The Summer Movie Season may have been effectively cancelled this year, but if all goes according to plan, wewillhave a newDavid Finchermovie to devour this fall. After spending a few years basically showrunning the Netflix seriesMindhunterand developingaWorld War Zsequelonly to see Paramount balk at the budget at the last minute, David Fincher turned his attention to a passion project calledMank. Based on a screenplay by his own fatherJack Fincher, the film tells the true story behind the making ofCitizen Kane, chronicling the relationship between groundbreaking filmmaker/starOrson Wellesand the film’s screenwriterHerman J. Mankiewicz. Debates have swirled for years over whetherKanewas Welles’ vision or Mankiewicz’s.
Oscar-winningForrest GumpscribeEric Roth, who wrote Fincher’sThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, said on thePardon My Takepodcast recently (viaThe Film Stage), thatMankis supposed to be released by Netflix in October.
ThisMankrelease date has not been verified by the streamer, and indeed they usually like to keep their release dates under wraps until much closer to when the film will be unveiled. It’s also possible thatMankwas supposed to be released in October but may have to be delayed. The film was able to complete principal photography, but post-production was underway when the COVID shutdown happened and it’s unclear if that’s been able to progress well enough to hit an October debut date.
But that month sounds right.Mankis undoubtedly an Oscar contender for Netflix, and since the streamer recently announced it will beskipping the fall film festival seasonwhere many awards contenders launch, releasing the movie in October gives it a bit of a longer lead on Oscar season as opposed to dropping it in November or December.
Roth also offered some tantalizing teases about the film’s aesthetics. We know it will be in black and white, with Fincher working with hisMindhuntercinematographerErik Messerschmidt, but Roth says the entire style of the film is that of a 1930s movie:
“It’s an incredible piece. He did a black-and-white 30s movie. It looks like a 30s movie and feels like one.”
The ensemble cast is led byGary Oldmanas the title character alongsideTom Burkeas Orson Welles,Amanda Seyfriedas Marion Davies,Lily Collinsas Rita Alexander, andOzarkbreakoutTom Pelphreyas Mank’s brother.
So here’s hoping that October release date turns out to be true. The way 2020 is going, we’rereallygoing to need a new Fincher movie to look forward to later this year.
For a full list of confirmed release dates for Netflix movies,click here.
