The Works and Genius of David Fincher

NYTimes: Jeff Cronenweth Interview

2012-01-29T02:32:00.000-08:00

Was dropped in the comments-section; now embedded for your viewing pleasure: An interview with Oscar-nominated "Dragon Tattoo" cinematography Jeff Cronenweth. (Thanks!)

The Making of 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'

2012-01-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

David Fincher explains it all to the Hollywood Reporter.

Read it all here!

Art Linson On "Fight Club"

2012-01-15T04:42:00.001-08:00

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Screenplay

2012-01-12T23:45:00.000-08:00

In a push for recognition for its screenwriter Steve Zaillian, Sony Pictures now provides an official download of the screenplay for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

From the brief glance that I have given it, it becomes obvious that while this draft of the script is very close to the final film, some lines of dialogue and some scene descriptions aren't quite identical. At some point, possibly upon release of the BluRay, this should make for a nice subject matter to give further consideration: To see where the film diverges from its screenplay material, as an indication of what Fincher added to the on paper directions.

Huge thanks to Thiago for contributing.
Download PDF of the screenplay here:
http://www.sonypictures.com/.../girlwiththedragontattoo-screenplay.pdf

Dragon Tattoo Title Sequence & Sound Design

2012-01-06T05:25:00.000-08:00

Tattoo's making of start popping up everywhere now. Beginning with the impressive opening credit sequence and sound design.

I have not seen the movie yet so I'll keep this for later but if you don't mind spoiling the surprise take a look at these :

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound and Music of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

Thanks to Mikez for the info.

io9 exclusive look at the title sequence here.

Dragon Tattoo Sequel Still On Track

2012-01-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

Despite slow start at box office, Sony's Rep says a second episode will definitely happen.

It was said before that the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo performed below expectations domestically. Hopefully, momentum is in favor of Fincher's thriller and the $100 million mark seems now at reach.

No surprise Sony, who has an eye on the franchise's potential, just announced today that 'nothing has changed with respect to development of the next book'.

Screenwriter Steve Zaillian is said to be already working on the sequel's script. Both Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig have already signed for two other films. Whether Fincher will come back as director or producer is yet to be confirmed.

To be continued...

Read Entertainment Weekly's post here.

Fincher Film School: The Game

2011-12-30T06:10:00.000-08:00

"There's a lot to be learned from focusing in on an isolated sequence and breaking down the camera direction and visual grammar of the scene. That was our intention with the blog anyway," is what filmmaker Cassidy Gearhart has to say of his film studies blog 'Studies and Exercises'.

While Gearhart and fellow filmmaker Julian King's blog features many interesting examples of cinematic storytelling, from directors Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altmann, Ingmar Bergman and many others, I have chosen Gearhart's examination of the airport scene from David Fincher's 1997 "The Game" -- as a perfect illustration of where the fincherfanatic blog's new Fincher Film School section could be heading: In-depth, thorough, informative and inspiring analysis of Fincher's cinematic craft.

Do make sure to check out Gearhart's and King's other 'studies and exercises', as well as theiroriginal works.

...and head this way for a shot-by-shot tableau of said airport scene of "The Game".

Fincher's Misunderstanding

2011-12-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

Yahoo has a talk with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.

Dragon Tattoo opening a week ago in the U.S. with box office results below expectations, one could wonder indeed if Fincher was misunderstood. Blame it on bad timing (''Feel bad movie of Christmas' really?), M.I.5 competition, or the Swedish original being too fresh in moviegoers' minds. Who knows...

It's probably too early to comment on the box office since let's remember the thriller was mostly a Euro book sensation before being imported to the States. So let's wait for the foreign grosses, shall we?

I think [Fincher's] wildly misunderstood, kind of like the character.
- Rooney Mara

Watch the interview :

Also make sure to check out this week's Entertainment Weekly magazine :

Great Fincher Interview on FirstShowing

2011-12-24T04:54:00.001-08:00

Alex Billington took the chance to sit down with David Fincher for an interesting chat, mostly about 'Dragon Tattoo', final cuts and, uhm, realistic hacking.

Right this way: http://www.firstshowing.net/...

Fincherfanatic.com: Redefined

2011-12-23T01:51:00.000-08:00

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

Soap. Because.

2011-12-22T02:37:00.000-08:00

Exclusive Film Clip & More

2011-12-19T00:07:00.000-08:00

Brace yourselves, for The Girl is coming to town.
Now, seriously, you didn't just ask, "Which girl?"

Check out this film clip:

The Girl and her kick-ass motorcycle
This amazing slate of projects (and more) is waiting for David Fincher
Fincher talks 'Dragon Tattoo' sequels
Scribe Steve Zaillian talks hard times of adaptating the millenium trilogy

...and should you ever have doubts, here it is, all laid out:Why Fincher is the perfect director for 'Dragon Tattoo'.

Rooney On Letterman

2011-12-17T14:31:00.001-08:00

At Charlie Rose's Table

2011-12-17T08:34:00.000-08:00

Dragon Tattoo's whole cast chats with Charlie Rose. It's still promotion feels very much less contrived.

As usual, a very casual and enlightening interview. You can watch the almost hour long discussion right here...

Or over at Charlie Rose's home-on-the-web:
http://www.charlierose.com/

Enjoy!
With Robert Paulson's and Fitz's compliments.

More Interviews w/ Fincher

2011-12-16T00:18:00.000-08:00

...and not one question why he likes to do so many takes.

And here:
http://www.denofgeek.com/...

Dragon Tattoo: World Premiere

2011-12-13T01:25:00.000-08:00

+++ UPDATE 12/15/2011 +++
For those, who like premieres, here's more coverage from the 'Dragon Tattoo' launch in Sweden, the day after London World Premiere.

It's happening! Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara are stepping into the limelight to bring glamour and buzz to David Fincher's new thriller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And guess what they were wearing... Oh, sorry, I forgot you cannot auto-detect sarcasm.

Red carpet as usual, true. But in this case I don't mind confessing to wholehearted fanboydom, professing my respect for an up-scale but still very imaginative campaign (mostly due to Mouth Taped Shut), which will now be going into full swing.

'Dragon Tattoo' is definitely my most anticipated movie of the year (for me, more precisely, next year), and I always wish Fincher insane box office returns -- simply and selfishly as I want to continue see him make near-perfect movies.

Huge thanks, also, to Robert Paulson for putting together a nice package of premiere coverage: Thanks Robert!

Here it is:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/...
http://www.mirror.co.uk/...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

Update: Stockholm Premiere

http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/noje/article14074273.ab
http://svtplay.se/v/2642952/hollywoodpremiar_i_stockholm
http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/film-tv/millennium-film-far-tidig-premiar

(Btw. As was to be expected, most of the coverage is in Swedish. But stick with it for some English bits here and there.)

Dragon Tattoo Unseen Footage, Song & Free Screenings!

2011-12-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

Just when you thought the week-end was going to be quiet, Karen O's Immigrant Song music video is released.

Watch Karen O cover Led Zeppelin's song just below :

And Entertainment Tonight exclusive footage :

Free screenings details here.

Fincher is definitely keeping us busier than ever.

That's all folks ! (for the moment)

Fincher's BBC Interview

2011-12-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Press junket episode I...

Thanks to Robert Paulson

Fincher Weekend Showdown

2011-12-09T00:48:00.000-08:00

'Dragon Tattoo' is finally diving in like a boss. We have news items exploding left and right, and it's already hard to keep track. I'm sure we can stay tuned for some surprise vfx featurettes soon -- as usual of near-invisible fx-work that will make your jaw drop -- and of course there will be more hype, more lights, more glory for the cast and crew. All well and good. Here's what we have so far, all decently wrapped up for the weekend...

