Rosebud...

On The Oscars and Mank. Plus the GLOWBALL Anti-Gala...

In the pandemic, David Fincher’s Mank didn’t appeal to me as a must-watch, but since we have pivoted to movie reviews at LeaguePodcast, learning about old Hollywood has a certain appeal lately. The starkness of the black and white film might very well have mirrored the emptiness and isolation of those days.

In my college “Media” years, when asked what my favorite movie was (picture me in a cardigan with leather patches on the elbows, bubble pipe in my mouth), I would have claimed Citizen Kane as my favorite movie. Professorial posturing aside, what’s not to like? Fantastic cinematography, written*, directed, and starring a media powerhouse using not-so-subtle metaphors to take down another living media powerhouse of the time. “Every frame a painting”.

Mank is Fincher’s biographical portrayal of Herman J. Mankiewicz—a critic and playwright who moves closer to the “biggest pile of money”, writing scripts for Hollywood. He suffers from a car accident and recovers in Victorville, as Orson Welles (Tom Burke) hires him to work on the script for Citizen Kane (1941). Mank is played by one of my favorite actors, Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon in Nolan’s Batman, Dracula, Slow Horses).

Hey Guys!

He gets to work with the help of an assistant, Rita Alexander (Lily Collins), and one of those old hospital pull-up bed triangles. The film flashes back between his arrival on the scene in Hollywood and his interactions with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) and his mistress, actress Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried). The ensemble cast here is incredible, including fantastic performances of significant historical figures such as Bill Nye playing Upton Sinclair, and Craig Robert Young as Charlie Chaplin.

He’s got all he needs in Victorville, and as an alcoholic, that includes a box of booze to break into as soon as he can get his strength up.

Citizen Kane was released by RKO Pictures, a rival to the MGM studio led by Louis B. Mayer (Arliss Howard).

Mank has it all: drinking, car crashes, long dolly shots through an active MGM backlot, telegrams, and old-timey telephones.

I was finally prompted to watch Mank after watching this breakdown of the digital creation of Mank for Netflix, shot on 8K digital cameras and a lot of post-production to match, if not honor, the look of Citizen Kane or movies of the era. It’s not film, but damn sure looks like it!

Mank was a major contender at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021 with 10 nominations.

Won:

• Best Achievement in Cinematography – Erik Messerschmidt

• Best Achievement in Production Design – Donald Graham Burt (Production Design), Jan Pascale (Set Decoration)

Nominated:

• Best Motion Picture of the Year – Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth, Douglas Urbanski (Producers)

• Best Achievement in Directing – David Fincher

• Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – Gary Oldman

• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Amanda Seyfried

• Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score) – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

• Best Achievement in Sound – Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance, Drew Kunin

• Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling – Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri, Colleen LaBaff

• Best Achievement in Costume Design – Trish Summerville

*In real life, and a light spoiler for the climactic end of the movie, Mank and Welles clash over credit for the writing of Citizen Kane. Citizen Kane was nominated for nine Oscars but only won for its screenplay—Mankiewicz’s only Oscar.

Speaking of the Oscars, I’m not much one for award shows; I tend to watch YouTube highlights the day after the Oscars and Grammys. Conan was great this year, but I mostly saw his opening salvo. Even when organizations or (humbly) myself are nominated or winners of awards, I shrink away. Not that it’s not an ‘honor just to be nominated’ - that is good and feels good for the ego, but the fact that art, or even ‘commercial art’ in my opinion, should not focus on receiving awards as a significant motivation TO CREATE ART.

Am I proud that Billie Eilish has won 9 Grammys and received 32 nominations (So Far!)? Yes! A young talent created art from the heart.

I think it’s fantastic that superhero movies have won Oscars. Batman (1989) won Best Art Direction, and Anton Furst’s vision has influenced me greatly. Big Hero 6 and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took home Best Animated Feature (both great), while The Dark Knight made history with Heath Ledger’s posthumous win for Best Supporting Actor. Even the much-maligned Suicide Squad grabbed an Oscar for Makeup and Hairstyling. I liked both Suicide Squad movies, for different reasons, but I am in the minority for the first one. Black Panther earned three Oscars, and Joker saw Joaquin Phoenix win Best Actor. With nominations for films like Spider-Man 2 and The Dark Knight, it’s cool to see the Academy recognize these movies for their artistry. But here is an example of how awards don’t matter much to me.

