RKO studios gave him a great contract with lots of freedom
“He was careless”
Acclaimed as greatest talking picture film
Movie was almost destroyed before people could see it by a powerful man who was going to buy it
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
William Randolph Hearst
Hearst had a women collapse in streets and another person jumped off of a ferry just to see how long it would take for people to save them
Went after his enemies, attacked the southern pacific railroad, printed railway conductor names with “s” as money signs.
Welles and Hearst were very similar
Career was built on controversy
Welles was declared to be a genius at age of 3
“Didn’t have a childhood, he was in boarding school, was a child prodigy”
Arrived in New York in late teens, was going to revolutionize theater
24 when started Citizen Kane, and it came out when he was 25
4 men attacked him outside theater
Was in demand on radio, voice of the shadow and many other voices
Brought in lots of money through radio
Would go in an ambulance from his studio to the radio station (NBC).
“Exuded so much power, so much authority.”
Hearst was surprised he couldn’t buy to win his election for Congress
Hearst’s paper called twice to put a bullet in president William McKinley and someone ended up doing it
Hearst was visionary builder
Ran for governor and president but lost so he formed his own party, no one really liked him anymore
“Love on my terms, thats the only love anyone knows.”
“Welles didn’t think, he just did.”
“He courted danger, that was always an element of success.”
Welles made up radio shows as he went
Hearst built a connection with Marian Davies who was only 18
Hearst is close to bankruptcy
Marian Davies was a gold digger but fell in love with Hearst and she sold jewelry making 2 million dollars and gave it to Hearst since he was going bankrupt
Welles contract demanded 2 films
Docudrama RKO 281
“Boy wonder has arrived”
At 18 goes to New York
Takes to air way
Write, direct, and star in his own projects
“Life’s rich pageant” is what movies are about
Mank (Herman) hadn’t worked for 4 years and was an alcoholic
Welles hired Mank
Hearst pays a newspaper writer to stay quite about when he killed a man
Orson Welles Interview on Citizen Kane
Studio tried to stop the filming because they wanted power
Intended to be a social document attack on inquisitive society
Attack on property and corruption
Got a good contract because he didn’t really want to make a film
He didn’t want money he wanted authority
Got confidence from ignorance, when you know something about a profession you’re more timid
Pulled off lots of technical moves because he didn’t even know they were hard
Tried sentimental tricks to attempt of genuine humanity
Denied the “cutting room” aka the editing room, meaning some shots got cut out of the final film
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