"So, it's 'F U C -'? Can you spell that for me?"

TimeOut publishes full interview w/ Daniel Craig, trying to match Fincher's mastery in the use of the word...
Fincher Q&A: "I think civilization is an agreement, and once in a while, you're going to run into people who didn't get the memo."
Reznor & Ross on how to write a hard-R score
Being Lisbeth Salander before it was cool: Noomi Rapace will definitely watch Fincher's 'Dragon Tattoo'. (Like she should.)
NYTimes: Fincher says Salander is "like Jesus Christ, Dracula and Batman." Sounds like my type of movie...
Fincher's response on Denby's embargo-break. (Bashing 'Fight Club' certainly didn't help either, Mr. Denby!)
Redecorate: TGWTDT posters (1), (2), (3)

...and call it what you will, remake, re-envisioning, re-adaptation: You know this trailer was made exclusively for the totally awesome-at-heart:

The Girl With The Tramp Stamp Tattoo from Emma Roberts

The Lab: David Fincher Interviews Stellan Skarsgard

2011-12-08T01:44:00.000-08:00

http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/09/stellan-skarsgard/

8-Minute Trailer HD & More Press Day Footage

2011-12-08T01:07:00.001-08:00

Iconic Rooney & Obsessive Fincher

2011-12-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

Be prepared for an avalanche of news now that Dragon Tattoo's release is nearing. We do our best keeping up with the flow of information...

Watch Rooney Mara playing A Clockwork's Orange Alex character in a nice NY Times short video.

NYT also features a Fincher interview. Nothing new basically but quite interesting and a quick read

My idea of professionalism is probably a lot of people’s idea of obsessive.
- David Fincher

Thanks to Robert Paulson.

New York Times interview here

Dragon Tattoo Premiere!

2011-12-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

It's time, folks! Next week, Monday December 12, will see the International Premiere of Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" in London. Another premiere, in Sweden, is rumored to take place the day after, December 13. Thanks to Robert Paulson for pointing us to this amazing news. And: Make sure (if eligible) to sign up for the contest to win tickets for the London Premiere!

This is amazing news, and I am quite looking forward to see, hearing and reading all the buzz about this movie.

Click here for more info:
http://www.markboardman.moonfruit.com/...
http://www.holymoly.com/...

Hard Copy: Missing Girl

2011-12-07T00:47:00.001-08:00

Look, what they found in the good old Tv archives. This is really well done, and most entertaining, if you are already familiar with the plot. Comes directly from Mouth Taped Shut. Thanks to everone pointing us to it.

All That Fuzz: New Yorker Review For "Dragon Tattoo"

2011-12-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

So he did it: David Denby broke ~~his word~~ the review-embargo demanded by Sony Pictures and published his review of Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo today. I guess now it's up to you, whether you want to read it or, uhm, boycott the boycott of the embargo.

New Yorker: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

...and what all the fuzz was/is about:
IndieWire.com: Scott Rudin bashes David Denby
Deadline.com: So what?

All The Fincher's Men

2011-12-03T00:20:00.001-08:00

Two of David Fincher's faithful collaborators, director of photography Jeff Cronenweth and screenwriter Steve Zaillian, get the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Magazine treatment.

Producer Ceàn Chaffin, film editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, casting director Laray Mayfield, to name few, are among David Fincher's close guard. Having such a solid network over the years probably allow you to build a recognizable style which eventually becomes your trademark. That's why you can see now a 'David Fincher' film as featured in Dragon Tattoo's trailer. Whether in arts or in business, it's all about working as a team and being interrelated. And Fincher masters that more than any director.

These professionals seem to share a characteristic which is precision. Jeff Cronenweth has an eye for it and Steve Zaillian admits he is precise too.

Read the two papers as you'll probably learn more about Fincher through his crew's own words than from his (notwithstanding Fincher Fanatic's landmark interview of course).

Jeff Cronenweth's profile on ICG Magazine here

Steven Zaillian's interview here

Fincher News — Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-12-02T00:05:00.000-08:00

Didn't I stumble upon a news item recently that said they were planning to do a Mikael Blomkvist inspired clothing line for men as well, over at H&M? — Well, forgive me if it hasn't been on this blog. It just didn't seem important. Like at all.

Hey, but this might:

• Dragon Tattoo OST gets the awesome Kellerhouse treatment

• Reznor & Ross, in their own words, have written "some of the most beautiful and disturbing music of our careers" for Dragon Tattoo. FREE DOWNLOAD of a 35 minute sampler included!

• Daniel Craig talks Dragon Tattoo and Skyfall

• Swedish Dragon Tattoo's Mikael Blomkvist's daughter lands role in Fincher's adaptation by accident

• Who knows, you might be able to watch Fincher's House of Cards on your Playstation3: Sony Pictures TV aquired rights from Netflix

And these are MUST-READs:

• Wired Magazine runs an exceptional, incredible piece on Fincher

• ... and iTunes, of all place, seems to have the infamous 8-minute Dragon Tattoo trailer (according to NIN)

... or well, you just watch it right here.

Dragon Tattoo Soundtrack Update

2011-12-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

Reznor's Twitter account reveals new track. A cover of Brian Ferry's Is Your Love strong.

This song was first featured in Riddley Scott's Legend. Watch music video below :

With Robert Paulson's compliments.

Reznor's Twitter here.

Dragon Tattoo Early Screening

2011-11-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

That's it, Lisbeth is finally let loose as Fincher's movie is screened for critics in Manhattan this Monday. +++Updated 11/30+++

Variety reports that The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was screened earlier this week. Though studio restrains critics from expressing their thoughts on the movie until further notice, words leaked. 'Prospect are huge' for one critic while another tempers as not seeing a 'game changer'.

Where's the truth? Maybe somewhere in between...

Thanks to Inge for his contribution.

Go to Variety's blog here.

You can also read an early review here. It is quite a detailed one which makes it a rather reliable source (not a fake one that is).

'Dragon Tattoo' Post Newsblast

2011-11-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

Post Magazine runs their current cover-story on David Fincher's upcoming "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", and it's a feast for everyone interested in the finer and more invisible aspects of the craft: Their two articles are detailed (in the good way) and take you through the thoughts and efforts that went into the making of the film in terms of sounddesign, editing, vfx and color.

Don't want to credit the 'wrong guy' again, so: Thanks, Robert Paulson, for dropping these links into the fincherfanatic inbox.

Sound-designer Ren Klyce
Post Magazine Cover Story

You Better Be F—ing Serious: David Fincher on Directing

2011-11-25T11:21:00.000-08:00

» PDF-Version

"It was great. It's an adult movie, it's f—ing hard-R, and they were getting out of my way and let me do what I wanted to do," is what director David Fincher has to say of the experience of working on his new thriller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. FincherFanatic finally had the chance to meet Fincher face to face, and caught up with him during the final days of editing.

First things first, David Fincher isn't one for vanity press. He didn't enter the movie business to become a celebrity. And that may be a reason why it is still rare and hard to get an interview with the man – particularly on camera – perhaps moreso if you are writing a blog about him. "You know, I don't even like looking at my driver's license," Fincher says. "If I had wanted to be a celebrity, I wouldn't have picked this lonely job, that requires you to stay in a room in the dark, watching TV all the time." The very reason he started out directing music videos and commercials was because there was no screen credit, just a convenient opportunity to learn the craft and get paid for it. In internet times, to see these works from the past rear their heads is not much to Fincher's liking. Which is why our conversation begins with his blunt question: Why would anyone in their right mind write a blog about him?

