Fincherfanatic.com: Redefined

The feel-good post of Christmas is upon you. 'Dragon Tattoo' is finally making it to the big screen, shortest day of the year (well, for northern hemispherers) has come and gone, and I will be off for a little seasonal swingdown at this time. Good time to look for 2012 updates and upcoming changes to this site, no?

2011 was certainly a great year for fincherfanatic.com: We've been blessed with lots of Fincher news, thanks to his Oscar nomination for 'The Social Network' and his diligent effort on 'Dragon Tattoo' immediately afterwards, coupled with heightened media attention, and an amazing slate full of thrilling could-be nexts.

Celebrating Five Years of Fanaticism

Believe or not, January will mark the fifth anniversary of this site, and to everyone who has been around and stuck around: Thanks for your interest, feedback, contributions and your shared passion for the work of David Fincher.

It's amazing to see how quickly years have gone by, as I remember my first steps in setting up this blog and working out what it is and what it should be with little more than a gut instinct. By now, the fog is clearing a little, and after whatever this site has already put together, there is a clearer idea of what it could do in the future. For all that has already happened, I am thankful for the many long-time contributors and for (let's call him) 'co-editor' Gould, who have emerged along the way: Having your input is a great gift, as response times got better, and we were able to bring more concentrated Fincher content to your attention.

I appreciate everyone's feedback about the site, and I am always grateful for your suggestions of how to improve it. In response to one such suggestion, for example, I have implemented a Twitter channel and I am glad to see new followers signing up almost daily, and I have slimmed down the design of the site for (hopefully) better usability and faster loading.

Fincher. Nothing Else.

But over the many thrilling and positive things about the fanatic site I want to remember one thing above all: This site is dedicated to Fincher, celebrating and appreciating, in my opinion, one of cinema's finest directors working today. As I can gather from most of your messages, many of us fanatics are filmmakers ourselves, inspired by Fincher's attention to detail, his visual exactness, his instinct for pacing and his unwillingness to settle for anything less than his best effort.

I have had the opportunity to meet Fincher face to face in October. And as many of you had asked me how this came about, let me give you the brief answer: I had inquired for interviews for more than four years. This summer, now, I decided to fly to Los Angeles and then tried every channel I could think of to set up a meeting. What it came down to, however, was rather simply this: I was blessed to have the friendly help of someone who was in contact with Fincher's inner circle -- and I suppose Fincher was curious enough to want to meet whatever weirdo was writing a blog about him.

The meeting took place in Fincher's North Hollywood office, and Fincher was visibly strained by weeks on end of editing and rushing 'Dragon Tattoo' to its final cut. Especially considering this, I could not be thankful enough for his generosity with his time, and his openness in discussing his craft with me. -- Which brings me right to...

FincherFanatic.com: Redefined

Looking back on the first five years, I can say the site has accomplished many things I had set out to do, like collecting and curating Fincher's work in music video and commercials, and providing his fans with a centralized collection of news and items of interest. (Although, yeah, I do agree: I can and will find a better way to present Fincher's filmography in the music video and commercials section. Stay tuned. Will happen.)

For 2012, however, I am hoping to up the game, and, with your help, deliver an altogether new flavour in learning from Fincher: I would love to include a new section to the site that deals in-depth with Fincher's craft, a 'FincherFanatic Filmschool' of sorts. This could contain articles on Fincher's staging and blocking, on his work with actors, on his choice of shots, color-grading, pacing, his work with screenwriters and his choices in editing -- virtually all of Fincher's cinematic vision examined. So in short: More high quality original fincherfanatic.com content. How does that sound?

As I find that with every year added to my calender, time becomes a more precious resource, I already know I will not be able to create the content for this myself. If you are interested to help out, and now so especially, if you are interested in writing 'film-study' kind of articles about Fincher's work, I kindly do ask you to contact me and contribute (use the contact form for getting in touch).

A perfect illustration of where this could be heading is coming up very soon.

Merry Feel-Bad X-Mas, everyone!

Best regards,
FincherFanatic