Fincher to make 'Sacrifice'
Helmer circling 'Dragon Tattoo'
Source: Variety
David Fincher is making his next move, on Columbia Pictures' chess drama "Pawn Sacrifice."
The director is attached to the life story of American chess icon Bobby Fischer leading up to his historic world championship match against Boris Spassky.
Fincher is also circling the studio's high-profile literary adaptation "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," which Scott Rudin is producing. Though there is no deal in place on "Dragon Tattoo," Fincher has catapulted to the top of the studio's list to helm the pic based on Stieg Larsson's bestseller.
Producer Gail Katz has been developing "Pawn Sacrifice" for Columbia for years. Scribe Steven Knight ("Dirty Pretty Things") recently turned in a screenplay that has attracted a number of A-list directors. Columbia was eager to work with Fincher again after collaborating on the director's upcoming Facebook pic "The Social Network."
Tobey Maguire is also producing "Pawn Sacrifice."
Fincher made his previous two films -- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Zodiac" -- for Paramount. The helmer's attachment to "Pawn Sacrifice" and "Dragon Tattoo" signals that he is looking for a new home. Fincher, who is a final-cut director, became the first helmer with such a distinction to work with Columbia when he signed on to make "Social Network."
I wonder if David Fincher is becoming his own version of Tim Burton - someone who started out doing films akin to a personality and then branched off into other films because they challenged his talent of production. I also wonder if the reason they are being forced to take on production challenges has a lot to do with the limitations of their kind of personal storytelling. Fincher can only make so much out of the dark recesses of the serial killer genre like Burton could only do so much in his version of innocent, youthful and ultimately hopeful goth films. I think both filmmakers had good intentions but just became inherently limited.
I think Fincher has a better future because he has a better handle on scriptwriting or recognizing it, but I also think he will be a filmmaker who only sparingly connects with a story that reminds people of why they originally liked him. Fincher and Burton will both imitate their past with mediocrity and both already have, but both may only be able to reconnect with their old inspiration sometimes.
A theoretical hypothesis. I intended to make it sound like that, but got a little carried away with the tone.
Quote from: MacGuffin on March 15, 2010, 01:08:51 AM
Fincher is also circling the studio's high-profile literary adaptation "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," which Scott Rudin is producing. Though there is no deal in place on "Dragon Tattoo," Fincher has catapulted to the top of the studio's list to helm the pic based on Stieg Larsson's bestseller.
Huh, they don't mention that this has already been made into a movie... I think the most successful Swedish movie of all time. But I guess literary adaptation sounds better than re-make.
David Fincher Not Directing 'Pawn Sacrifice,' Doing 'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Next
Source: The Playlist
It seems news reported earlier this month that David Fincher was going to direct "Pawn Sacrifice," the 1970s-set chess drama with Tobey Maguire attached in the lead, was not entirely accurate. According to our sources, while Fincher did take a meeting with the filmmakers to "help them out" in what we imagine was an advisory role, we've been told he was never in the director's chair and is not going to be.
However, we've confirmed that "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is definitely Fincher's next film. Already adapted into an award-winning Swedish language trilogy, the English-language version is being produced by Scott Rudin at Sony with Steve Zaillian ("Schindler's List," "American Gangster," the original draft of "Moneyball") currently writing the script. Shooting is set to begin in September or October, presumably once Fincher finishes press rounds for "The Social Network."
As we previously reported, Carey Mulligan was on the studio wishlist for the lead role of Lisbeth Salander but that seems to be as far as it's gotten. As Mulligan herself confirmed, she's not received any official calls regarding the role and we're not surprised considering the script isn't finished. From what we hear, Fincher wants an unknown for the lead role which would prove to be an interesting gamble for such a high profile project (not to mention a major coup for whoever lands it). That said, Sony are reportedly very happy with the result of "The Social Network" and we don't imagine they'll get in the way of Fincher casting the project the way he wants.
