Between 2007 and 2014, David Fincher directed five films, including three masterpieces in Zodiac, The Social Network (which came out 10 years ago this month), and Gone Girl. But in the six years since, his output has consisted mostly of producing two Netflix shows, Mindhunter and, uh, House of Cards. A year without a new Fincher movie is too long, let along a half-decade, so to say that I’m excited for Mank is an understatement.
Mank is short for Herman J. Mankiewicz, who co-wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane with Orson Welles. He also did (sometimes uncredited) work on The Wizard of Oz, Pride of the Yankees, and The Pride of St. Louis, among other classics. Fincher’s film, with Gary Oldman as Mankiewicz, is “reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane,” according to Netflix. You can watch the teaser trailer above.
Mank, which also stars Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, and Charles Dance, opens in select theaters in November and on Netflix on December 4. Nine Inch Nails members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provided the score, using only “period authentic” instruments.
Netflix also released a “Reddit teaser.” It’s fun to picture Orson Welles on Reddit, looking for new recipes for his frozen peas and whatnot.
