Every time a major Hollywood movie is released some person somewhere thinks they got ripped of. "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" seems to be no exception, even though the filmmakers say (and the title and premise very much implies) the story is based on Fitzgerald's short story. Now a woman from Italy steps up and claims the movie ripped off a story she wrote in 1994. Here's the story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28965513/
Frequent and appreciated contributor Christophe found this wonderful article in the American Cinematographer magazine. This goes really deep in if you want to learn more about the wonderful art and craft cinematography Claudio Miranda has brought to this project, this is the most worthwhile read:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0109/#/58
You may have heard by now: Even though several sources reported Paramount had extended their option on the adaptation of the graphic novel "Torso" last December, news now is that Paramount let's their rights lapse ... leaving Fincher with the possibility to tackle another project next. (How about "Fertig"?) Here's the story:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3if92d25379ebd69311fa64b6be0515842
And here is an extensive look at Detective Mills, aka Tyler Durden, aka Benjamin Button -- Brad Pitt. I trust Christophe this is great (since I didn't even find the time to read it. So if anyone reads it, tell me how it is! Thanks!):
http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2009/02/brad_pitt
Furthermore over the weekend Danny Boyle secured his Director's Guild of America Award for Best Director of his feature film "Slumdog Millionaire" over David Fincher, Christopher Nolan and others, which may be seen as an indication of how the Oscars go. Let's see what the Academy thinks ...
http://newsinfilm.com/?p=8685
That's it, folks. I am hoping news is going to trickle through soon about what Fincher will be doing next, after sleeping for six months, as he said he would after trotting the world promoting "Benjamin Button". For all we know "Heavy Metal" is still in the works. And I would personally love to see Fincher take on a really low-budget, guerilla-style flick with an insanely great script -- like he said he might do with "Fight Club".
Thanks to everyone contributing. I appreciate it!
What would you guys love to see next from the Finch?
First, one small film a la The Wrestler. A fantastic original script, maybe written by someone like Palahniuk or even Will Self. That would be something.
ReplyDeleteThen, FERTIG. But rewritten by some damn fine writer. I have nothing against Robert Towne, but I guess he didn't do some fabulous work with his last films. But as always, what do I know?
Although Heavy Metal, The Killer, Torso (Ness), The Devil in the White City, Rendezvous with Rama, Black Hole, Chef could all be nice films or even great ones, Fertig would be my personal pick.
What I would like to see? Simple :
ReplyDeleteA real Fincher movie. Not a remake of Forrest Gump.
Something as groundbreaking as Fight Club, as dark as Se7en, as entertaining as Panic Room, as deep as Zodiac. Even if it"s flawed as Alien3, I'd like to see something that has never been done before.
Let's bring the real Fincher back!
I hope we see some Heavy Metal news soon! I can't wait for that!
ReplyDeleteBLACK HOLE would seem to be the most interesting project. I hope FERTIG gets realized also. TORSO sounds just too close to SEVEN, ZODIAC.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/david-fincher-awards-are-just-icing-on-the-cake-1520062.html
Gould, CCBB did offer something wholly unique: the "grave to cradle" inverse life cycle of a protagonist portrayed by the same actor for virtually the entire span. Calling it a FG remake also cheapens your stance on any other reservations you have about the film since you're only saying that to be in lockstep with the same vocal minority who've consecrated the mediocrity of Slumdog.
ReplyDeleteCCBB is a major turning point in Fincher's career and a vital addition to his filmography. I'm sure he understood that when he veered off into tender territory it was going to alienate some of his bleak fans who crave subversive darkness. It has all the exemplary production staples of his other work but somehow I'm to believe it doesn't fit alongside them because it's PG-13, life-affirming and emotionally intensive? Please. As usual, I can't wait to see what he does next; I'm actually kind of hoping for Keanu Reeves in the culinary romantic comedy because that will really cheese off the Button haters and prove that their true allegiance was wallowing in cinematic misanthropy instead of appreciating the career evolution of a filmmaker who refused to be pigeonholed as he reached middle age.
If they ever make "Assassin's Creed" into a movie, I hope Fincher will sign on for the job!
ReplyDeleteDamn, I shouldn't have even thought about that. I would love that movie!
@Fiddlesticks
ReplyDeleteCCBB maybe a major achievement for Fincher, and a turning point in his career, I do not contest, it is nevertheless not "emotionally intensive". Pitt is passive all the way. How can you relate to such a character? How can you believe the love story? After all, one of Fincher's favorite movie is Being There, where a guy walk through the whole movie not connecting with his peers.
The movie bears similar plot devices with Gump, and it's not surprising since it has the same writer, and usually a writer write the same story over and over again, in different ways. This script would have made a perfect Spielberg movie, Fincher was just attracted to it for the wrong reasons : the technical challenge.