Fincher doesn't like to read about himself, nor does he like to be recognized. A two-fold discomfort: For one, Fincher doesn't want to be made aware of expectations towards his work. And understandably so: "There are so many things I wouldn't have done, if I had listened to that," he says. And as for being recognized, he adds: "You know, I used to live next door to George Lucas. When I was ten years old, he was the guy who had done THX 1138. By the time I was twelve, he was the guy who did American Graffiti. By the time I was fifteen, he had done Star Wars. By the time Star Wars came out, this guy couldn't go anywhere in town. He couldn't walk into some place and not be the focus of it. One of the things I like about being a director is, when your plane is late, you are doing homework. Because you are sitting there in the lounge, listening to people talk. That's your job. When you become the focus, when people feel like 'I can't act like myself, because that's the guy who did whatever', all of a sudden you lose an advantage."

It's an intriguing motive for Fincher's publicity aversion. Yet each Oscar nomination and the anticipated roll-out of Sony's marketing campaign for Dragon Tattoo are not going to make that any easier – let alone Fincher's likely next, Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; a 100+ million dollar CG family adventure.

Fincher feels awkward at the thought, that he himself could have become an icon for a young generation of filmmakers. "Now, I understand Spielberg, Hitchcock, even to a certain extent George Lucas," he says – and thinks. But whether he likes it or not, 'Fincher' has long become a brand name. Still the director upholds his protest: "I don't want to be a Winchell's Donut. Even if my last name is 'Winchell'. I want to be able to make something like Zodiac. I mean, shouldn't your movies, if they are truly personal, change the way you change? Every seven years all of the cells in our bodies change, everything is in this process of evolution; so the notion that the director is a brand–?"

Well. Coincidentally, the theatrical trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo reads, 'a David Fincher film', and 'directed by David Fincher'. Fincher's disapproval isn't very well hidden: "None of the trailers that I ever cut had my f—ing name on them. As I never tire of telling the marketing department, 'Remember, Se7en was from the director of Se7en, too, but it didn't say it on the poster.' So I work hard to fight against whatever my brand is. I would like my brand to stand for 'works really hard', 'tries to make it as good as he possibly can'. If the brand is, 'it's gonna be dark and grainy,' I have no interest in that. It's just too reductive. It's just too stupid."

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Next Page »

» PDF-Version

I'm Not Ready To Live

2011-11-25T01:13:00.001-08:00

He's a master! No other way to say it. Watch this grinding, pulse-pounding 3'38" visual feast tribute to David Fincher's FIGHT CLUB by Twitch. Makes me so wanna skip work & watch this movie right now. Awesome!

This is what they should have played as a theatrical trailer.
I love it!

Direct link here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xFcE8pfJfI

What do you guys think?

Treats From Stockholm: Interview w/ David Fincher

2011-11-23T11:40:00.001-08:00

A quick one for those who have and those who haven't yet checked out the Dragon Tattoo press conference posted by Mikez. Here's another short one-on-one with David Fincher!

Thanks, Philipp, for the link.

Fincher Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-11-18T00:23:00.000-08:00

I love it when Fincherland is bustling with news. This week we saw a new 1' TV ad for 'Dragon Tattoo', we've heard of traditionally slim Oscar chances for anal rape pictures, and now here's three more amazing items: Fincher commenting on getting a crucial scene in 'Dragon Tattoo' right, scribe Eric Roth rumored to pen Fincher's 'Cleopatra' -- and the one and only: Andrew Kevin Walker stepping up to work on '20,000 Leagues...'. Oh, hell yeah!

If you run into more stuff, please do post in the comments section for now; will clean up and add later!

Thanks, everyone, for your amazing input!

Here's the deal:
fincher-cleopatra-with-benjamin-button-writer-eric-roth-to-pen-script
david-fincher-discusses-key-moment-dragon-tattoo
david-finchers-se7en-scribe-joins-20000-leagues-under-the-sea

New 1' TV Spot

2011-11-15T00:22:00.000-08:00

+++UPDATE 11/17/2011+++
Make sure to jump to the comments also, where Mikez has dropped a few goodies. Links are checked and good to go. Thanks Mikez!

A new 1 minute TV spot popped up for David Fincher's upcoming Feel Bad movie: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I just LOVE that shot of Lisbeth turning upside down. Fincher magic!

(Unfortunately this cannot be embedded. Watch it on youtube.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpllYyXqinE

Fincher's Digital Hour

2011-11-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Just before the Dragon pounces on us with its press junkets, red carpet and worldwide promo, let's ponder on Fincher's films.

Books on Fincher are so rare they deserve to be noticed. 4 years earlier 'Dark Eye' was the first reference book published on the director and by the way mentioned on this blog. Now here comes a French essay called 'Fincher's Digital Hour'.

I can hear you already : 'an essay on Fincher by a French guy, not even translated in English?! This must be for film scholars or intellectuals'. Not exactly. This less than a 100 pages book actually reads like a smart and philosophical page-turner. A n insightful study of what makes the films so unique and mostly what connects them. It is never boring and most of the assumptions actually make sense when you're familiar with Fincher's oeuvre.

French producer, and it seems at his spare time philosopher, Guillaume Orignac reflects on Fincher's characters that are more childlike than adults, leaving a life of solitude, intoxicated by their curiosity, forced to give up with their quiet and well regulated life. Orignac also explores Fincher's claustrophobic geography ('dead-ends, back-alleys, walled spaces, soon decayed houses...') which even Se7en's final sequence in open air doesn't betray with its high voltage lines criss-crossing an imprisoned sky. His point of view is often clever like when he describes The Game as a 'movie full of dead persons without corpses, of vanishings without traces and traces without vanishings.'

People will say, 'There are a million ways to shoot a scene,' but I don't think so. I think there're two, maybe. And the other one is wrong.
David Fincher

Now that Fincher has joined Hollywood top director's list, one can expect more books to flow in very soon. Meanwhile, this one, though aiming for a limited readership, deserves much credit for questioning Fincher's brilliant body of work.

Thanks to Guillaume for sharing his work with us.

Book can be ordered here or here.

Vanity Fair Portrait

2011-11-09T02:38:00.000-08:00

David Fincher gets the star treatment in the upcoming December issue.

(c) Vanity Fair

The Social Network screenwriter Aaaron Sorkin delivers a short, sharp and biting portrait of the director.

David has great patience with people who aren’t as gifted as he is. What he can’t abide are people who don’t work as hard as he does. And he won’t work with people who don’t care as much as he does.
Aaron Sorkin

The article also features a slideshow of on the set photos.

Big thanks to TH for this find!

Vanity Fair portrait here

New TV Spots For "Dragon Tattoo"

2011-11-09T00:49:00.000-08:00

Just in: Sadbillcosby, who loves making his Youtube uploads unembeddable (if that's a word), uploaded two new TV spots for "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo".

Check 'em out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0_G0x7sVhw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nti_-B79KzU

Wow, I cannot wait for this film. It will so cheer up (or down?) my Christmas Season!

Dragon Tattoo Official Website Updated

2011-11-05T06:01:00.001-07:00

Just when you thought of how dull this Sunday might be, here comes something for the week-end!

Go to Dragontattoo.com for new design and features such as a photo gallery with lots of surprises.

Let me share this quote from Fincher's bio :

David Fincher directs movies, commercials, and music videos. He hopes that people like them, but if they don't, it is not for lack of effort.

Enjoy!