With this news, we're not sure what this means for "Pawn Sacrifice." But if producers were meeting with Fincher about the project, it might mean he was giving them direction, notes and possibly filmmaker suggestions, but who knows if it will go in front of the cameras soon. It's also pretty safe to say that the 3D animated "Heavy Metal" that's now being shopped around town will be a way off as well, but then again Fincher won't be directing it entirely alone either.
Carey Mulligan set to become Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Source: Times Online UK
FOR Carey Mulligan, who sprang to fame last year in the hit British film, An Education, Hollywood has come knocking. She is set to play Lisbeth Salander, punk heroine of the bestselling thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Mulligan has won the approval of David Fincher, the director, and also the family of the late Stieg Larsson, the Swedish author who created Salander. The choice follows weeks of casting rumours, with producers sifting through nearly 5,000 potential candidates.
Hollywood insiders say Mulligan can expect to be paid up to £10m for the three films covering Larsson's Millennium trilogy, which has sold 1m copies in Britain and 25m worldwide. This will make her one of Britain's best-paid actresses.
Mulligan, 24, was nominated for an Oscar and won a Bafta for playing the perky schoolgirl Jenny in An Education, the script for which was adapted by Nick Hornby from the memoir by Lynn Barber, the journalist.
Mulligan has made no secret of her desire to play Salander, a fierce "biker chick" computer hacker who helps an out-of-luck journalist investigate a long-missing woman in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the first book in the trilogy.
"I am obsessed with those books," she said last month. "I would love to do them. I am not going to lie about that. I would love to play Lisbeth Salander."
Since then Scott Rudin, the Hollywood producer who shared an Oscar with the Coen brothers for No Country for Old Men in 2008 and been nominated for 13 other Oscars, has won over the family of Larsson, who died in 2004. They had been wary about the prospect of a Hollywood film.
"They now understand what kind of film he is making and they like Carey," said an industry source last week.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has already been filmed in Swedish under its original title, Men Who Hate Women, with Noomi Rapace, a stage actress, playing the bisexual Salander. It was popular in Scandinavia but its subtitles have prevented it becoming a mainstream hit in America, where it opened last month.
The new version may be relocated to Canada as a compromise for American audiences. It will not reach cinemas until all three books have been turned into Swedish-language films by the team behind the television hit Wallander.
The final decision on casting will be made soon by Fincher, director of Fight Club, Se7en and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He has been talking to Mulligan's representatives at Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, which has been seeking a "breakout" role for their young British client.
"Carey has proven she can do sweet and tough in An Education," said a CAA executive last week of the film in which Mulligan played the young Barber as a naïf swept off her feet by an older conman.
"Now she wants to do something bigger and bolder, without becoming a comic book heroine. This role will make her a household name."
Oh shit I wonder how they'll make that work... it could be great but so far I have a hard time seeing Mulligan doing the shit Salander does. They'll probably tone down that brutal rape scene because in the book/the original film it is FUCKING hard but the character looks so tough that you know she'll get through it. I can't see a fresh face like Mulligan going through that shit like Rapace did.
Rapace is the best and IS Lisbeth but I hope she'll be good too.
I wonder who they'll cast as Blomkvist... Liam Neeson would be good for it I think.
Anyway lol@everyone on the other thread who said this story was trash/worst thing of the year/etc...
I saw the Swedish version and thought it was like a bad TV movie. I have NO IDEA how Fincher will make this into anything remotely interesting.
Quote from: modage on April 26, 2010, 02:41:15 PM
I saw the Swedish version and thought it was like a bad TV movie. I have NO IDEA how Fincher will make this into anything remotely interesting.
Right? I feel the same way.
Plus pete was reading the book and it seemed like he was saying some problems are inherent to the source material, otherwise I might think this version could succeed with some type of redirected veracity. Though Pas Rap is firm in his stance that the female protagonist is rich in substance, and 85% of Rotten Tomatoes critics agree with him.
