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The witty and notoriously tempestuous CITIZEN KANE screenwriter comes into focus in this conversation between Herman Mankiewicz biographer @sydney_stern and David Fincher, whose new film MANK is remarkably faithful to the details of Hollywood history. https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/7241-the-man-in-the-wings-david-fincher-on-the-shadowy-life-of-herman-mankiewicz
"What was interesting about Mankiewicz was not that he was in conflict with anyone. It’s that he was in conflict with everyone. . .I thought maybe we could make a movie about him like ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD. About somebody whose job it is to be in the wings."
"I didn’t think that Welles wanted to erase all traces of Herman. I think Welles thought, I had this all teed up for you. I gave you cover of night. I asked you to sharpen the fucking knives and gave you a way to do that and still be salvaged and still be safe."
"When willing participants set their lives aside and give you their eyes and ears for two hours, that is a fucking responsibility. A powerful responsibility. And in a lot of cases, it’s a responsibility that is ignored. Ignored as long as we pander. We have to be careful."