Another New 'Dragon Tattoo' Poster

2011-11-04T00:53:00.000-07:00

If this is the rate they are going now, we may have quite a collection of 'Dragon Tattoo' posters by the time the film is coming out! Thanks, Robert Paulson, for another great contribution.

Check it out:

New Dragon Tattoo Stills

2011-11-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

New photos have arrived! Some already familiar for Fincherfanatics but in better quality. Others all new. Enjoy.

From Moviezine and Neonpunch.

Dragon Tattoo Secret Screening?

2011-10-30T00:02:00.000-07:00

L.A. New Beverly cinema is throwing invitations for a 'Free Sneak Preview of a Secret Movie' this Tuesday, November 1st.

Could it be that this 'R rated movie' from an 'Oscar nominated movie' 'being released later this year' is The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo?

If you plan to attend the screening drop us a message!

New Beverly Cinema Home Page

"Dragon Tattoo" TV Spots

2011-10-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Fincher Goes H&M

2011-10-27T01:19:00.000-07:00

OMG. I would have thought this to be an April Fools item. But obviously the Swedes are serious about this one: Dragon Tattoo's costumer designer Trish Summerville was asked to create a fashion line based on the film's lead character, Lisbeth Salander aka Rooney Mara. Hm, they are really taking this all the way, aren't they?

The anorexic 30-piece collection includes items like torn jeans and leather jackets and will be sold in 180 H&M stores worldwide December 14. I know you can't wait for this. But man, I wish they would have done the same thing for FIGHT CLUB. No wait, for ZODIAC.

Well, let's hope they will give us a Blomkvist aka Daniel Craig collection as well. Big thanks to Robert Paulson for this contribution. It really made my day!
Let's hear what you consumers think...

Full story here:
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/...

New Dragon Tattoo Artwork!

2011-10-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

Robert Paulson just dropped this great new item in our inbox: Stieg Larsson's dark best-selling thriller phenomenon just got a new Kellerhouse?) cover -- for its movie tie-in edition... and a new film poster!

Thanks, Robert Paulson!
Have a look:

Hell yeah, they look fantastic.

3-Hour Dragon Tattoo?

2011-10-24T03:42:00.000-07:00

Curiously: I may not have the time to write a proper post for this news item, but will make all the time in the world to watch a three hour cut of anything Fincher works on! In short: Fincher's current director's cut for "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is a little long. Says Sony. But isn't. Says Fincher.

Rumor of this surfaced burried in 'The Playlist' reporting on Dragon Tattoo's new viral site:

Fincher currently has a three hour cut of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” and Sony wants nothing longer than two hours and twenty minutes.

I say: If Fincher has contractual Final Cut, let him have it. I'm all for tweaking a film for its maximum potential, and I'm all for boundaries to sharpen creative expression. But I'm all against pseudo running length marketing considerations that may hamper the quality of a narrative, and, as past successes have shown, aren't all that logical and true anyway.

What's your opinion on this?

Here's the story:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/...

Vintage Accident Footage: Dragon Tattoo Viral!

2011-10-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

+++ UPDATE 10/22 +++
Must-read new link added below for some insights into the whatishiddeninsnow mystery! Wow! Definitely check this out!

Watch this curios drive-by of a plot-essential car-accident in David Fincher's upcoming "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Commentors in youtube claim to have spotted David Fincher in the footage (like where?) or for a license plate at :51 in to read "glance" backwards (which is true).

Rather curious indeed.

Visit whatishiddeninsnow.com for some additional bewilderment. And if you can make sense of any of this -- or even as much as you believe you do --, do share your thoughts in the comments below.

Clickable: whatishiddeninsnow.com

New link (Update 10/22):
http://www.mentorless.com/2011/10/21/...

Vogue Cover For Rooney Mara

2011-10-17T02:03:00.000-07:00

+++ UPDATED 10/18/11 +++
Thanks to Inge, here's some follow-up reading: Great additional interview material from Rooney and Fincher. Links below!

Want to get a taste of what the media circus will be like for David Fincher's "Dragon Tattoo"? Vogue has announced they have chosen Rooney Mara as their cover model for the November issue... just in time to get every last segment of the potential moviegoing population hyped for Rooney's role in the "international bestselling trilogy".

Yep. There will be a lot of media coverage for this film, as Daniel Craig is one of Hollywood's most sought after actors at this time, and Rooney has every last bit of potential to make this her break-through leading role.

Oh, not to mention Sony has an estimated $100.000.000 production budget on the line.

Celebrity Gossip has a series of photos from the magazine, and more: Excerpts from Rooney's interview.

Say thanks to Jen for the link, and head on over to check it out:
http://celebrity-gossip.net/rooney-mara/...

More Links:
http://collider.com/david-fincher-rooney-mara-interview-...
http://blogs.indiewire.com/.../fincher_says_scarlett_johansson_was_too_hot

Full article in Vogue:
http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/rooney-mara-playing-with-fire/...

What Is Hidden In Snow...

2011-10-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

...comes forth in the thaw. That's right, that is one of David Fincher's favorite Swedish proverbs. And now it is one of his latest film's viral marketing sites: An eery collage of sound, Trent Reznor's score and... well... snow.

Check it our here (and hang in there for like five minutes...):
What is hidden in snow...

Safety Card

2011-10-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

For your personal mischief here is Fight Club's original and hilarious Safety Card as excavated by contributor JP! Now have 'em printed, leave them on every plane you travel on and tell the person in the seat next to you about how oxygen gets you high...

The first rule of Fight Club is:
There is no elliptical trainer at Fight Club.

French report on Dragon Tattoo : 'The Perfect Casting'

2011-10-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

COLUMBIA TRI STAR MARKETING GROUP INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Week-end supplement of major french newspaper Le Monde has an exclusive look on Fincher's next film.

The magazine features yet unseen Jean-Baptiste Mondino photographs. The magazine also had a talk with Fincher.

For Fincher fans everywhere, I translated the most interesting parts. The director somehow relates to Dragon Tattoo author with whom he seems to share a personal trauma. Like Zodiac affected Fincher's life ('I never got over it'), 15 years old Sieg Larsson allegedly witnessed a collective rape and by not standing in the way suffered from guilt all his life.

Jean-Baptiste Mondino/Sony Pictures.

Full portfolio here.

Excerpts :

I'm considered as an expert in perversion but Larsson raised the bar very high with his trilogy

My movie's not pretty, it's brutal. And its violence totally makes sense in Sweden's immaculate landscape

Swedish society seems to be very tolerant and calm. But as soon as you dig beneath it, you find the dark side of the country. Dragon Tattoo succeeds in showing in what way fascism moved from the political sphere toward finance's.
- David Fincher

About the notorious rape scene :

I want the moviegoer to understand how revenge makes Lisbeth happy. Her pleasure must be perceptible on screen
- David Fincher

Go to online french magazine here.

Download Dragontattoo.com Score

2011-10-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

MGM has upped their own bare-bone "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" site, playing the film's trailer and offering three photos for grabs. On the film's official site, however, you can download a 7'20" mp3 of Trent Reznor's score. Now that is a fine treat!

Cool stuff. Thanks, JP, for letting us in on it.

http://www.mgm.com/.../The-Girl-with-the-Dragon-Tattoo/
Downloadable Score (mp3)

10.03.11

2011-10-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

12-21-11, people, what does that tell ya? That's right: Fincher's "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is merely 2 1/2 months away. And to keep you gasping and hungry, here's a 'making-of' for Kellerhouse's SFW poster, courtesy of MouthTapedShut.

