‘Mank’ Trailer: See Gary Oldman as ‘Citizen Kane’ Screenwriter in David Fincher’s New Netflix Film

Netflix has released the first teaser for Mank, David Fincher’s upcoming film about the screenwriter of Citizen Kane, which arrives December 4th.

“1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane,” Netflix said of the film.

The minute-long teaser evokes the previews for Citizen Kane itself, as director Orson Welles and Mankiewicz endeavor to make a film that satirizes media magnate William Randolph Hearst, portrayed by Charles Dance. “Mank, it’s Orson Welles,” the filmmaker (played by Tom Burke) says in voiceover. “Ready and willing to hunt the Great White Whale?” Oldman’s Mankiewicz responds, “Call me Ahab.”

The Mank trailer’s closing shot is of an empty vodka bottle hitting the floor, which mirrors the famous descent of the snow globe in Citizen Kane.

Mank also stars Amanda Seyfried (as actress Marion Davies), Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley and Tuppence Middleton, and features a score by frequent Fincher collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The film was written by Fincher’s late father Jack Fincher.