A Visual Journey

Great Fincher montage.

David Fincher - Filmography 1992-2011 from Artem Chudinov on Vimeo.

Gone Girl Post Production

Fight Club Honest Trailer

Wait A 'Seconds' Mr Fincher!

John Frankeinheimer's paranoid masterpiece gets a new life.



If any of you Fincher Fanatics have already seen this great thriller, The Game must have come to mind. Both films portray a man trapped in a nightmare, chased by a dangerous and anonymous organization.

This cult classic is getting a new release in France where filmmaker Nicolas Saada (and also screenwriter of the exciting Sleepless Night) says that Fincher owes 'almost everything' to Seconds. There's some truth in that statement, though it's a bit far fetched in my opinion. Rod Serling's Twilight Zone was probably a major influence too.

Anyway, the restored print of the uncut film screened at Cannes last month, so it might be soon coming to a theater near you. See it and let us know much you think Fincher was influenced (or not).

Seconds - L'Opération diabolique

Ben Affleck On Gone Girl

Entertainement Weekly had a chat with Gone Girl lead

 I’ve learned more from David in a day or two than I have most movies I’ve spent 80 days on.

That kind of set the expectations high, doesn't it?

Read the original here.

Fincher Film School New Graduate

The Hollywood Reporter has a scoop on Fincher's editor Angus Wall

According to THR, it seems longtime Fincher colleague Angus Wall is finally getting his chance to direct his first feature. Empire is the title and set to be an action thriller written by Ben Ripley, the man behind Source Code.

Not much more information at this point, only the promise of a movie in the style of Safe House and The Usual Suspects. Sounds promising enough to you?

Let us all wish to Wall the same success as Scorsese, the Coen brothers., etc, who all started in the cutting room before making it behind the camera. Wall had probably his share of advice from Fincher, so if he can go beyond his mentor's visuals and influences, he may surprise us.





Read full story here

The Film Before The Film

A tribute to opening sequences where Fincher's visuals are not forgotten

Watch here and enjoy:

THE FILM before THE FILM from ntsdpz on Vimeo.

Goon Moving Forward

Production money was raised, Fincher's adaptation can now move to next stage

Writer Eric Powell's update here :

20,000 Leagues: Warming Up Down Under?

+++ UPDATED 02/26/2013 +++
News popping up all around that Brad Pitt might no longer be aboard. However, if the Aussie deal works out Fincher's "Leagues" will be biggest production ever down under.

So this item suggests that The Walt Disney Company must be in their final decision-making stage concerning Fincher's ever more likely next: THR reports that Disney has received a substantial incentive offer if their production of "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo" relocates to Australia this year.

With a slight over-examination of words this can be taken to read that Fincher may soon move around the globe and start shooting his next feature film as soon as this summer.

"Leagues" really isn't just any other project: It's got some of Fincher's finest collaborators throughout his career already attached and promises to allow for him to stride new terrain — tackling a veritable mainstream audience family blockbuster.

Long as Justin Timberlake won't write the score, count me in!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com...
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/can-we-bag-brad-20130215-2egqx.html

House Of Cards Countdown

As a true Fincher fanatic, of course you will call in sick February 1st to watch 13 hours of 'House of Cards' — and then enjoy the weekend to watch 'em all over again.

In order to instigate you to such a rebellious act, make sure to check out this fine selection of HOC and Fincher related links.

Click 'em all:

Hitflix interview w/ David Fincher
'House of Cards' gets second season — but w/ or w/o Fincher is the question
Digital Spy Q&A w/ David Fincher
Digital Spy Q&A w/ Robin Wright
Digital Spy Q&A w/ Kate Mara

And this really deserves to be a separate news item, as it's big, and it's freaking awesome: Looks like we will finally get a new David Fincher music video!!!

The last, if memory serves me right, was NIN's "Only", a truly fantastic clip — but published a whopping 8 years ago in 2005.

This project circles Jay Z and Justin Timberlake. But who cares: It's Fincher behind the camera that makes this fanatic material!

So check these out as well:

Fincher music video casting notice
'Suit and Tie' production news

Fantastic DGA Article on "House of Cards"

+++ UPDATE 1/24/2013 +++
Do yourself a favor and check out the American Cinematographer article Simon has linked to in the comments.

I won't deny, sometimes it takes a couple of you to drop me the same link over and over again until I finally get around to posting it. Forgive my silly little life outside the Fincher blog. But now that I finally get around to it, let me say: The reason it took so long has absolutely zero to do with the fantasticness of the content.