Gotta love that site!
Enjoy:

Empire Goes Dragon Tattoo

2011-09-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

Big thanks to Inge, who is a fabulously busy contributor and always comes up with these worthwhile Fincher items. Grab the new EMPIRE issue on newsstands if you get a chance: This is why -- a rock n' rolling cover feat. Daniel Craig and Fincher's Lisbeth Salander Rooney Mara -- and Empire's best Nev Pierce reporting an exclusive story from the set of 'Dragon Tattoo'.

Empire & Nev Pierce have been very kind to this blog before. So if you can return the favor, buy yourself a copy!

It's this way to a little blog post about the November'11 issue:
Empire's Dragon Tattoo Cover

Full Dragon Tattoo Trailer Hits The Web!

2011-09-22T00:30:00.001-07:00

Sony Pictures just released the 3'45" full trailer for David Fincher's "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" ...and it's a beast. Oh, hell yeah!

Let's hear what you think in the comments!

Also on Apple (HiDef):
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/thegirlwiththedragontattoo/

The Story Behind FIGHT CLUB

2011-09-18T01:13:00.001-07:00

This should make for a perfect Sunday read. I hope you have rainy grey weather and cold wind to blow along with it, like I do. Check out 'The Story behind Fight Club', Total Film's in-depth piece on, well, David Fincher's masterpiece.

Big thanks to Thiago for the find.

The sex scenes were a particular challenge for the technical team, briefed by Fincher to make the actors look like “one of the statues at Mount Rushmore f*cking the Statue Of Liberty."

Total Film: The Story behind Fight Club

New Kellerhouse Artwork for "Dragon Tattoo"

2011-09-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Seems to make sense to check MOUTH TAPED SHUT daily now: They've just released another stunning piece of artwork for David Fincher's upcoming "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Check it out below:

http://mouth-taped-shut.com/post/10291926848

More: Daniel Craig Talks "Dragon Tattoo"

2011-09-16T00:09:00.001-07:00

It just cannot be a coincidence they mention "The Muppets" at 1:19. Big thanks to Gould for his amazing work! And please apologize my chronic and ongoing absenteeism.

Enjoy this snippet instead...

The Pig With the Froggy Tattoo

2011-09-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Muppets' hilarious parody of Dragon Tattoo trailer.

An appetizer for the real one hopefully coming very soon now.

Surprise 8-Minute Dragon Tattoo Trailer

2011-09-15T00:36:00.000-07:00

Firstshowing.net reveals that a promo trailer was attached to Straw Dogs remake screening.

Watch the Film Stage's lucky guys impressions :

We can now expect a trailer online very soon.

Don't forget to follow Mouth Taped Shut viral site as it is now updated on a daily basis.

Thanks to Mikez and Fitz for the info!

Go read the article Here

Also see stuff on Nick's Pix blog and Hitfix

Early Goon Footage

2011-09-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Watch the 2009 Comi Con never seen before footage of the still looking for funding Fincher production.

Rooney Mara & Daniel Craig TV Interview

2011-09-08T12:48:00.001-07:00

Sweedish TV has a Rooney Mara & Daniel Cray short video interview.

Just watch below the actors talk about Fincher's 'sweedish noir' movie :

Big thanks to Inge for this find. One can only expect this to resurface soon on other US websites...

For those of you who read Sweedish go here

Mysterious Blog Related to The Girl With The Dragaon Tattoo

2011-09-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

Tumblr is hosting a blog named "Mouth Taped Shut" related to Fincher's upcoming film.

Only a couple of pages long, this blog features impressive content such as set photos and videos (see below). It's hard to imagine it's not coming from a crew member.

Browsing the posts there's an interesting news about Fincher altering the ending of the story :

Some things work in novels but not in a film. There's a certain rhythm in a movie and that made us feel a change was in order.
- David Fincher

Big thanks to Mikez for this find.

Tumblr is Here

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo International Release dates

2011-09-07T04:46:00.000-07:00

Maybe we didn't notice that already but it seems Sony Pictures has updated the film's website with new features.

The international release dates are available here.

We'll keep you posted on other upcoming updates.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Casting Update + Possible Stockholm Premiere

2011-08-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

Variety reports new comer + possible preview in November for Swedish film fest.

Variety's Justin Kroll reports that TV vet Alan Dale joined the cast to play a detective on the verge of retirement.

Another interesting news from Variety is a possible world premiere of Fincher's thriller shot in Sweden for the opening of Stockholm Film Festival November 9th, more than a month before its U.S release date. Nothing sure yet but we bet it would be natural for Fincher to reward Sweden with such a unique gift.

Variety's on film festivals

Variety's casting update link

David Fincher's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Update

2011-08-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

CINEMA BLEND has some news regarding Fincher's "70% CGI" project.

CB got a chance to sit down with screenwriter Scott Z. Burns to talk about adapting Jules Vernes' visionary novel to the big screen. Shooting could start next spring when Fincher's through pre-visualization work.

We also learn this could be a "really big" project in terms of production scale and breadth of adventure. The challenge for Burns being not just turning the book into a movie but taking the material as a source of inspiration to develop characters.

CB plans to release a full interview with Burns soon. So we'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile read full article Here

3 New Stills of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2011-08-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

British magazine Empire has new photos of Fincher's December 26th to be released movie.

Empire also talked with the director :

We want to find a place where you can talk about something and be really, really hard-hitting - like the material it's based on - and yet we also want to make it a moviegoing experience.
- David Fincher

Go to Empire online Here

New Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Stills

2011-08-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

Comingsoon.net has new photos thanks to Columbia Pictures. Watch below.

Click on pics for higher definition.

This one already featured on Entertainment Weekly magazine :

Go to Comingsoon for more.

Rooney Mara Talks

2011-08-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

For its fall movie preview special issue, Entertainement Weekly magazine interviews David Fincher's Girl...

Very interesting piece on her auditioning for the part :

At that point I was just super frustrated. I was like, ‘You have to decide. Either you think I’m the girl or you don’t. There’s not much more I can do to prove it to you.’ I went in there sort of ready to fight. I was pissed. But David sat me down and gave me this long speech about the part. Then he handed me his iPad, and it had the press release on it. He said, ‘I’m prepared to send this out. You have half an hour to let me know if you want the part.

On the topless controversial poster :

People have a hard time with strong females and with nudity. But I think had I been doing something incredibly violent on the poster, people wouldn’t have had a problem with it.

And the rape scene :

It was incredibly intense. We did it all in a week — the week of Valentine’s Day, oddly enough. We were working 16 hours a day, and it was really, really challenging, not just emotionally but physically. But it’s such an important scene. We wanted to do everything we could to get that right.

4 months to go...

Go to EW article Here.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Soundtrack & Character's profile update

2011-08-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

Official website for the Christmas' feel bad movie has just been updated.

Both with character's bios like the one above and with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's score as background music :

Go to official website to check this out Here!

Fight Club Gone Haywire

2011-08-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

The Playlist talked with Steven Soderbergh about his upcoming 'anti-Bourne' action movie called 'Haywire'.

We learn that for the fight sequences he watched and 'reversed engineered (in his head)' David Fincher's Fight Club. And if you ask me, that is not surprising, you could already feel Fincher's influence in his sleek movie 'A Girlfriend Experience'.

He’s a master. So I would study the film and look to see where he was cutting, but not just when he was cutting, but why.
- Steven Soderbergh

Watch 'Haywire' trailer :

Watch fan made 'A Girlfriend Experience' music video that feels very Fincheresque to me.

Read Soderbergh's talk here.