I'll be following this one with interested skepticism and an allowance for redemption. I mean, in my mind it's only uphill from Oplev's version.
Quote from: Captain of Industry on April 26, 2010, 03:41:50 PM
Quote from: modage on April 26, 2010, 02:41:15 PM
I saw the Swedish version and thought it was like a bad TV movie. I have NO IDEA how Fincher will make this into anything remotely interesting.
Right? I feel the same way.
Don't watch the 2 sequels cause they actually are TV movies :shock:
Could Brad Pitt Pull Off 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'?
by Jenni Miller; Cinematical
American fans of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy are eagerly waiting for the last installment of the thrilling mystery series to hit shelves tomorrow. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest continues the story of Lisbeth Salander, an insanely smart hacker who is probably one of the most interesting and challenging heroines in modern literature. All three of Larsson's published books have already been made into movies in Sweden (the New York Times, among other outlets, have teased readers with the possibility of more Salander novels left unfinished at the time of Larsson's untimely death), with The Girl Who Played With Fire coming out this July and Hornet's Nest out in October. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo came out in the US in March.
The American adaptation, which will be directed by David Fincher and written by Oscar-winner Steven Zaillian (Gangs of New York, Schindler's List, American Gangster), doesn't have its leads set in stone yet, although it looks like Carey Mulligan is most likely going to end up as Salander. (Noomi Rapace, who plays Salander in the original movies, has made it clear she has no interest in reprising her role for US audiences.) Anne Thompson reports that Brad Pitt will be reading for the male lead, Mikael "Kalle" Blomkvist, in June.
The problem with Pitt is he's too good-looking and all-American. He's a fine actor and an excellent collaborator with Fincher, but Blomkvist is not a pretty boy. Although at least two of Blomkvist's love affairs were cut out of the original movie for the sake of time and streamlining what was already an unwieldy plot, he's not written as your typical lady killer. (There is a full-length mini-series version of Dragon Tattoo made for Swedish TV that includes these subplots, although when it's not clear if it will be released on DVD for US audiences.) One might, if one wanted to be ungenerous, say that it was a bit of wish fulfillment to make Kalle's character as attractive to women as he seems to be.
Michael Nyqvist, who plays Blomkvist in the original, is not hard on the eyes, but he's not the same type of handsome that Pitt is. He's good-looking in a normal way -- easy-going, a little pock-marked, and generally a decent enough guy that a woman could safely fall into bed (or in love) with. That's part of Blomkvist's appeal and part of what makes the extremely self-protective Salander allow him into her world.
Thompson suggests a few possible alternate leads, with number one being Mads Mikkelsen. I could definitely see that, especially since Mikkelsen is himself Scandinavian. Frankly, I can't imagine a more inappropriate, though typically Hollywood, casting choice than Brad Pitt. If Fincher and Zaillian plan to keep their movie close to the book itself, why cast one of the most famous and handsome men in the world to play an everyday journalist? Could he even play someone who's Swedish? Could we ever forget for a second that Blomkvist is Pitt and vice versa?
Daniel Craig in early talks for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'
by Nicole Sperling
Categories: Deals, Movie Biz, News
Though Sony says there is no offer on the table, an insider confirmed that the studio has begun talks with Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace) to star in the Hollywood adaptation in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Craig, who is about to start shooting the sci-fi western Cowboys & Aliens for Dreamworks, would play journalist Mikael Blomkvist. The news was first reported by The Wrap.
Craig's schedule is clear now that the next James Bond movie has been postponed indefinitely due to MGM's financial woes. Tattoo is an adaptation of the first book in the best-selling Millenium trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson. David Fincher is set to direct to film and is said to be high on Craig. The two are expected to meet in Los Angeles in the next few days.