Don't look this up, 'fantasticness' is indeed a word. But so are some of the Fincher terms he's dropping throughout his interview segments, which I have never heard or read anywhere, and which always make me think in another life, Fincher would have made a splendid and perspicacious journalist. (Yeah, and I need a f**king dictionary even for that!)

There are some laugh-out-loud Fincher quotes in this, and even better: There are some really cool observations on the peculiarities of this production and Fincher's executive producer collaboration with the directors of the series.

A brilliant read — thanks to all, who have sent this in.

And to wrap things up appropriately, The Playlist has a nice photo gallery for "House of Cards", with some candy-sweet shots of pure Robin Wright fantasticness.

http://www.dga.org/.../House-of-Cards.aspx
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/...

Fincher To Helm 'Gone Girl'?

With a good dozen potential nexts already on his slate, Fincher is adding yet another candidate: Gillian Flynn's mystery thriller 'Gone Girl'.

Any potentially-next Fincher is good news. And likewise within days we should be hearing a Mouse-House decision on Fincher's "20,000 Leagues" project, which, with all talent and Fincher trustees already involved, still counts among my most highly anticipated. And who knows, maybe Fincher's interest in 'Gone Girl' is a way of playing a strong hand against Disney, upping scheduling pressures and all. Either way, I hope we'll have definitive Fincher production green-lit soon. Good early 2013 news that would be.

Thanks to everyone mailing me on this!
Two reports on 'Gone Girl':

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=36270 http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118064952/

Simon's Exclusive House of Cards Review

Let me give the floor entirely to Simon here, prefaced only by saying: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

»Here is my take on last Thursday night, for what it's worth (spoiler alert, etc)

The opening scene of Fincher's 'House of Cards' sets the tone for what's to follow ~ opens on blackness, the black of night, dog barks in the distance, car screeches: all in classic Fincher/Klyce tonalities. Francis Underwood's next door neighbour's dog has been done in a hit and run, it's the middle of the night and Frank is first out of his Washington DC townhouse and immediately assesses that the dog is beyond saving. He proceeeds to kill the dog with his bare hands, whilst addressing the camera directly in the first of his many 'asides' to the viewer. He winningly explains to us the difference between 'useful' and 'useless' pain. Within seconds he's equally convincing in his consolation of his neighbour who's just arrived on the scene, and promises that he'll trace the 'killer' car in question. And I'm thinking 'this aint gonna be your daddy's West Wing!'

And so it proves, over the course of the following 110 minutes (and presumably 26 hours) as there is a delicious sense of a compulsive and elegant inevitability to Frank's unfolding Machiavellian machinations, once they have been set in motion. Everything stems from a promise denied and a sociopath scorned; playing it, as he does, with that silken Southern charm Kevin Spacey almost convinces you that all his atrocious actions are simply a fitting response to an impoliteness on the part of others. He was given a false promise of position and so now people must face the consequences of such....rudeness. Over the course of one long dope-fuelled night alone in his townhouse, FU (geddit?) seemingly plans out in his head his entire plan of attack, and the entire plot of the next 26 hours of must-see-TV.

In terms of performance, it may have been because I was front row, dead centre, in front of a huge silver screen (a spot I strenuously avoid normally, but this is just where I ended up on the night), but Spacey gives a truly monumental central performance (hence the poster artwork). I can't imagine how it'll be once reduced to a 40 inch plasma, but I would assume it will still have the capacity to mesmerise and captivate. The 'trick' of using the asides direct to camera is established right from the opening dead dog scene, and for this viewer it was seamlessly done. Spacey would be well used to this kind of stuff from his Shakespearean endeavours, and although it is used sparingly, it truly does draw you further into the action at hand, rendering you on more intimate terms with the villainous deeds.

Obviously there may have been a risk that Spacey's role and playing could dominate, but in Robin Wright you have an actor playing a character to match Frank's (her character, Claire, is the only one who refers to him as Francis) If he is the stone in this monumental couple, she is the steel. Yes, she has all the Lady Macbeth moves down to a tee, but there is heart there too. In her business dealings (she runs an enviromental charity) she is seen as quite ruthless, but gets across the need for toughness sometimes, and there is a beautifully played and written little scene in a coffee shop towards the end of episode 2 where the human cost of the treatment she has meted out to a long-time colleague is brought home to her. Wright plays the subtleties of that momentary human interaction as perfectly as she does the incendiary partner-in-crime stuff. You could simply never tire of watching her on screen.