Fincher To Produce Biopic Of Photographer Dorothea Lange

2011-07-29T13:41:00.001-07:00

Variety reports Fincher as Executive Producer of a Depression-era biopic

Photographer Dorothea Lange is best known for her massive body of work on the Great Depression. Suffering of polio from her early age, she supposedly was of influence on Steinbeck's novel 'The Grapes of Wrath'.

Unknown director Leslie Dektor is to direct the movie based on a script by Angela Workman.

Read Variety article here

More about Dorothea Lange here

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Poster Designer Interview

2011-07-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Playlist has an exclusive interview with amazing designer Neil Kellerhouse.

Neil Kellerhouse's may not sound familiar yet for the movie crowd, but his work is already in all minds. He designed many DVD covers for the luxurious Criterion Collection, and has been repeatedly working with Steven Soderbergh (check out his Girlfriend Experience poster, both poster and movie are great). Kellerhouse logically made connection with Fincher through Soderbergh as both directors share a unique and bold approach for visuals and marketing their films.

The Social Network movie poster that was him, and he did it again for TGWTDT using a photo by French fashion photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino (who by the way shares something in common with Fincher : both directed Madonna music videos).

We learn that the photo was shot in Sweden and that we can also expect a final poster and maybe more by Kellerhouse.

[Fincher's] been true to his personality, he’s unwavering that way.
- Neil Kellerhouse

Check out Kellerhouse's work on his web site.

Read Playlist interview here.

Daniel Craig Impressed by Rooney Mara

2011-07-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

British actor tells MTV how much impressive is Rooney's transformation.

Watch the short video interview below for full story, including how cool Craig is about doing 60 takes...

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

Go to MTV article & video here

The Goon's Creator On David Fincher’s Adaptation

2011-07-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Fearnet has an exclusive interview with comic creator Eric Powell

Again, a Comi Con chat reveals details about the upcoming film adaptation. Fincher having just wrapped up The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo should start new round of meeting to gather funding of production.

Minor info I agree, but at least that proves the project is alive.

Go to Fearnet

Fincher Passes On Heavy Metal

2011-07-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

Sci-fi comic rights now in the hands of Robert Rodriguez

Fincher Fanatic informed you a couple of months ago that Fincher might be working on a new version of the animated anthology film released in 1981, itself based on the stories of cult french magazine. Director Robert Rodriguez told today at Comi Con that he now owns the rights and plans to release it under the banner of his own production company.

No worries guys, Fincher has plenty of other projects including, remember?, Cleopatra, 20,000 leagues under the sea, etc.

Thanks to Inge for the info.

/Film article here

Luckiest Dude In The World!

2011-07-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

Fanatics! Sorry it's been quiet on the blog for a couple days. For one, Fincher should be finished with principle production for "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and post traditionally doesn't make for a very well publicised stage in the process -- unless you're shooting "Benjamin Button". Anyway, to keep your Fincher receptors amused, check out this more than amazing story of a lucky Swede, who landed himself a cameo in "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo".

Thanks, Inge, for the story as well as your translation!

Here's the official story:
http://www.nyan.ax/nyheter/?news_id=62792&news_instance=2

Translation

A passport control at the airport led to a role as an extra in the film The girl with the dragon tattoo for Kennet Karlsson.
Kennet Karlsson has been working as a police officer in Stockholm since 1999. He previously worked in the crime unit and is now working as a border inspector at Arlanda airport. One day last winter at Arlanda airport he met director David Fincher through passport control. Kennet Karlsson, who is very interested in film, did not miss the opportunity to speak to Fincher.
“I find it easy to talk to people. I started with the phrase "I'm Probably the biggest movie fan in Sweden". He was easy to talk to”.
David Fincher has been in Sweden directing "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", the American remake of the Millennium movie "Men Who Hate Women". They started to small talk about Finchers movies, a topic that Kennet Karlsson know all about.
- I said I understand that "Alien 3" was a big mess of a movie. He testified that it was because the production had so many executives that his directing role became virtually zero.
Fincher had no high opinion of his own contribution as a director until the thriller "The Game" with Michael Douglas. He said nothing bad about any actor he had worked with says Karlsson.
Was keen to see the Shooting of the Film.
Some days later Karlsson met a woman who also worked on the U.S. Millennium film. “It seemed like fate that she came to me of all the border inspectors at the airport”. “She said that Fincher had mentioned something about "Sweden's biggest movie fan." I took the opportunity, and said I would really appreciate if I could come on the set one day. so I could see how a big Hollywood production works in real life. She promised nothing but said she would "take it to Fincher."
But she did not take down Karlsson contact details and he did not think more of it.
A week later, Karlsson boss said that the casting company, in charge of extras for a film, had telephoned him and offered Karlsson a role as an extra on the film. He got the number to the Swedish agent.
“I called him back right away and just submitted some pictures and info about me. Some days later the casting agent called me back and told what day we were filming the scene. It would be an early summer shot in Stockholm. It will be a short scene where I won`t have any lines.

This has got to be one of the coolest anecdotes I have heard about a fanatic getting lucky, or what? Come to think of it, we should all get a part in "20.000 Leagues..."!

"Are You F*cking Serious?"

2011-07-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

So Mikael Blomkvist aka Daniel Craig caught up with Esquire magazine to chat and they asked him about working with David Fincher on "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Craig didn't say a whole lot. But what he did say is certain to tickle your Fincher nerves!

"It's as adult as you can possibly make it. This is adult drama. I grew up, as we f*cking all did, watching The Godfather and that, movies that were made for adults. And this is a $100 million R-rated movie. Nobody makes those anymore. And Fincher, he's not holding back. They've given him free rein. He showed me some scenes recently, and my hand was over my mouth, going, Are you f*cking serious?"
– Daniel Craig

Yepp, people, you know what that means: TGWTDT will be f*cking awesome. Cannot wait for a full length trailer!

Here's the full story. Thanks, Inge, for dropping this in my inbox!
http://www.esquire.com/features/daniel-craig-interview-0811-3

Fincher Snags Golden Trailer Award: The Social Network

2011-07-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

...and if the TGWTDT campaign will roll out as strong as it started, they might as well give him the award for this year right now.

Thanks to Inge for this story! And please do excuse my absenteeism these days. I'm wildly busy outside the Fincher universe...

Here's a handful of links for you:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/.../golden_trailer_awards
http://www.goldentrailer.com/
http://www.ifc.com/...

Stieg Larsson's Partner Looks Forward To Fincher's Dragon Tattoo

2011-06-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

So the Millennium Trilogy scribe apparently shared the greater part of his life with this particular woman, Eva Gabrielsson, who has just now published a book about things she wants us to know about Larsson and her. Also, she comments on Fincher's adaptation in progress, oh, and she seems to be into vodoo, did you know?

Her comment on the US "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" movie is very short and I will let you read that in its original source here: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com...

...and if you care to learn more about Ms. Gabrielsson, here is an interesting piece in The New York Times; including "the curse". Wicked.

Thanks to Inge and Fitz for the links.
http://www.nytimes.com/...

The Empress' New Clothes

2011-06-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

Fashion magazine W talks with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo costume designer Trish Summerville.

With David Fincher's upcoming movie, Trish Summerville may have an opportunity to breakthrough. Previously costume design assistant and cameo ("Hot Waitress") on The Game and working with the great Michael Kaplan, she talks about how she came up with Lisbeth's look.

