Who The Character Is: Powerful newspaper magnate-turned-prospective politician, and lead of Orson Welles' cinematic directorial debut. Charles Foster Kane (Welles) is adopted in his youth by a rich banker, before going into the newspaper business and embarking on a career of sensationalist 'yellow journalism', where he wields his power mercilessly, before eventually dying alone in a giant castle-like mansion named Xanadu. Who He Really Is: William Randolph Hearst, who famously altered public opinion towards the Spanish American War via his newspapers and actually invented yellow journalism, and who, like Kane, lived in a large mansion with its own private zoo and art collection. Why Welles and co-screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, a former journalist who really did know Hearst, chose to make their film a critique of the newspaper baron is unclear, but Hearst definitely took it seriously. Upon the film's release, Hearst banned any mention of the film in his papers and, such was his power, Hearst managed to make Kane into a (relative) box office failure. Which other great characters do you know that were created as f**k you's to real people? Let us know in the comments below.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