In the opening two episodes Kate Mara as Zoe Barnes necessarily comes off as a more lightweight character - she is supposed to be this up-and-comer journalist, and less fully formed. She does look incredibly young, but fittingly so as she is supposed to represent the "TMZ, twitter twat" generation of hack. Mara does definitely get across a subtle sense of a kind of febrile bolshiness, as well as an undercurrent of the ruthlessness and tenacity that I sense is to come in future epsiodes. Her initial scenes with Spacey feel, quite fittingly, like a minnow circling a shark. They are deliciously queasy. Again, as with Spacey and Wright, Mara's character is beautifully written, with a beguiling mix of naivety, cynicism and greed. She want's the truth of the hot story, but she is also more than ready and willing for the celebrity that may come with it.

The supporting characters are a tasty feast of writing and playing too - like Doug Stamper, FU's appropriately named right hand man, his very own Al Neri, brilliantly played by Mike Kelly. He has the look of an Irish terrier who will do anything, or anyone, for his master. Corey Stoll's Peter Russo is a mess of a man, but Stoll plays it so that, through all the coke, hookers and booze, you never completely lose sight of the sliver of the decent man that lies beneath. Underwood's continual manipulation of him has you simultaneously thrilled and appalled. Another favourite of mine was Barnes' editor at the Washington Herald Tom Hammerschmidt (Beau Willimon has great fun assigning names that somehow align with peoples charactersitics ~ Underwood, Stamper, Hammerschidt, Goodwin, etc) As embodied by Boris McGiver the man is basically a brick wall with eyes. And a mouth. That's all he needs!

In terms of the visuals it is classic late-Fincher. Camera locked-down and dirty. This stabilisation process that he's developed is increasingly beguiling to me now. It shouldn't make that much of a difference, but as Angus Wall said re:'GDT', it really makes a difference when you view something that stable. You notice how jittery everything else is. It lends a certain air of authoritative resonance to the shots, and of course any deviation speaks volumes. There are the usual rock solid tilts, actors filling and moving within a frame, never the frame chasing the action. I don't know why this, and the rest, of Fincher's visual arsenal is so appealing to me; perhaps it is about an authority and a control that is reassuring. The director is in control, thus you the viewer are in control. I don't know. But I know it gets me very time, in precisely the same way the voice of my favourite singer reels me in, no matter the song.

Cinematographically, to my eyes, it was perfect Fincher ~ probably more 'Zodiac'-flavour than 'TSN' or 'GDT'. All quite pallid patinas - Congressional offices were greys, blues and creams, while the Herald offices were a forest of fluorescents. The Underwood townhouse is a tower of shadowed wood and golden walls. Kick-ass focus pulls abounded, and razor sharp shallow focus underscored key scenes. I felt that episode 2 became darker visually and thematically as Frank's plans begin to take shape, even though the episode begins in harsh Washington sunshine. As the episode progresses many of Spacey's most twisted exchanges play out in essentially silhouette. I recall some of the scenes between Frank and Zoe Barnes where Spacey would be addressing the camera as simply a midnight blue shadow. There was alot of midnight blue throughout actually. Yummy.

One of the particular visual pleasures for me was the contrast between Frank's realm, the Congressional offices, and Zoe's world of the newspaper offices. The warren of Congressional offices were often captured with a shallow depth of field, lots of rack focusing, often onto reflective surfaces (glass, marble) and mirror imaging; in other words - a visually slippery world, reflecting the nature of the people and relations within those walls. Shifting allegiances, shifting focus, double dealing, double imaging, etc. Whereas the Herald offices were a blank wash of flourescent whiteness ~ everything out in the open, seemingly clear and exposed. Light reaching evenly into every corner.

As I mentioned earlier I had ended up in the front row, dead centre, about 15 - 20 feet away from the huge curved screen of the Odeon West End. I had been concerned that this would be too close and the image would be distorted to me but the RED Epic camera had rendered evrything in such pristine resolution that even at such proximity detail was astonishing, especially on the frequent close-ups. Like I said, monumental. Although, at that distance, I can't be certain what aspect ratio 'House Of Cards' is in. The trailers looked like scope, or 2:1 at least, but from the front row it was hard to judge.

The Q&A between the cast and crew afterwards was something of a wash-out, not much more than a succesion of 'you're the best', 'No, you're the best', 'No, but really you ARE the best', etc. No audience input at all really (apart from a couple of politicians in the house) It was done in 18 minutes, and the 'talent' were wrangled off to the after-party. So my hopes of getting to shake the hand of Mr. Fincher would have to wait til next time.

