.
Mank is a curious project for Fincher, but one that certainly comes from a personal place. The screenplay was written by his father, Jack, and Fincher has been trying to get this story on the screen for over 20 years. In fact, he had been planning to make this his follow-up to 1997’s The Game, and then, you know, Fight Club came around and changed all of that.
Thanks to Netflix, though, Mank is now a reality, and the film will premiere exclusively with the streaming giant (and select theaters) at an as-yet disclosed date. Once again, Fincher reunites with his go-to composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who won their first Oscar for their collaboration on 2010’s The Social Network. Should be intriguing to see ’em tackle the 30s.
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Catch the photos below and stay tuned for more news surrounding this project. Rest assured, Netflix is going to go H.A.M. on an Oscar campaign for this one, and for all the right reasons. Fincher has yet to win a Best Director nod and given the subject matter here — particularly the Academy’s snub of Citizen Kane — this could totally clean up come Oscars 2021.
