Profile: David Fincher, Part 2
Our friend Trevor Hogg’s latest FlickeringMyth.com profile is on director David Fincher, currently out with his new movie The Social Network. Some excerpts from Part 2:
After the production turmoil associated with his directorial debut Alien 3 (1992), American moviemaker David Fincher had given up on the idea of a career in Hollywood; his attitude changed when he received a script composed by an employee of Tower Records in Los Angeles. “I didn’t like my time in New York, but it’s true that if I hadn’t lived there I wouldn’t have written Se7en [1995],” revealed Andrew Kevin Walker (Sleepy Hollow) who, despite being told by the assistant to writer-director David Koepp (Ghost Town) that unsolicited screenplays were not accepted, pitched his idea about a serial killer who commits his murders according to the seven deadly sins. Intrigued by the concept, Koepp’s assistant agreed to read the script which was subsequently given to New Line Cinema. The dark subject matter appealed to Fincher. “I’m always interested in movies that scar,” stated the director. “The thing I love about Jaws [1975] is the fact that I’ve never gone swimming in the ocean again.”
“The way characters talk and how fleshed out they are are usually the reasons you say yes to a movie,” explained David Fincher. “The action set-pieces are the stuff you feel obligated to do in order to give them something to cut into their trailer. Se7en for me wasn’t about decomposing bodies and jolts and scares. I liked the world and what they were talking about.” Adding to the gloomy atmosphere was the unrelenting rain. “We created a setting that reflects the moral decay of the people in it,” said production designer Arthur Max (Gladiator). ”Everything is falling apart and nothing is working properly.” New Line Cinema which was producing the $30 million psychological thriller found itself in conflict with Fincher and his leading man Brad Pitt (Twelve Monkeys) who refused to change the “down beat” ending. Initially the concerns of the movie studio turned out to well-founded especially at the test screenings where participants were told that Pitt and Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption) were in the picture. “They couldn’t have been more offended,” groaned the director. “You couldn’t molest the audience more than to promise Legends of the Fall [1994] and Driving Miss Daisy [1989] then to unleash this on them.”
Starring the acting talents of Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love), R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket), Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects), John Cassini (Alive), and Peter Crombie (Rising Sun), the film grossed $327 million worldwide. “You can do something that walks a line,” observed David Fincher, “and invariably, whatever that line is, it will be crossed by people who don’t know any better and want to ape the success. People say, ‘Wow, Se7en’s about degradation, and it made some money.’ I don’t mean this as high-minded or artistic, but it does, I think, walk a fairly tasteful line.” Acknowledging his attraction to unsettling tales, Fincher stated, “I don’t have the Tom Hanks [Apollo 13] fans. When you make the kind of movies I make, you get weird letters from people.” Se7en received a Best Editing nomination at the Oscars while the BAFTAs nominated it for Best Original Screenplay. The Empire Awards lauded the serial killer picture with Best Actor (Morgan Freeman) and Best Film.