RKO 281

Genre: Drama/Biography.

Studio: Unknown.
Production Company: Scott Free Productions.

Project Phase: Development Hell.

Who's In It: See Scoop Feedback. No one's confirmed yet.
Who's Making It: Ridley Scott (Director?); John Logan (Screenwriter).

Premise: A dramatic account of the trials and tribulations filmmaker Orson Welles went through while creating his masterpiece of film, Citizen Kane, and how millionaire William Randolph Hurst sought to block Kane's semi-autobiographical tale of power and obsession. The title is derived from the RKO Pictures designation while in production.

Release Date: Unknown.

Comments: This project is certainly one of interest. A biopic of Welles' Kane would be fascinating to see, and when you through in director Scott and the rumored stellar cast, the interest level increases.

Rumors: Unknown.

Scoop Feedback:

May 4, 1997... Scooper 'Gruver 1' sent CA a through email detailing the speculation surrounding what could be Ridley Scott's next project. Since he did such an excellent job, here's what 'he' had to say:

"RKO 281 -- the story of the making of Citizen Kane and the political vengeance suffered by wunderkind Orson Wells at the hands of William Randolph Hearst -- will go before the cameras this August for SONY's Columbia (or, possibly, TriStar) division, with Ridley Scott directing. It has been written by John Logan, a Chicago-based writer who's also working on an Evel Knievel script for Universal and one about Dick Clark's American Bandstand for Jersey Films. Scott's Scott Free Prods. will produce the Welles biopic. The RKO 281 cast is going to be stellar. Discussions have reportedly begun with Edward Norton (to play Welles), Dustin Hoffman (to play Kane scriptwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz), Marlon Brando (Hearst), Madonna (Marion Davies), Meryl Streep (Hedda Hopper), and Bette Midler (Hedda Hopper) [Ed. - two Heddas?]. These people all contacted Scott and offered to work for less -- but not for as little as the $1 million per actor fee that the big names have offered to take for acting in The Thin Red Line, for instance. The budget for RKO 281 is being projected to reach $40 million, which is way too pricey for a movie of this sort, which will appeal mainly to older, film-educated, review-reading audiences.

"And what about that casting of Norton as Welles? Norton was terrific as a choir-boy pyschopath and a forthright defender of Larry Flynt, and he would be great at communicating Welles' boy-wonder fervor. But he has a high nasally voice -- nothing remotely close to Welles' deep, soothing baritone -- and (I'm sorry but it's true) tiny little pig eyes, whereas Welles had big, soulful cow eyes. The obvious choice is Vincent D'Onofrio, who delivered a brilliant brief performance as Welles (albeit with a dubbed-in voice) in Ed Wood. A source close to Scott says, 'I think the problem with D'Onofrio is age.' D'Onofrio is 37, or 12 years older than the 25 year-old Welles when he began work on Kane in 1940. But Welles hardly looked like a kid in 1940/41 -- by today's standards he could've been 30 or 35, with his chubby face, beginnings of a double chin, his know-it-all wunderkind manner, etc."

Additional reports were seen on MTV News and in the Chicago Tribune.

[Project information generously supplied by 'gruver 1', 'Dr.StrangeLove', 'widgett' (who also likes D'Onofrio cast as Welles), 'aacruz', 'mprender', 'Any' and 'Speedy'.]

May 24, 1997... "Speculation - the 'two Hedda Hoppers' may have resulted from one of your informants not recalling the name of her archrival, Louella Parsons. Hedda was the shorter, I think, so that would be Midler." Let's see if this pans out correctly; it sounds more in tune with what really happened. [Scoop sent in by 'Tramplyn'.]

June 3-7, 1997... We're told by a reliable source that Scott has passed on this project in favor of directing I Am Legend. The production company, Scott Free, had been shopping the project around but wasn't able to find the backing they need. According to our source, the last offer came from Disney, who offered Scott Free $1.5 million less than they thought they needed to do the film. Based on the math, and the fact that most of the principals would require backend participation, it was decided that Disney's offer wouldn't be lucrative enough to draw the talent needed to make the picture. We agree with the scooper that this is awful to see happen, because we felt (and so did many other readers) that the project's uniqueness and appeal would have been something special to see. [Reported by 'Lumiere'.]

July 1, 1997... Variety reports that there may be still some interest in the project. Reportedly, the developers are eyeing Gene Hackman for the Hearst role and director Richard Loncraine. Meryl Streep and Al Pacino are also being considered for roles. [Sent in by 'st7i9' and 'widgett'; originally appeared in Variety.]

February 12, 1998... " Heard from an inside source at Scott Free Productions that Kenneth Branaugh was a possibility to direct and star. This was a few months ago and I've heard nothing since, but it was definitely being offered at Scott Free." Is the picture still alive? [Anonymous.]

August 23, 1998... If you check out page 89 of Tower Records free monthly magazine Pulse there's an interview with Darren Aronofsky (director of PI, forthcoming Proteus.) The article states that "he was in Los Angeles at the request of Ridley Scott...to discuss the possibility of his directing a feature about the making of Citizen Kane, which Scott will produce." RKO 281, anyone? [Anonymous.]



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