What are, to me, the main problems of CCBB :
_it is told as a fable (especially the beginning) which reminds of Tim Burton's and not Fincher's;
_the voice over is totally useless since it only repeats what you see onscreen : what's the point?
_the movie is told in small scenes;
_these southern accents are just annoying, especially Blanchet's
_the humour is clumsy
_the music is intrusive (and i LOVE Desplat's BIRTH soundtrack), but there you just sometimes want it to stop. The picture can speak for itself.
Fincher aimed both for the mainstream audience and art house I guess, but you cannot please both. I am happy it is a commercially successful and will help him move forward in his career. Still, it would be quite ironic he gets an Oscar for this, less deserved than his masterpiece ZODIAC.
I'll see it again because I want to give the movie a second chance. It is still an interesting flawed piece of art. Because I loved the Russian part, and for the overall performance.
And I did not like Slumdog by the way ;-) Instead I loved "Let the Right One in", which should have been nominated for Best Foreign Picture.
Gould how do you know what attracted Fincher to Button? Besides you're completely wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhat attracted him to the story was the death of his father, whom he was close to. Fincher, who is a father himself, noted that the relationship he had with his daughter changed as a result of his fathers death and thus he began to contemplate issues like life and death and the fleeting nature of the relationships one acquires throughout the duration of a lifetime.
The technical aspect was what Fincher, a master of such craft, brought to a project most felt was unfilmable (hence why it remained in development hell for nearly twenty years).
Fincher described the film as a "labor of love" and I have no reason to think he was lying.
Fiddlesticks is right. The reason some of his "fans" didn't like the film is because the film lacked Fincher's typical "darkness" and was more soul searching. It doesn't make the film bad or mediocre because it's different from Seven, Fight Club and/or Zodiac.
Watch and judge the film on its own merits and you will find a beautiful story there, told with breathtaking visuals. Fincher, almost singlehandedly, is revolutionizing what CGI can do. By itself, that makes Button an important film.
Comparisons with Forrest Gump are extremely superficial. One could make similar comparisons between just about ANY film. One can look at Slumdog Millionaire (a film I believe will be forgotten within a year) and make superficial comparisons with another film from the past and then call it a carbon copy.
It doesn't make it so.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/feb/03/david-fincher-interview-transcript
ReplyDeletePoster Bpy's version of the BUTTON poster:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/26296445@N05/3192064628/
See super-young Fincher in ILM days around the 6:54 mark here-
ReplyDeletehttp://katzfx.blogspot.com/2009/01/jedi-days.html
I'm with Fiddlesticks. Well written responses. And Gould, saying things like: "How can you relate to such a character? How can you believe the love story?" rings pretty hollow as many have. I don't like MILLION DOLLAR BABY that much, but it's not other worldly for me to imagine someone else relating to the specifics of those characters and what they experience. ZODIAC and BUTTON are a huge evolution for Fincher. It is quite exciting to see a filmmaker growing and not repeating himself, and I hope others follow suit!
ReplyDeleteJust saw it, I know it's old news but it just got released today in my neck of the woods. Here's a couple of thoughts.
ReplyDeleteWell it's the first Fincher-film that I know my mom will enjoy. It's the first lump-in-your-throat Fincher film, and adding all the Oscar nominations, it's probably the film in which we lose David Fincher to the world, in the same way that Titanic made James Cameron's name known to fifteen year old girls everywhere. That's not necessarily good or bad, but it's a fact.
If we're going to nitpick, now that the movie's over I don't get what that blind-clockmaker prologue adds to the thing, I have the feeling that you could chop that part clean off and not miss it at all.
The "I was struck by lightning seven times" clips had me pretty mystified too.
There's also a joke that I felt fell flat when Daisy says something like "Please read it again!" and Benjamin pops up from behind her and says something like "Yes, please read it again!".
These things stick out in my mind as un-Fincheresque, they veer a bit close to cuteness/preciousness.
There really are some Gump parallels, the tugboat captain in particular reminded me of good ol' Lieutenant Dane as a man-of-action who mirrors the more passive protagonist.
Having been a fan since his music video days, when Fincher's name showed up in the end credits I felt like this was the end of a long journey. He is now an official Hollywood sacred cow because he has deliverd a long, heartwarming epic film with a love story and huge stars and 13 Oscar nominations. And for the most part, I think he has done it his way, without mawkishness or clichés.
I don't think Fincher will turn into Ron Howard, but at the same time, if he goes back to Fight club style "ugliness", the marketing team will face a conundrum: they will hardly be able to resist the "From the director of The curious case of Benjamin Button" line, but as family-friendly fare, this is probably more of an anomaly in his filmography than his new métier, I think.
Thank you DGG for your comment, I feel less alone.
ReplyDelete