Hearst Castle
VIP EVENT – Hollywood to Hearst Castle
Friday, March 9 – 6:45-10:00pm
Sunday, March 11 – 6:30-8:30pm
Hearst Castle Theatre at the Visitor Center
San Simeon, CA
San Luis Obispo’s Hearst Castle will relive its Hollywood heydays of the 1920s and ’30s for one star-studded night during the “Hollywood to Hearst Castle” event on Friday, March 9th.
Renowned Hollywood photographer Timothy White, the SLOIFF’s recipient of the inaugural Spotlight Award, will start off the evening’s festivities at 5 p.m. by flying into Hearst Ranch’s private airfield, just as William Randolph Hearst’s high-profile Hollywood friends once did.
After they touch down, the private VIP tour includes a motorcade of vintage cars to the castle; a private tour of the castle; indoor poolside cocktails and hors d’oeuvres with celebrity and VIP guests; and an intimate conversation with Timothy White hosted by Drew Carey while viewing White’s work on the screen of the Hearst Castle private movie theater. There are currently a handful of tickets left for this special VIP Tour. If interested call (805) 546-3456 or send email to sloiff1@yahoo.com. $400/person or $750/couple.
The VIP group will then join the general public at the Hearst Castle Theatre at the Visitor Center, which will feature a silent auction and an exhibit of Timothy White’s work. At 7:30pm, a longtime friend and colleague will present Timothy White with the SLOIFF’s inaugural Spotlight Award tribute, created to highlight key figures involved in behind-the-scenes filmmaking.
The event concludes with a grand finale screening of Citizen Kane from 8-10 pm, with an introduction from the screenwriter’s grandson, Ben Mankiewicz (TCM weekend host.)
It surprised the festival’s organizers somewhat when Steve Hearst–William Randolph Hearst’s great-grandson and a Vice-President of the Hearst Corporation–gave his hearty endorsement to this showing. They thought he might be resistant to the idea, since the film is after all a scathing indictment of Hearst’s life as a press lord. And this occasion is almost certainly the first time Citizen Kane has been shown at San Simeon.
Both William Randolph Hearst’s companion Marion Davies and his son William Randolph Hearst, Jr. stated that Hearst himself never saw Citizen Kane. Nearly everyone else saw it, however. And seventy years after its 1941 debut, many people still form their opinions of Hearst, Davies, and La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Hill, Hearst’s formal name for his beloved San Simeon), based solely on this film. Steve Hearst feels it is time to give Citizen Kane an informed viewing at San Simeon, and place it in its proper context as a sketch of Hearst’s life drawn with considerable artistic license.
“Citizen Kane is a classic American film but is in no way a historically accurate depiction of William Randolph Hearst or his favorite place in the world, his ranch,” said Steve Hearst.
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On Sunday evening, the theatre doors will open at 6:00pm and the movie will begin at 6:30pm. Hearst Castle tours are available all weekend as well.
Hollywood to Hearst Castle is a San Luis Obispo International Film Festival event, in cooperation with Hearst Castle, Friends of Hearst Castle, California State Parks and SanLuisObispoVacations.com. Also sponsored by Hearst Ranch Wines and KSBY-TV.