The whole color palette for the film is very dark and muted. We don’t really have any bright tones, the look is very much that of a black and white film.
-Trish Summerville

Read W interview here

Fincher & Nolan On "The Tree Of Life"

2011-06-15T23:10:00.000-07:00

Talking about a genius director? There are three in this featurette: Terrence Malick by means of his new film "The Tree of Life" -- and Christopher Nolan and David Fincher discussing Malick's awesomeness. THAT is awesomeness!

Apple runs this thing in 1080p hd... real hd, that is, not youtube hd:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/thetreeoflife/

Thanks to Inge and Fitz for bringing it to our attention.

FilmFreaks Tribute To David Fincher

2011-06-14T22:11:00.001-07:00

If you can squeeze a couple minutes out of your day, then watch this tribute to marvel at the milestone films of David Fincher. It's certainly easy for a fanatic to get carried away. But all fandom aside, I believe Fincher has created an outstanding filmography, marked by exceptional movies and a few truly timeless, truly indelible images.

What I love about tributes of all sorts, is that each has its own feel to it. You will know what I mean, when you watch this one.

Source: http://vimeo.com/25100810

Fight Club Producer Laura Ziskin Dies

2011-06-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

The producer of the Spider-Man franchise and Fight Club has died of a seven-year battle with cancer.

Before Spider-Man overshadowed everything she did before, like being an associate producer of A Star is Born or making a movie star of Kevin Costner in No Way Out, Laura Ziskin got to be a producer of Fight Club while running Fox 2000 studio in 1999.

Turned out to be a little be conflictual as you would expect with Fincher, especially over the infamous abortion joke.

According to Sharon Waxman's account "Rebels on the Backlot", while Laura Ziskin supported Fincher's nihilistic vision, she was not happy with the 'I want to have your abortion' line. She found it offensive and tried to convince Fincher to have it removed. Fight Club director claimed it was in the shooting script, and unless the tested audience would not respond to it, it stays. Ziskin begged so eventually Fincher came with a devilish deal : he would replace the line but whatever it would be he would have the final say. And so it became :

Oh my God, I haven’t been fucked like that since grade school.
- Fight Club

Legend says the line got bigger laugh from the audience than the abortion one, and Ziskin again begged Fincher this time to have the abortion put back in...

Read Sharon Waxman's account here.

In memory of Mrs Ziskin, let us still Stand Up to Cancer (Fincher 2008 commercial) :

Jeff Cronenweth On Fincher

2011-06-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

A 40 minute mp3 audio interview with David Fincher's Director of Photography just came up. Sort of. Last January, film industry analyst Scott Feinberg interviewed Jeff Cronenweth to promote The Social Network's dvd release, whilst shooting 'Dragon Tattoo' on the L.A. soundstages.

Source: Scott Feinberg

Fincher is a lyrical visualist.
– Jeff Cronenweth

Big thanks to Simon for this find.

Listen to the interview here
...and read Scott Feinberg's post (with a very helpful table-of-contents) here.

The Land Of The Ice And Snow

2011-06-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

There has been controversy from the day it was announced, around David Fincher considering to adapt Stieg Larsson's novel "Män som hatar kvinnor" into yet another movie. Having seen the Swedish film adaptation (which I found to be well done and overall good while not stunning), I found this piece of commentary to be very interesting: A critique of the Swedish film, which also underlines that Fincher's movie will not be a remake as much as an original adaptation of the novel.

Unlike millions, I did not read the novels, and it should be interesting to hear your opinion, if you did. The very best argument of the aforementioned commentary centers on the observation, that the Swedish film twisted and misinterpreted central themes of the novel. And that Fincher might just get it right...

Here it is:
http://freetea.tumblr.com/...

Filming In Sweden About To Wrap

2011-06-09T01:03:00.000-07:00

At the Actors Studio event in Stockholm, David Fincher indicated the exhausting stretch of principal photography on "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" will be coming to an end in mid June. That's one week from now. And that's not counting reshoots...

It's amazing and thrilling to see the media campaign kicking off for the film. To be honest, everything we have seen so far -- the red-band teaser trailer, the nsfw poster with a bare Rooney Mara -- have a hard-hitting rawness to them that I quite enjoy. It sounds, looks and feels like a perfect match of director and material. I am sure, we are all keen on seeing this campaign rolling out.

To keep you amused along the way, here is more news from Fincher's Sweden sets. Please do take a moment to say 'thanks' to Inge, who is bringing you all this amazing news from the trenches!

Adding to this video, here is a newspaper set report of David Fincher, Daniel Craig and a hundred-man crew invading the train station of Sollefteå for a day... for probably as much as 15 Mikael Blomkvist on-screen seconds.

Just like last time, on April 29, the railway station in Sollefteå was turned into a movie set. The signs for Solleftå were replaced with Hedestad, the whole station area was closed off. The more than 100 man-sized film crew, with director David Fincher and star actor Daniel Craig in the lead, invaded the town.
They came in on Tuesday night and checked into the hotel Hallstaberget.
Early on Wednesday morning, already 5 o'clock, most were in place to begin preparations. About 25 extras, including several from Sollefteå amateur theatre, were included.
Around 14 o'clock Fincher liked what he got and what he needed, and he and his crew left. Just hours later, the station was empty and the entire film crew on their way to Stockholm again.
In Sollefteå they hope that the movie will be a hit so the next films in the series will also be filmed there. Then, maybe, Sollefteå can be Sollywood for real.

Source: http://allehanda.se/...

The Girl With Dragon Tattoo uncensored full poster revealed

2011-06-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Reznor & Fincher

2011-06-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

From the opening titles to "Se7en", to their amazing video "Only", all the way to "The Social Network" the collaboration of NIN's Trent Reznor and David Fincher has proved to be a perfect match. Now that we are clear Reznor will also be scoring "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", it's time to take a closer look...

Here's a cool piece on "The Brief History" of these two geniuses working together. Thanks, Inge, for finding it and bringing it to our attention.

Here:
http://popdust.com/...

More Stockholm Q&A

2011-06-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

+++ Thanks, Mikez, for the video link! +++

I am still hoping to see a video recording of this event. But while we are waiting for this, other reporting from the event will do: Here's a few more extracts of what Fincher had to say at his "Actor's Studio" appearance in Stockholm recently.

Asked if in his recent "Millennium" remake he thought he had managed to capture a sense of "scandinavian noir" he replied:

"Yeah, yeah. What I thought was interesting about the story from the beginning was that feeling of something hermetically sealed, something you can not get away, something Agatha Christie-ish."

And judging by the jubilant surprise trailer that was shown at the end of the call will Finchers version of the book to be much harder, tougher, dirtier and more violent than the Swedish film. However, he was completely uninterested in making comparisons with the original movie "Men Who Hate Women", because he believes that his film is not even finished yet.

There are still a number of shooting days left in Stockholm, told a black-clad Fincher and rubbed a little tired in the eyes before the devout listening audience which mainly consisted of film students.

His best advice to the younger part of the audience was: Do not wait for permission. Adding, young filmmakers today have no excuse to not do what they want.

"You just need a good script and a camera. Then you can put your movie on youtube. Hollywood is full of agents who only have the task to scan the network for future talent. You do not need a theatrical distribution or film festivals to reach out!

As for the choice number of filming in Sweden Fincher said that it was obvious. He spoke almost in love on how he found some Swedish cobbled streets that made him absolutely sure, the movie must play here.

"I'm always looking for places that 'feel' just like the next movie I see before me. After all this time I feel like I got to know Stockholm. I've biked around a lot and of course seen the places I had wanted to know before recording."

For all translations and for relaying this info to us, Inge, thanks a lot!

Source:
http://www.dn.se/...