I'm way more thrilled by the idea that my heroes—and in the case of Joker (the first one, not the Lady Gaga flick), my villains—have been brought to life on screen or in animation. The creations of Lee, Kirby, Kane, and Finger, Bendis, Romita, MACK, and all the greats were pushed up from the spinner rack into the Hollywood ecosystem to be made. Are all superhero movies great? No. Are all superhero movies even based on comics? No. Are there great stories like Road To Perdition, From Hell, Wanted, and Old Boy based on comics you didn’t even know were comics? Yes!

The throughline is that this art on the page, these thoughts in the writer’s mind, made their way to the ultimate “Endgame”. I’m not a gamer, but let’s include video games in my argument. There’s not much higher you can go than a Hollywood movie when creating a story. And, to be fair, if you are good at your craft, and for the sake of argument, your craft is making movies, then you should be celebrated and lauded. In Hollywood, that’s the Oscars.

Artist creates thing>thing becomes popular or in the zeitgeist>Hollywood (tv or movie) adapts thing>get rich.

or

Artist creates thing>thing becomes popular or in the zeitgeist>Hollywood (tv or movie) adapts thing>it is recognized by peers>Wins Oscar>gets money to create more things for Hollywood.

You know, really, not a bad setup. But I think the most noble pursuit is at the beginning. The creation. The thinking. The rewriting. Hiring the artist to make pages. Hiring the colorist. Pitching. Publishing. “Artist creates thing”.

There’s a cheat code whereby many creators find themselves thinking of Hollywood in the first part of the equation, what will appeal to the studios…What will get made? What spectacle could be filmed in The Volume? In my opinion, that’s backwards. You don’t have a good idea. You have a good idea about how to fool people into thinking you have a good idea.

As 311 says, Come Original, back to basics. From your art, there will be pain. “Comics will break your heart”. Maybe Hollywood will come knocking. And for your sake, I hope it does.

And when Oscar season rolls around, you may need a seat filler in an expensive suit or dress you can’t afford, but have borrowed from a famous designer, literally riding your coattails to success.

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Speaking of being anti-awards shows…I am being honored most appropriately, at an Anti-Gala fundraising event for one of my favorite venues to work at, Arts at The Armory in Somerville. My instinct on other award shows in town would be to decline politely, but that is not the case as I believe in The Armory’s mission and their support of artists and the artist community, not only in Somerville but also in the Greater Boston area. I may also put my art degree to the test by continuing to support art as I age gracefully. The non-profit organization has been running the space at The Armory for years. They have chosen (don’t know why) to honor me as a Community Arts Advocate at GLOWBALL 2025: A Rave in Support of Arts at the Armory on April 25th. If you’d like to join the fun, tickets are on sale now.

Clay N. Ferno - Community Arts Advocate Award

Lock in your tickets to GLOWBALL to celebrate Clay Fernald as our 2025 GLOWBALL Community Arts Advocate Awardee! In addition to recognizing our honorees, join us for an evening when the Armory Performance Hall will be transformed into an immersive Rave created by DJ Adam Gibbons, pioneer of Afro House and Uhuru Afrika, and visual projectionist Jay Medina, all in support of The Center for Arts at the Armory. There will be pop-up performances by SambaViva, Sinha Capoeira and Sidy Maiga on djembe. GLOWBALL tickets include international bites and glow in the dark face painting and accessories for guests to don. This will surely be Somerville's most illuminating party of 2025.

Can't make it to GLOWBALL but still want to support Arts at the Armory and have us gift a ticket to a local artist or cultural worker? This is the ticket for you!

Clay Fernald (Clay N. Ferno) is a music business professional with over 20 years of experience, specializing in social media and marketing strategies. He serves as a Promoter Representative for comedy and podcast events with Bill Blumenreich Presents (BBPShows) and LeaguePodcast at Arts at the Armory. Based in Boston, Clay enjoys riding bikes, creating podcasts, and writing about pop culture.