Citizen Hearst

From Academy– and Emmy Award–nominated director Leslie Iwerks comes one of the great media success stories—the compelling and dramatic rise of one of America’s best known companies—told in a beautiful new documentary,Citizen Hearst.

This original feature-length documentary, narrated by Academy Award nominee William H. Macy, explores the 125-year journey of Hearst Corporation, from William Randolph Hearst’s conviction that print newspapers could boldly inform public opinion to the global impact of the company’s multimedia brands and diversi"ied businesses today. The iconic nature of W.R. Hearst has long enthralled the public and was famously dramatized in the 1941 "ilm Citizen Kane, starring Orson Welles.

Citizen Hearst, produced by Leslie and Jane Kelly Kosek, is the "irst in-depth look at how the company has navigated the changing times over the span of two centuries.

Crafted from in-depth interviews and historical footage, Citizen Hearst features both the personal stories and media milestones that have created today’s Hearst Corporation. It includes vérité stories of daily life at Hearst’s newspapers, television stations, entertainment shows and magazines, including behind-the-scenes access to photo shoots. Leslie provides a rare glimpse behind the glass walls of the Hearst Tower, interviewing top magazine and fashion editors of Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Town & Country, among others, while also traveling to San Simeon, Calif., for unprecedented access to the Hearst Castle and interviews with Hearst family members. The "ilm features interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Dan Rather, Mark Burnett, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Bob Iger, Leonard Maltin, Dr. Oz and Heidi Klum, among others.

Citizen Hearst chronicles the rise of American journalism and Hearst’s newspaper rivalry with Joseph Pulitzer; traces the beginnings of newsreels and films—and, later, magazine brands and cable; provides glimpses inside the personal lives of W.R. Hearst and Marion Davies (including reactions to Citizen Kane); explores the in"luences of media on politics through the decades; investigates Hearst’s steadfast pursuit of diversiication; and examines the company’s bold commitment to building Hearst Tower in the wake of 9/11.