10 Ingenious Ways Film Directors Beat The Studio
6. Orson Welles Told The Studio He Was "Rehearsing" While Shooting The Movie - Citizen Kane
Orson Welles was a trailblazer and a maverick like no other - a prodigiously talented filmmaker whose perfectionism and ego ensured he clashed constantly with studios.
Welles was just 25 years old when he co-write, directed, and starred in both his directorial debut and magnum opus Citizen Kane, and though Hollywood is littered with stories of studios bending young filmmakers to their will, Welles was evidently savvy beyond his years.
Beyond having an unprecedented level of creative control in his contract - namely final cut privilege and the right to withhold dailies from studio RKO - Welles also schemed to keep executives in the dark as much as possible.
During the first few days of the shoot, Welles told the RKO stuffed shirts that he and the rest of the cast were "rehearsing," when in fact the film was already in full production.
This allowed Welles to get started free of any unwanted set visits or executive micro-management, and the studio didn't catch on for a few days.
Presumably by this point Welles had some impressive dailies in the can in case he needed to keep the executives further at bay.