Sony's Columbia Pictures has set a Wednesday, December 21, 2011 release date for director David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fweblogs.variety.com%2F.a%2F6a00d8341bfc7553ef0134863fb494970c-800wi&hash=84a137aa545c901e227a3596851b1d6aa04212d4)
Rooney Mara to star in 'Dragon Tattoo' franchise
Source: Variety
Sony and director David Fincher have tapped Rooney Mara to star opposite Daniel Craig in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
Mara, who appears in Fincher's upcoming pic "The Social Network," will play the lead role of Lisbeth in Columbia's adaptation of the bestselling trilogy from author Stieg Larsson.
Mara joins a "Tattoo" cast that includes Craig, who stars as reporter Mikael Blomkvist, Robin Wright Penn and Stellan Skarsgard. The 24 year-old actress was said to be Fincher's #1 choice for the role of Lisbeth in Sony's franchise.
Originally adapted for the bigscreen in Sweden, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" series has become a top priority on Sony's list of upcoming tentpoles, which also includes a forthcoming "Men in Black" installment.
Scott Rudin is producing "Dragon Tattoo" alongside Cean Chaffin, Ole Sondberg and Soren Staermose. Mikael Wallen and Anni Fernandez are exec producers.
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" tells the story of a legally challenged journalist (Craig) who attempts to solve a decades-old murder with the help of a mysterious computer hacker (Mara).
Steve Zaillian penned the script and is in preliminary talks to adapt the sequel, "The Girl Who Played With Fire."
'Dragon Tattoo' casting raises questions
Will violent, sexy actioner click with U.S. auds?
Source: Variety
There is a lot riding on the shoulders of Rooney Mara, the 25-year-old American thesp who won the title role in Columbia Pictures' "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
It's a big commitment: The casting covers a trio of high-profile pictures. In addition, readers of the three books -- published in 44 countries and selling more than 40 million copies worldwide to date -- have a clear picture of the iconic savant hacker Lisbeth Salander.
Sony won't comment on the budget for the pics, but it appears that the studio, director David Fincher and producer Scott Rudin aren't thinking cheap. According to insiders, scribe Steve Zaillian's deal for the second pic is said to be record-breaking.
After a long search, Columbia wasn't convinced Mara was perfect casting, but Fincher prevailed in a debate that was waged through this weekend. Fincher, who directed her in the studio's upcoming "The Social Network," convinced the top execs. (Mara also appeared in this year's "A Nightmare on Elm Street.")
The Stieg Larsson trilogy also includes "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest." While the books' runaway success would seem to create a slamdunk for the studio -- witness the success of the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" book-to-film adaptations -- there are also hot books that haven't translated to B.O. (Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones," the biggest bestseller of 2002, couldn't find much traction with moviegoers last year, even with Peter Jackson directing.)
Another hurdle for the studio is the success of the trio of Swedish-language film adaptations. That trio has grossed $202.9 million worldwide so far. After the other two bowed in the U.S. this year, "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest" launches Oct. 15. Since overseas B.O. accounts for the majority of a film's B.O., the worldwide tallies are all-important, but there's little precedent for anticipating reaction to English-language remakes.
There's also the question of the American appetite for a dark property that will necessitate a hard R rating for its key scenes of rape, sadism and murder. Insiders say a top Col exec twice passed on the property when it was brought to the studio by helmer Marc Forster. It wasn't until Sony chairman Michael Lynton read the books that he insisted on the studio making the pics with Rudin producing.
Daniel Craig co-stars in the three-picture adaptation of the late Larsson's Millennium trilogy, with Robin Wright co-starring and Stellan Skarsgard cast in a supporting role in the first installment. The studio is also in talks with Max van Sydow to play the key role of Henrik Vanger.
Columbia mulled a number of name actresses for the role of Salander, including Natalie Portman, who refused to test for Fincher, and Kristen Stewart, who worked with Fincher as a child in "Panic Room." Ultimately, Mara -- great-granddaughter of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. and New York Giants founder Tim Mara as well as sister of "Brokeback Mountain" thesp Kate Mara -- landed the role.
