Trivia / Mank

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• Ability over Appearance: Despite portraying William Randolph Hearst, Charles Dance is on record as saying "Physically I bear no resemblance to him, whatsoever". Not only that, but Dance's famous baritone is in sharp contrast to the real life Hearst's high pitched voice. But since it's Charles Dance we're talking about, you'll be hard pressed to find too many upset over this casting.
• Acclaimed Flop: Well, ratings flop, given the film was primarily a streaming release. The film received high critic scores (84% on Rotten Tomatoes) and solid user ratings on both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes (7.3 and 70%), plus had a marquee director and well-known star to its name. But that wasn’t enough to save it from debuting in a lowly 10th place on Netflix’s film rankings (it never reached the top 10 combined TV/film rankings) and disappearing the next day, drowning under the weight of more accessible holiday releases and TV dramas from the streamer. Time will tell if the film's copious award nominations can push it into the spotlight.
• Dawson Casting: Gary Oldman, who was 61 during filming, portrays Herman J. Mankiewicz from the early 1930s to about 1940, when he was in his mid-30s to his early 40s. Likewise, Orson Welles was 26 when he made Citizen Kane, but is played by 38-year-old Tom Burke.
• Fake American: Gary Oldman, as per usual. The same applies to Charles Dance (Hearst) Tuppence Middleton (Sara Mankiewicz), Tom Burke (Orson Welles) and Ferdinand Kingsley (Irving Thalberg).
• Fake Brit: Zig-zagged with Lily Collins. She’s a dual citizen of the US and UK but has to fake a British accent because she was raised in America.
• Hide Your Pregnancy: Amanda Seyfried was pregnant during production but it was early enough on that she was dealing more with being sick than fitting into her costumes. Although the costume designer was the one person she told on set.
• Posthumous Credit: Jack Fincher (father of David) wrote the film's script way back in the 1990s; he passed away in 2003.
• Saved from Development Hell: This would have been David Fincher's next film after The Game (1997). It would have starred Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster.

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