If you spent the weekend wondering what the hell Mank is, as the word cluttered up your Twitter timeline, you are not alone.
While the word is defined as British slang for ‘something disgusting or manky’, it actually took over the most cursed of platforms because of the release of a new Netflix movie, Mank, which premiered on Friday night.
Through a hungover fog, the internet collectively agreed to watch David Fincher‘s biopic about drunken critic and screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, starring Gary Oldman. In 1930s America, Mankiewicz tries to finish the screenplay for Orson Welles‘ ultimately-Oscar-winning Citizen Kane, which sees him borrow heavily from the lives of his friends and peers (and most notably William Randolph Hearst).
We know that in real life Mankiewicz and Welles conceived the movie together but struggled to agree on the details, and each wrote a version of the screenplay. Then Welles combined the two together, condensing, rearranging and adding scenes as he saw fit.
Mankiewicz’s contract for the project stated that he would receive no credit as a writer on Citizen Kane, but in the leadup to its release, he threatened to place ads about his contribution in trade papers and to have a journalist friend write an exposé on the matter. He even lodged a protest with the Screen Writers Guild, before the studio capitulated and gave him credit as a screenwriter.
Basically Mankiewicz was a sassy little alcoholic binch. The perfect subject for a big budget movie that indulges movie buff types.
Admittedly everyone loves director David Fincher (Mindhunter, The Social Network) and examining old Hollywood ~characters~, so it tracks that people would immediately stream his new movie. The flick also stars Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins and more. And fun fact about Collins: she filmed this and Emily In Paris at the same time. Don’t you just hate that?
Anyway, everyone made jokes about Mank, whether they actually watched it or not. What else is there to do?
MANK (2020)
dir. David Fincher pic.twitter.com/yyy9WCGJco— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) December 6, 2020
Me watching mank https://t.co/5W9rFTi8bt
— leo west’s future husband ???????? (@grandesync) December 6, 2020
wait this is what mank is about? pic.twitter.com/n5kRcdy9c6
— Ben Rosen (@ben_rosen) December 6, 2020
oooh ok mank looks good pic.twitter.com/cmtnMAwZUz
— Niccole Thurman (@niccolethurman) December 6, 2020
Now to watch MANK, the new superhero movie about the half-man, half-tank
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) December 6, 2020
Only MANK I freakin need to know about thank you very much! pic.twitter.com/HIvh7qa8S6
— matt apodACAB (@mattapodaca) December 5, 2020
my hot take on Mank (i haven’t seen it) is that it should have an exclamation mark in the title. “Mank!” directed by David Fincher. not taking questions on this one
— Madison Brek (@madisonbrek) December 5, 2020
Mank me once? Shame on Mank
Mank me twice? Shame on Monk— Linda Underwear ???? (@TimKalpakis) December 6, 2020
I like Mank for one of the same reasons I like OUATIH. they have the same energy of george and gil in oh hello asking the 15 year olds in the audience if they know about steely dan
— anna (@annaswnsn) December 6, 2020
if you think any of the actors in mank are hot, just add em to your mank spank bank
— Ninja Sex Party (@ninjasexparty) December 6, 2020
i enjoyed mank but there’s a way to look at it where it’s ready player one for old hollywood nerds
— my pal andy (@andylevy) December 6, 2020
mank but its called cum and its about jim cummings making thunder road
— robert franco (@responsiblerob) December 5, 2020
No One:
David Fincher: #MANK pic.twitter.com/eeC0AZO2b0— Allison M. ???? (@AlliCinema) December 5, 2020
On title alone I’d have to assume MANK is a documentary about Scottish swears, like when someone gets called “you absolute lamp” or whatever
— Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) December 4, 2020
*pretending to know who Mank is* oh yeah, Mank
— pixelatedboat aka “mr tweets” (@pixelatedboat) December 5, 2020
My son is dragging a big fat goose up thirty flights of stairs. He’s crying, “It’s Mank Day, Papa! It’s Mank Day!”
— A Mr. Chau Christmas???? (@Srirachachau) December 4, 2020
mank but it’s about ryan gosling deciding to gain 60 lbs for the lovely bones by drinking melted haagen dazs only to turn up to on set w peter jackson and get fired for being fat
— hannah woodhead (@goodjobliz) December 2, 2020
Our show is a perfect double feature with ‘Mank’
— Aunty Donna (@AuntyDonnaBoys) December 5, 2020
We agree. Go watch Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House Of Fun and Mank and pair it with whiskey or something, like Mankiewicz would’ve wanted.
