''RKO 281'' is a 1999 American

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

directed by Benjamin Ross, written by John Logan, and starring Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich,

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for t ...

, and Liam Cunningham. The film depicts the troubled production behind the 1941 film ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...

''. The film's title is a reference to the original production number of ''Citizen Kane''. It premiered on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

on November 20, 1999.

Plot

In 1940,

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

, RKO studio head George J. Schaefer, and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

Herman J. Mankiewicz struggle in making what will be considered the greatest American film, ''

''. Welles and Mankiewicz attend a party at Hearst Castle where meeting the hypocritical and tyrannical

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

gives Welles the inspiration to make a film about Hearst's life. Mankiewicz is against it because he knows Hearst's wrath will be horrible, but Welles says this is the film. Mankiewicz finally agrees. At first, Welles tries to take credit for everything, including the script, and Mankiewicz is furious with Welles—he faces him, and Welles says he has every right and cuts ties with Mankiewicz. Orson later reconsiders and asks Mankiewicz to continue re-drafting the

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

, giving him a joint credit. After learning from the gossip columnist

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

, who had viewed a press screening, that Welles' film is actually a thinly veiled and exceptionally unflattering biography of him, publishing tycoon Hearst uses his immense power and influence to try to prevent the release of the picture. Hearst's mistress, actress Marion Davies, endures the embarrassment of having their private lives exposed and vilified. Hopper threatens to do the same to the studio executives of Hollywood if they release the film. Later on in their relationship many years after the release of ''Citizen Kane'' Marion gives Hearst money when his finances begin to diminish (by selling all the jewelry he gave her and giving him the money in the form of a check). In the end, after considerable delays and harassment, plus the disintegration of the professional relationship between Welles and Mankiewicz and a costly blow to Schaefer's career, the film is finally released. Its publicity is muted by Hearst's ban on its mention in all his publications and its commercial success is limited. Welles ultimately has the satisfaction of having created one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time.

Cast

* Liev Schreiber as

* John Malkovich as Herman J. Mankiewicz *

as George J. Schaefer * James Cromwell as

* Melanie Griffith as Marion Davies * Liam Cunningham as Gregg Toland * David Suchet as

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1884Mayer maintained that he was born in Minsk on July 4, 1885. According to Scott Eyman, the reasons may have been: * Mayer's father gave different dates for his birthplace at different times, so ...

* Brenda Blethyn as Louella Parsons * Fiona Shaw as

* Anastasia Hille as Carole Lombard * Roger Allam as

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

* Simeon Andrews as John Houseman *

Jay Benedict Jay Benedict (April 11, 1951 – April 4, 2020) was an American actor who spent most of his life and career in the United Kingdom. He was frequently cast as American characters in British films and television programmes. He was best known for hi ...

as Daryl Zanuck * Ron Berglas as

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...

* Sarah Franzl as Dorothy Comingore * Joseph Long as

Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His fath ...

* Oliver Pierre as Sam Goldwyn * Adrian Schiller as Paul Stewart *

Kerry Shale Kerry Shale (born 4 June 1952) is a Canadian actor based in London, England. His BBC Radio 4 comedy-drama ''The Kubrick Test'' was broadcast in 2020. He is the co-host of ''Is It Rolling, Bob? Talking Dylan'', a podcast about Bob Dylan ...

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

* Tim Woodward as Jack Warner * Angus Wright as Joseph Cotten * Bobby Valentino as

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

* Lucy Cohu as Dolores del Río

Production

The script is based in part on the 1996 American documentary film ''

The Battle Over Citizen Kane ''The Battle Over Citizen Kane'' is a 1996 American documentary film directed and produced by Thomas Lennon and Michael Epstein, from a screenplay by Lennon and Richard Ben Cramer, who also narrates. It chronicles the clash between Orson Welles ...

'' written by Thomas Lennon and

Richard Ben Cramer Richard Ben Cramer (June 12, 1950 – January 7, 2013) was an American journalist, author, and screenwriter. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1979 for his coverage of the Middle East. Biography Cramer was born and r ...

. Producer Ridley Scott wanted to film in the Hearst Castle, but was refused access. ''RKO 281'' was filmed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, mostly around

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The Gothic stairwell in Hearst Castle was filmed in the St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel. Hearst's private quarters and office, including a marble fireplace, were filmed in the high-ceilinged Gamble Room in the Victoria & Albert Museum. The fireplace mantelpiece seen in the room was saved from Dorchester House prior to that building's demolition in 1929. The Hearst castle dining hall and ballroom was filmed in the Great Hall of the London Guildhall.

Reception

On aggregate review site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds a "fresh" rating of 92%, based on 13 reviews.

Awards and nominations

Notes

Sources

External links

* {{Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film 1971–1999 1999 television films 1999 films 1999 drama films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s historical drama films American drama television films American historical drama films Best Miniseries or Television Movie Golden Globe winners Citizen Kane Films about films Films about Orson Welles HBO Films films Historical television films Scott Free Productions films Films scored by John Altman (composer) Films with screenplays by John Logan (writer) Cultural depictions of William Randolph Hearst English-language historical drama films