Paul's Trip to the Movies: Director Spotlight: DAVID FINCHER

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Director Spotlight: DAVID FINCHER

For the average movie goer, the name David Fincher probably doesn't ring a bell. If you mentioned the movies Fight Club or Se7en, they would perk up. Two movies in the filmography of David Fincher that have made a lasting impression on film culture. I personally feel that David Fincher was robbed last year for an Oscar for Best Director for his meticulous work on The Social Network. The movie itself was also robbed after losing to The King's Speech. The Academy loves feel good movies and always feels the need to reward them the top prizes. I'm looking at you, Slumdog Millionaire, as another example of this. One of Fincher's movies lost that year as well. What does a guy have to do! Even though he's been around for years, he seems pretty particular about which projects he decides to devote his time to. With each new movie, I feel like he's pushing the boundary on storytelling and vision. He seems to be very involved in every step of the way. Fincher is detailed oriented to the extreme. Every shot, costume, sound design, edit, and set design is thoroughly chosen for a specific reason.

Up next for Fincher is the American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Swedish version told in the original language have already been released to critical and audience acclaim. I've seen the first two in the Swedish trilogy and they are very good movies. Due to the success and cult following, this is no easy feat for Fincher. He's already mentioned that the ending has been changed. Rooney Mara who plays Lisbeth Salander has her work cut out for her as Noomi Rapace as proven to be one tough Lisbeth. Rooney Mara leads an all-star casting including: Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright, Goran Visnjic, and Joely Richardson. Mr. Fincher has also confirmed that a new release of The Game is being worked on for The Criterion Collection for a new DVD/Blu-Ray release. No release dates have been announced yet.

Filmography
2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo