Hearstfest

Hearstfest is an idea for a festival of films that are interrelated because of the confluence of their historical subject matter and also because they're great films. You might think of this series as being "Six Degrees of William Randolph Hearst."

1. Chaplin (1992) Now that Robert Downey, Jr. is once again an actor and not a punchline, it's time to take a new look at this Richard Attenborough film where he stars in the title role. The supporting cast is great and even on its own this would be a choice pick. Jack Ritschel plays William Randolph Hearst and Heather McNair plays his longtime mistress Marion Davies.

2. The Cat's Meow (2001) Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, this film features Eddie Izzard as Chaplin and Kirsten Dunst as Marion Davies, with Edward Herrmann as William Randolph Hearst circa 1924. Hollywood scandal galore plus another great supporting cast that includes Cary Elwes.

3. Cradle Will Rock (1999) John Cusack plays Nelson Rockefeller in this all-star film from Tim Robbins about Orson Welles, Marc Blitzstein and the Federal Theatre Project. With Cary Elwes as John Houseman and Gretchen Mol appears briefly as Marion Davies along with John Carpenter as Hearst.

4. RKO 281 (1999) Liev Shreiber plays Orson Welles and James Cromwell is William Randolph Hearst in this film about the making of Citizen Kane. The cast includes Roy Scheider, John Malkovich and Melanie Griffith (as Marion Davies).

5. Citizen Kane (1941) Orson Welles directs and stars in this classic based in part on the life of William Randolph Hearst.

So there you have it, five excellent films with five Hearsts.