Love, Death & Robots, both of which were produced by Netflix.
But now Fincher is at last ready to return to the feature film game with Mank, a movie penned by his late father Jack Fincher. Centered on real life screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, the film details the difficult production process of the classic movie Orson Welles. Mank features a stellar cast, including Gary Oldman as Mankiewicz and Tom Burke as Welles, together with Lily Collins, Amanda Seyfried, Tom Pelphrey, Tuppence Middleton, Charles Dance, Adam Shapiro and Arliss Howard.
Up until now, there were no clues as to when Mank would actually arrive on Netflix, but producer Eric Roth has finally given an indication when audiences will get to see Fincher’s latest. Speaking to Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take (of all things), Roth revealed that the film is set to arrive in October of 2020. He said of Fincher’s work (via The Film Stage), “It’s an incredible piece. He did a black-and-white ’30s movie. It looks like a ’30s movie and feels like one.”
A black-and-white biographical film about a long-dead screenwriter certainly represents a departure for Fincher, who has made his name largely with thrillers like the aforementioned Gone Girl as well as the American remake of The Social Network, which went on to become one of his most acclaimed movies. Unsurprisingly, Mank sees Fincher reuniting with some of his most prized collaborators, including composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
The question with Mank obviously is whether it will receive any kind of theatrical release along with its presumed streaming debut in October. Last year Netflix made a big Oscar eligibility, allowing streaming-only movies to compete for this year. Given those rule changes, a movie like Mank no longer needs a token theatrical release in order to be an Oscar player.
Given Fincher’s pedigree, not to mention Oscar-winner Oldman’s presence in the cast, Mank definitely figures to be in the conversation for awards this year. With its October release date, the movie should be positioned – much as The Irishman was last year – to make a run at some gold when 2020’s very strange and unprecedented awards season rolls around.
Source: Pardon My Take (via The Film Stage)
