After the Broadway successes of Welles's Mercury Theatre and the controversial 1938 radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds" on "The Mercury Theatre on the Air", Welles was courted by Hollywood. He signed a contract with RKO Pictures in 1939. Although it was unusual for an untried director, he was given the freedom to develop his own story, to use his own cast and crew, and to have final cut privilege. Following two abortive attempts to get a project off the ground, he wrote the screenplay for "Citizen Kane", collaborating on the effort with Herman J. Mankiewicz. Principal photography took place in 1940 and the film received its American release in 1941.