New production details revealed about David Fincher’s upcoming film Mank

It's hard to fathom that David Fincher, the acclaimed director of iconic films like FIGHT CLUB and THE SOCIAL NETWORK, hasn't helmed a movie since 2014's GONE GIRL. At one time he was attached to direct the sequel to WORLD WAR Z with Brad Pitt but that project eventually collapsed. Instead Fincher's focused on television of late, producing Love, Death, and Robots as well as directing several episodes of the acclaimed television series Mindhunter. Fans of the maverick director won't have to wait much longer however as David Fincher's next film effort, MANK, is set for release next year. In fact it's already 50% in the can.

Production began on MANK less than two months ago but according to longtime location manager William Doyle, principal photography is already half over. The film chronicles the trials and tribulations of Herman J. Mankiewicz's efforts to write CITIZEN KANE. CITIZEN KANE is considered by many to be the best film in movie history, and its notorious connection to newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Oscar winner Gary Oldman is taking on the lead role.

Mankiewicz's story is a tale in itself. The man was a notorious drinker who suffered a horrible leg injury in a car crash. Director Orson Welles serendipitously brought Mankiewicz to the famed Kember Campbell Ranch where he spent two dry months working on the script for CITIZEN KANE. Mank went on to win the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for the film and continued a stellar writing career that included THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES. Mankiewicz would eventually succumb to his alcoholism, dying at the age of fifty-five in 1953.

David Fincher has always been a director where authenticity and truth are paramount. Consequently, MANK spent most of December filming at the Kember Campbell Ranch in Victorville, California. Both Doyle and Fincher were determined to film on the ranch considering its ties to the main character and the film as a whole. Indeed, the ranch has changed so little over the years that Doyle and many of the crew felt like they were back in the 1940s. Said Doyle, "The place hasn’t changed. You get over that hill into that ranch, and you’re in this tiny time capsule. Here you are where Herman Mankiewicz really sat, and stood, and wrote this story.” For a method actor like Oldman this sounds like the perfect venue to get into character.

Longtime Fincher score collaborators Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor also plan on going for authenticity. The pair are planning to use only period-authentic instruments for the film. Fans of the duo's synth scores are therefore out of luck as modular synthesizers will not feature in the score. While both Ross and Reznor acknowledged that the choice creates challenges, it's more important to them that the music for MANK doesn't feel out of place.

As amazing a year as 2019 was for cinema, 2020 will feature the directorial return of some of the greats in the industry. Guillermo del Toro's NIGHTMARE ALLEY is set to come out next year, as well as Wes Anderson's THE FRENCH DISPATCH, Christopher Nolan's TENET, and Denis Villeneuve's DUNE. Here's hoping all of those films, including David Fincher's MANK, are worth the wait.

MANK starring Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Charles Dance, and Tom Burke currently has no release date but is set to debut on Netflix sometime next year.