David Fincher (full name David Andrew Leo Fincher) is an American director, born August 28, 1962 in Denver, Colorado.
As a child, David ran daily to the nearest cinema, where he watched the same films several times. And after watching the western “Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid,” an eight-year-old began to ask his father to buy him a movie camera. Having received the simplest eight-millimeter camera as a gift, David began to make his own films. The hobby soon grew into creativity close to professional, amateur shooting of a young cameraman became more and more interesting. And when Fincher began to shoot motionless episodes, he realized that this requires a special system of machine tools and supports. And the future director decided to gain experience from professionals.
Stage-hand
David got a job as a worker at a short film studio to get closer to filming equipment. His responsibilities included the installation and dismantling of movie cameras, as well as all technical equipment, including the director’s chair. A diligent young man soon became an indispensable assistant for the entire crew, including the director himself. Operators willingly shared the secrets of their profession with inquisitive David, and he studied film production techniques on the spot.
Idol George Lucas
In 1980, George Lucas ’s Star Wars movie was released, and Fincher didn’t leave the cinema for days on end. He decided at all costs to get acquainted with the famous director and in 1982 joined the company producing special effects for the movie, which belonged to Lucas. Thus, David was able to take part in the production of the films "Return of the Jedi" and "Indiana Jones." Subsequently, the films of David Fincher will be somewhat similar to the works of George Lucas.
Commercials
In 1984, Fincher was given the opportunity to work independently, where he could already apply his knowledge and skills. And even though they were just television commercials, David started filming. The creativity of the director, beating over the edge, immediately attracted attention to him, orders rained down. All Fincher’s projects were distinguished by the novelty of the solutions, and most importantly they were professional from a technical point of view. Companies such as Nike and Revlon, Lewi's, and Coca-Cola lined up for the director.
Music videos
Two years later, David Fincher got a job at Propaganda Films, which was engaged in the production of expensive music videos. The director’s first video was "Janie's Got A Gun" for Aerosmith. This was followed by the clip "Love Is Strong" commissioned by the Rolling Stones and "Freedom" for George Michael. And when Madonna turned to David with a request to make two video clips for her on the hits “Vogue” and “Bad Girl”, he was flattered. Clips for the singer turned out to be stylish and imaginative.
Big movie debut
However, dealing with music videos, David Fincher planned to do film projects in the near future. And in 1992, the director made his debut in a big movie. He was approved for the film "Alien-3", which was a direct continuation of the fantastic action movie "Alien" directed by Ridley Scott and "Aliens" directed by James Cameron. Fincher’s debut did not go without clarifying relations with the management of the 20th Century Fox film studio, in which they considered that the director interprets the script too seriously, and David Fincher himself said the script was weak. As a result, having quarreled with the management of the studio, Fincher left. The filming somehow ended without him, but the film was not successful and barely escaped the box office failure.
Director's Triumph
The director decided to take a break from his difficult debut in a big movie and temporarily returned to music videos. He shot short films and commercials until 1995, when the New Line Cinema studio offered him a director's chair for working on a psychological thriller called Seven. David Fincher agreed after much deliberation, but made a film about the seven days in the life of two detectives chasing a serial killer. The film was a triumph for Fincher, box office more than ten times the amount spent. The plot focuses on John Doe, a serial killer, punishing his victims for the mortal sins mentioned in the Bible. The film was not hurt even by the lack of a traditional happy end, so beloved by the Americans. The name of the director David Fincher became known to every moviegoer.
"The game"
In 1997, David Fincher, whose "Game" is a classic an example of a thriller film, directed by Michael Douglas in the title role. The picture seemed to continue the line of the previous plot about the serial killer. The character of Michael Douglas does not kill anyone, but runs the risk of dying in a game invented by the devil himself. Nicholas Van Orton, a successful person who has everything, does not have only spiritual support in life, is predisposed to death. His father committed suicide at the age of 48, and Nicholas 48 years old must be fulfilled the other day, and he also feels an irresistible desire to go to the next world.
Controversial Director Films
Fincher’s loudest and most controversial film project is considered to be the Fight Club film, filmed by the director in 1999 at the 20th Century Fox Film Studio. The main role was played by Brad Pitt, with whom David had already managed to make friends. The hero of the movie, Tyler Durden, contrasts himself with society and wages an irreconcilable struggle with him, often by illegal methods. The director himself also helps in this character, having turned on his full satirical talent. As a result, Fincher was accused of promoting violence and destructive vandalism. Negative criticism of the film affected home rental and, in part, rental in movie theaters. And again, there was a small dispute with the studio managers, who made claims to the director in excess of the budget amount. Nevertheless, on the whole, Fight Club found its viewer, and later the situation with video cassettes evened out, their sales increased.
Disputes with the financial corps of the 20th Century Fox film studio were eventually fed up with Fincher, and he decided to shoot his next film, a thriller called The Room of Fear with Judy Foster in the title role, even in a different studio, but in strict accordance with the framework budget, which earned the praise of accountants, but caused discontent among ordinary viewers, as the anemicity of the production became noticeable. The cinema viewer, accustomed to the scope of special effects, did not want to put up with the gray reality of the new picture. However, the discontent continued exactly until the moment when frames made using computer technology appeared on the screen. Everyone really enjoyed traveling the movie camera through walls or penetrating through a keyhole. The heroine of the film fits well with the new style of the picture and was one with the events taking place in the room.
Detectives and science fiction
In early 2007, the new Zodiac film, shot by David Fincher based on real events in San Francisco in the late sixties, was released. The picture tells about a serial killer, nicknamed the Zodiac, a calculating and ruthless criminal who committed about forty murders in 12 years. The case was extremely confusing, the police could not attack the Zodiac’s trail, although he didn’t hide in particular. In addition, the killer after each attack sent a kind of report on his actions to the newspapers. Fincher, driven by professional interest, spent a year and a half in the archives, trying to figure out every murder. However, he did not manage to learn anything new, and in the end the director made a film based on the most famous facts.
Then David Fincher began production of the film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which premiered in December 2008. The main roles in the movie, which is an adaptation of the Scott Fitzgerald story of the same name, were played by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The hero of the film, Benjamin Button, is getting younger every year, his biological clock has become unusable and now he lives life on the contrary, does not age, but becomes young. Once again, the production used the latest computer technology, and since actors like Brad Pitt were not easy to find, his face was superimposed on all understudies, and there were several dozen of them. David Fincher coped with the task, he was helped by the experience of the video maker, because once the director did such tricks with characters in commercials telling about popcorn. The film brought together an unprecedented number of awards and nominations, there were 13 Oscars alone.
Director’s own style
Currently, David Fincher, whose filmography already contains about 20 paintings, is preparing to shoot new film projects. The director has his own unique style. His manner of making films can be compared with the literary style of the American writer William Faulkner, who, starting the story, immediately builds a whole network of plot branches, and no matter what branch the reader goes into, he will certainly be at the center of events. So with Fincher, the director weaves a web, and the actors do not suspect about this, they just do their work, and then it turns out that this work looks like thin lace woven from the finest plot thread. This is the real art of a true artist, which is David Fincher, director from God.