Sad man that I am though, I consoled myself with the fact that I got to meet Peter Mavromates, Fincher's post-production supervisor since god-knows-how-long. I noticed him standing around in the foyer, prior to the screening, and I thought he looked kind of lonely. So I went up, shook his hand and had a chat. I introduced myself by saying I recognised him from various DVD supplements and congratulated him on his work. I asked him if tonights screening was a 4K or 2K DCP (it was 2K) and if he'd been in to set it up. He had, which was kind of cool. He said that it was a great screen, a genuine old 'silver screen' which made it look better, although the slight curvature had caused some problems. He said the sound was a touch "hot" as it was a TV mix, but nothing too bad. It would sound best on your TV. Seemed genuinely enthused about the show and said he hoped I enjoyed it. I told him to have a good night and went inside. When I realised I was so close I began to wish for a 4K projection, but the image was beyond perfect.

Despite the disappointment of the non-Q&A I'm still glad I went to the show, despite having travelled a fair old distance in freezing conditions. I got the chance to see the world premiere of Fincher's 'House Of Cards', and the one and only opportunity to see what is essentially a new feature-length Fincher work in a way that it will never be seen again ~ in a cinema, on a kick-ass silver screen. The real test of whether the show works as a show though came at the end of the screening, when, I swear, I found myself unconsciously fumbling for a remote to flick to the next episode in the box set. I will be begging, borrowing and probably stealing, to play in the 'House Of Cards' come February first!«

Thanks again, Simon!

The Trials Of The House Of Cards Trailer

+++ UPDATED 2012/11/15 +++
So, wisely Netflix has decided to upload a crisp HD version of the trailer for this. Do ignore the rest of this post, and just enjoy splendid new HD Fincher imagery with just the right level of dark. Fantastic!

So the wild web went crazy today with a new trailer for HOUSE OF CARDS being released on Netflix, by Netflix — to a Netflix subscription-only audience.

While I seriously find this a very flawed business logic, there may be even more difficulty in viewing the trailer as commenters on several sites have indicated. It seems even with a Netflix membership you cannot view the trailer. You must be an actual subscriber.

Then also the international crowd gets left out, as Netflix is a U.S. exclusive service — which I suppose is fair enough, as the show will air exclusively on Netflix. So why tease you foreigners with something you ain't seeing anyway. Now that would just be cruelty (visually compelling cruelty, I'm sure).

At any rate, if you belong to the lucky leftover crowd that can actually see this: I hope you find it very enjoyable. Uhm. but do drop an opinion about it below, it would be greatly appreciated by the rest of us.

And Netflix: Seriously, can we get this on Youtube? It's a damn commercial for all sakes!

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-trailer-for-david-finchers-netflix-series-house-of-cards-starring-kevin-spacey-20121114

Rest In Peace: Harris Savides

Terrible news for all film lovers as it is reported DoP Harris Savides just died.

Cinematographer Adam Frisch posted this message on the Cinematography.com forum :

It's my very sad duty to report that Harris Savides has just died. Harris had been sick for awhile, but was as far as I know doing better. Don't know the final cause of death. Not only a brilliant DP and a true legend in his own time, but also by all accounts from people that knew him - a true gent.

Safe journey.

Savides was in my opinion the best cinematographer of his generation. His work on Zodiac and The Game was memorable and transcended Fincher's vision.





What he achieved on Glazer's masterpiece Birth is simply mesmerizing. I am, we are, very very sad to loose him.




Press Play VIDEO ESSAY: In Memory of Harris Savides (1957-2012) from Nelson Carvajal on Vimeo.


Click here for more details.

House of Cards Starts Streaming February 1

Netflix will make all 13 episodes available at the same time.

 Check out the bloody poster :

 

And the New York Times for full details.

Fincher Criterion Style

Some very cool art design found on Tumblr.


Designer Midnight Marauder has an amazing Tumblr featuring fake Criterion covers and film posters. It includes takes on Fincher's Fight Club and TGWTDT.

The guy easily competes with Sam Smith and Neil Kellerhouse, don't you think?

Make sure to browse through his collection, there are some amazing stuff ('The Sorcerer', 'The Long Goodbye', 'Lady Snowblood', 'Alien'...). Will make you weep they're not for real. Hey Criterion, what are you waiting for?

Criterion Plays The Game

Criterion brings Three Reasons : The Game

For me, one is enough : it's Fincher's most underrated movie. And my favorite by the way.

A Film Title Retrospective

Art of the Title has a Fincher film title special + exclusive interview.
 
I keep on checking regularly this great resource for memorable film titles. Today is my day as it features all Fincher's opening titles, quite a long interview and well chosen illustrations.

Watch the Art of the Title preview :



Last but not least, by reading the interview you'll learn that Dragon Tattoo sequel is yet not dead...

Art of the Title complete feature is here.

King Spacey III

Spacey shares a few thoughts about his upcoming Netflix series House of Cards, directed by David Fincher. Thanks, Philipp for philling us in. Here you go, guys:

http://www.contactmusic.com/news/...