If William Randolph Hearst was still alive, he would not approve of what is happening at Hearst Castle tonight. Orsen Welles' masterpiece "Citizen Kane" is airing at the estate's private theater.
The film, widely considered one of the best ever made, will be screened as part of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, according to USA Today.
William Randolph Hearst, who Welles basically portrays a fictional version of in the film, used to call the castle home. The movie has been screened on the estate before but never in the private theater.
It will cost $1,000 to attend and includes a tour of the castle. All of the money made will be going to Friends of Hearst Castle, a preservation group.
Before it came out in 1941, William Randolph Hearst was outspoken in his negative feelings towards the movie.
William Randolph Hearst's great-grandson Stephen Hearst, the vice president and general manager of Hearst Corp.'s Western Properties, will not be present at the screening but he is the reason it is happening in the first place.
"My logic back then was very simple, this was an opportunity to clarify the record, to draw the distinction between the fictional character of Charlie Kane and his gloomy Xanadu and WR Hearst and his beautiful architectural masterpiece at the top of the hill at San Simeon," Stephen Hearst said.
Ben Mankiewicz, the grandson of Herman Mankiewicz, who co-wrote the "Citizen Kane" screenplay, will host the event.
