Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ young, but successful career in movie scoring has been defined by their artistic partnership with director David Fincher in movies such as “The Social Network,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and “Gone Girl.”
A report courtesy of Revolver says that Reznor and Ross will be reuniting with Fincher again for his Citizen Kane biopic “Mank.”
Honoring the 1940s mis-en-scene, Reznor and Ross will use instruments authentic to the time, Reznor told Revolver. “We’re not gonna be using the modular synthesizer on that one,” he said. “We think we’re gonna be period-authentic, so it just creates a new set of challenges.”
I loved the brooding, electronic atmosphere Reznor and Ross brought to their film compositions, but it has become a somewhat predictable sound for them at this point. The idea of the talented duo doing a period score in “Mank,” however, is refreshing to hear.
Fincher’s upcoming Netflix drama, his first feature since 2014’s “Gone Girl,” started shooting this past November. The film will be shot entirely in black and white. Amanda Seyfried (“First Reformed”) and Lily Collins (“Rules Don’t Apply“) were the latest additions to a cast that already includes Gary Oldman in the titular role.
Oldman is set to play legendary screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz (who co-wrote “Citizen Kane” with Orson Welles). “Mank” will tackle the contentious pre-production of ‘Kane,’ when Mankiewicz and Welles were developing the project. Fincher, who these last five years has dedicated his time to Netflix originals he created (“House of Cards” and “Mindhunter”), has seen two potential cinematic projects fall apart. There was a “remake” of Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train” which was said to be set on a plane, but that Ben Affleck-starring vehicle fell apart during pre-production. Ditto Fincher’s planned sequel to the zombie blockbuster “World War Z.”
Alas, “Mank” does sound like the most interesting way forward for Fincher, a filmmaker who deserves to be mentioned among the very best working in American cinema today.