The Social Network Post Production Software

2011-06-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

For all the Fincher fans and geeks out there find out what program Fincher's team used for seamless integration of footage.

I think Fincher Fanatic has already posted something on this a couple of months ago, so it might just be a minor update : it's about the use of Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium a post-production tool.

Read Film Maker IQ piece and watch the small promo video here.

UPDATE (thanks to Mikez)
Here is the second video from this.

Fincher Panics Again

2011-06-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

New York Magazine's entertainment website Vulture has a scoop : David Fincher options Manhattan murder thriller "Panic Attack".

Jason Starr's 2009 crime novel is about a NY shrink getting self-defense and the victim's revenge. Ocean's Eleven and Tower Heist's screenwriter Ted Griffin is set to adapt the book. "Panic Attack" therefore might become the first feature of Fincher's new production company Panic Pictures. Isn't that a good coincidence?

Of course, as with loads of projects Fincher has been attached with, no words yet as if he intends to direct it himself or just produce it. We'll keep you informed if the news develops.

Read Vulture's exclusive here.

The book's excerpt here.

Download: Official TGWTDT Poster & Trailer

2011-06-03T07:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sony Pictures and their UK partners WayToBlue, you can here and now download a high res version of the first teaser poster for David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Should make for a tasty wallpaper until December.

What do you think, guys?

Click on image or download here.

Bonus download
And who of you, like I did, thinks that "Evil shall with Evil be expelled" is the perfect tagline for this movie: Here's the UK version of the teaser trailer, full HD, with the "Evil..." tagline instead of the "Feel bad movie of Christmas"

...which btw sounds like a genius Fincher thing to say.

Cheers!
http://www.filesonic.com/file/1118935574/ITR-B-_1920x1080.zip

Impressive First Look: Dragon Tattoo Artwork UPDATED 06/03/11

2011-06-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

Remember a couple of months ago when it surfaced that Fincher had shot Rooney Mara naked and that chances were we would never see it? Looks like Fincher eventually got his way when looking at this early teaser poster, both Canadian and American for the smaller version.

Sticker across Canadian poster says "Film awaiting rating". You bet!

Funnier is the Canadian official web site's name "MilleniumTheMenWhoHatedWomen.ca".

UPDATE 06/03/11 : Official website is up and running.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Green Band Teaser

2011-05-31T21:41:00.000-07:00

Official trailer is finally here! Slightly different from the red band version, it is nonetheless filled with pure Fincher visuals.

Enjoy:

LEAKED RED-BAND TRAILER

2011-05-28T23:31:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is a cam version, shaky, not perfect, but red-band, and might be taken down before you even click play. I forward this to you, but I'll wait for it in decent quality.

It's About Making Movies, Not Making Friends

2011-05-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a short report of how the Cinematheque "Actors Studio" with David Fincher went down. Shooting for "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" will last until mid June... that's "only" three more weeks to go for Fincher and his crew -- after an exhausting 133 days already.

Photo: Aftonbladet.se

Let me pass on the translation as I received it.
Big thanks to our contributor from Norway, Inge!

Fincher after 133 days recording in Sweden: Should be able to sleep one weeks.
Now we know how Lisbeth Salander is the U.S.
David Fincher was in going up a taste of "The girl with the dragon tattoo".
The poster line: "The feel bad movie of Christmas" - Christmas feel bad movie.
Director David Fincher, 49, came directly from the filming of "The girl with the dragon tattoo" when he yesterday visited the Cinematheque in Stockholm.
- A good day, "said David Fincher. Day 133rd We're ready in mid-June. I'm pretty tired now, I could sleep for a week.
He likes Stockholm
But he was healthy during the call that ended with a tour of the teaser for "The girl with the dragon tattoo", which was released to theaters this Christmas.
The audience got to see many scenes, many with Daniel Craig who plays reporter Mikael Blomkvist. Plus, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer and Steven Berkoff. They played out both in Stockholm and at the family Vangers goods, and has a rapid pulse and high intensity.
Film critic Roger Wilson Fincher interviewed about their careers, an interesting conversation about, among other films "Se7en," "Fight Club" and "Benjamin Button".
"Alien 3 stink"
Have you seen the Swedish "Men who hate women"?
- Yes, it was beautiful. A stylish thriller. Naomi Rapace was incredibly compelling and convincing.
David Fincher says he now feels at home in Stockholm.
- The last three weeks I have cycled around and walked in Stockholm. Come to know the town. Now I see places we should have used. But it is always. It should be in each city for five months in advance.
David Fincher knew the age of 7 he wanted to be a director. He began working with rock video and did include the "Express Yourself" and "Vogue" for Madonna and "Freedom" for George Michael.
His first feature film was "Alien 3" - a big flop.
- The stench. It was a terrible lesson, but it was my most important lesson.
Se7en breakthrough
His second film "Se7en" is a skillful nightmare on the hunt for a serial killer. Since then, Fincher has been successful.
- It's about to "make movies, not make friends," says David Fincher.

Our favorite Swedish paper ever:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article13094842.ab

There Aren't Too Many David Finchers...

2011-05-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

Look, David Fincher's got a new fan! It's actor Christopher Plummer, who first collaborated with Fincher on "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". This brief interview snippet of Plummer I found was taped before this year's Oscars (so Plummer still has his hopes high for Fincher to win Best Director). And well, I assume Fincher will be given another shot at it, early next year...

I know, we're all dying to watch the TGWTDT trailer. No worries, it's only days away now!

Meanwhile...

If You Have Any Way...

2011-05-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

...of making it to Stockholm, by six o'clock tonight, you will be able to visit an event called the "Actors Studio", featuring David Fincher, where the director will talk with film journalist Roger Wilson. And as for the rest of us: let's hope they will put up a couple of cameras and upload it somewhere we can find it...

Here's a translation of the Swedish news release, FYI:

"[David Fincher] is ready for a special informed "Actors Studio" at the Cinematheque in Stockholm May 27.
Earlier this year, David Fincher's movie "The Social Network" was awarded with three Oscars. More recently he has been in Sweden to shoot the U.S. version of Stieg Larsson's "Men Who Hate Women".
Now it is clear that the star director will participate in a specially informed "Actors Studio" at the Cinematheque in Stockholm May 27. He will talk with film journalist Roger Wilson.
Tickets will be released May 19 at 17 at the Film Institute."

Thanks to our contact Inge for the news.

For those with the ability to read it (Swedish):
http://www.sfi.se/sv/Cinemateket/...
http://www.aftonbladet.se/...

Trailer Alert & Description

2011-05-25T13:07:00.001-07:00

Sony has released a red-band trailer for "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" in Sweden and France yesterday and announced the regular green-band trailer to arrive next week, (June 2nd), across the US as well as online. But the best part is: Someone claims to have caught a first look at the trailer and gave their account...

"So a few thoughts on this, anyone that is worried about it not following the [book] can put that worry to bed. This looks to be as graphic if not more then the [original]. The trailer consists of a bunch of quick cuts of scenes from the movie. Alot of things from the [original] that we only see in still photos and hear characters talk about are actually filmed and shown. Any worry about Rooney Mara not looking the part don’t need to worry. There is a shot in the trailer of her topless pulling on a shirt much like Noomi Rapace does in the others. Mara looks the part for sure. Skinny as Rapace, only thing it looks like they may have done is toned down the punk look some. But not alot. Not sure what else to say other then the trailer was very intense, it was set to Led Zeppelins immigrant song."

Thanks to everyone emailing me on these.

Further reading:
http://www.slashfilm.com/...
http://www.deadline.com/...