RKO 281

Welles's Mother:
Orson, come into the light. Never stand in the shadows -- you were made for the light. Always remember that.

William Randolph Hearst:
There is nothing to understand. Only this: I am a man who could have been great, but was not.

Orson Welles:
Good afternoon. Today a man from Germany invaded Greece. He's already swallowed Poland, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium. He's bombing London as I speak. Everywhere this man goes he crushes the life and the freedom of his subjects. He sews yellow stars on their lapels, he takes their voices. In this country, we still have our voices. We can argue with them, and we can sing, and we can be heard because we are, for the moment, free. No one can tell us what to say or how to say it, can they? Gentlemen, I am one voice; that is all. My picture is one voice, one view, one opinion, nothing more. Men are dying in Europe now, and Americans soon will be so that we can surmount the tyrants and the dictators. Will you send a message across America that one man can take away our voices? So, who is Mr. Hearst, and who is Mr. Welles? Well, Mr. Hearst built a palace of brick and mortar, and little wars and corpses piled high. Mr. Welles built a palace of illusion. It's a, what we call a matte painting, it's a camera trick, it's nothing. Nothing but a dream. Today you have the chance to let the dream triumph. Thank you.

Orson Welles:
Everything I am, everything I could be is in that picture.

Orson Welles:
I expected better of you, Mank.

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
Me too, but I got used to it.

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
What about Marion?

Orson Welles:
Another animal in his zoo.

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
That is love to him. "I love you, I built you a beautiful cage."

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
Every man loves, Orson. Or has loved.

William Randolph Hearst:
My battle with the world is almost over. Yours is just beginning.

Orson Welles:
Kane would've taken the tickets.

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
Rosebud's a sled! Rosebud's a sled.

Orson Welles:
Who are these men you're afraid of? WHo are these tiny f***ing men? They're accountants.

Marion:
I swear, you and that guy Disney, in love with the damn rats.

George:
He shot five scenes, two with sound when he was only supposed to be doing a camera test!

Marion:
Screw you, Mr. Kane!

Marion:
Did you need any of them?

William Randolph Hearst:
I wanted them.

Marion:
And there is the difference between want and need.

Orson Welles:
We need to change the name.

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
What? The title?

Orson Welles:
No, no. It's a grand title, "American." I was thinking more the character name. Charles Foster Craig doesn't have the "knives-out" poetry I was looking for.

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
Okay.

Orson Welles:
I was thinking of Kane.

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
As in Abel?

Orson Welles:
K-A-N-E. One strong syllable, Kane.

Herman J. 'Mank' Mankiewicz:
Craig is one syllable.

Orson Welles:
Yes... But it's not a great syllable.

Herman:
Listen to me, you child. He doesn't worry about legalities. Do you know why? Because he has more power than you could even hope to imagine.

Orson:
All the more reason to do it!

Herman:
'Cause he insulted you at a dinner party?

Orson:
Because he's a hypocrite! Because he's a... A political turncoat. He claims to care about the common man when nothing could be further from the truth!

Herman:
Oh, he's a journalist. He owns Hollywood. We're the sh*t on his shoes. You better go back to Broadway, kiddo.

Orson:
I expected more from you, Mank.

Herman:
Yeah, me too, but I got used to it.

Orson:
How does that feel getting used to it? How does that feel going up to the palace and amusing the lords and ladies with the same old stories they've heard a hundred times before? How does it feel being the ugly, little monkey they keep around to amuse themselves?

Orson Welles:
[Referring to San Simeon] So how big is this monstrosity?

Herman Mankiewicz:
The estate? Half the size of Rhode Island.

Orson Welles:
You're kidding.

Herman Mankiewicz:
No, it's the place God would have built if he had the money.

Herman Mankiewicz:
Was it worth it?

Orson Welles:
I don't know. I can't imagine doing it any other way. I suppose it's just my character.

Herman Mankiewicz:
It won't be easy having made your masterpiece at 26.

Orson Welles:
Is that what you think - that I'm just going to burn out at the ripe old age of 26?

Herman Mankiewicz:
All stars burn out, Orson. It's the flame that counts.

Orson Welles:
[toasting] To the flame.

Herman Mankiewicz:
To the flame.