Citizen Kane to screen at Hearst Castle, just like William Randolph Hearst wanted

By Katie Rife | January 16, 2015 | 9:50pm

Aux Features Film

The idea that William Randolph Hearst was behind the prohibition of marijuana in the U.S. turned out to be a myth, but the newspaper mogul’s campaign to destroy Citizen Kane and its creator Orson Welles was very real. But Welles—and Kane, which held the title of Sight & Sound’s “greatest film of all time” for more than 50 years before being deposed by Vertigo—has apparently gained final advantage as Variety reports that Kane will screen at Hearst Castle as part of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. (Hearst Castle was the inspiration for Xanadu in Welles’ film, just as Hearst was the inspiration for the character of Charles Foster Kane.)

The screening was approved by Hearst’s grandson Stephen Hearst, who also approved a screening of the film at the Hearst Castle visitor center in 2012. The estate is supposedly haunted by the ghost of Hearst’s beloved Marion Davies, so perhaps some special guests (more like spectral guests, am I right folks?) will be in attendance as well. The screening will take place March 13; tickets cost $1,000 each, with proceeds rather ironically going towards The Friends of Hearst Castle preservation group.