Fincher is a final-cut director whose work include serial killer pic "Zodiac," which was critically acclaimed but topped out at $33 million domestically, and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which was his highest-grossing pic with $127 million.
"Dragon Tattoo," which begins shooting next month in Sweden, is set to bow worldwide Dec. 21, 2011.
The books are so huge the movie will be a hit even if it sucks. See: The Da Vinci Turd.
Quote from: modage on August 17, 2010, 01:54:15 PM
The books are so huge the movie will be a hit even if it sucks. See: The Da Vinci Turd.
but is america ready for something violent and sexy??
Apparently so. Even if it's terrible!
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fassets.nydailynews.com%2Fimg%2F2010%2F08%2F18%2Famd_rolling.jpg&hash=d4c71f2a416d2d3274259d705bc89bf28f64c42e)
Christopher Plummer joins "Dragon Tattoo"
Source: Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Christopher Plummer will play the patriarch of a family with dark secrets in the Hollywood remake of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
The Columbia Pictures movie, which is shooting in Sweden with David Fincher behind the camera, stars Daniel Craig as a disgraced journalist who teams up with a pierced and tattooed hacker, played by Rooney Mara. The two are hired by a wealthy industrialist (Plummer) to solve a 40-year unsolved murder, but the case uncovers a web of familial corruption.
A veteran of stage and screen, Plummer voiced the part of the villain in Disney/Pixar's "Up" and earned his only Oscar nomination this year for playing Leo Tolstoy opposite Helen Mirren in the drama "The Last Station."
Trent Reznor Talks Scoring David Fincher's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'
Source: The Playlist
As recently discussed, Trent Reznor confirmed to New York Times music critic Jon Pareles in a public Q&A that he would be scoring, yes along with Atticus Ross, David Fincher's upcoming film, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara; it's already due in theaters December 21 later this year.
The audio has been sent to us and we're trying to upload it now, but it's big and looong, so here are some highlights. In the Q&A with the NYT's Pareles, Reznor reiterated that at first he turned down Fincher's offer to score "The Social Network" because of prior commitments, regretted it, called back months later after the film had been shot and discovered, much to his relief, that the director was waiting there with open arms. Reznor actually played the opening clip of "The Social Network" to the audience as it was originally played to him using Elvis Costello's new-wave-y, slightly dark, and forward-moving "Beyond Belief" (from Imperial Bedroom) and this track helped inform his score, which was to go in a totally opposite direction. "I thought it seemed wrong," Reznor said of the Costello placed normally where the polar opposite "Hand Covers Bruise" now plays. Reznor described the process of writing 'The Social Network' and the self-imposed rules and limitations they gave themselves after agreeing to score the film.
"Fincher had given us a list of what he had hoped to get from ['The Social Network' score; he wanted it to be electronic, he didn't want to use an orchestra, and he wanted it to have an iconic nature where it felt unto itself - like 'Blade Runner' [music] feels like it's from 'Blade Runner,' it has its own identity," he said. "So our strategy was: we [did what we always do] before any major project: be very cerebral and think about what it is that we want to accomplish and about the best method of how we're going to execute that... really just thinking about how we envision the end results sounding and then coming up with some limitations as to how we might achieve that."
Reznor noted that while the film is superficially about Facebook, it's actually about a flawed character trying to achieve something so potentially huge that it could validate his existence and how the pursuit of that idea costs him friendship, relationships and much more. "That's what the story was about to us," Reznor said, noting that's the emotional thread the musicians picked up on.
Towards the end of "The Social Network" scoring process—which takes up around 30 minutes of an hour and a half conversation—Pareles asked Reznor if film scoring would be a new avenue for him, to which he responded, "Well, I'm happy to announce that for the last month or so we've been scoring 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,' " to which the audience reacted with loud applause.
"This one's a bit different [of a process]," he said. "Well, different in some ways. The film is coming out Christmas of this year and they're still doing principal photography. So, I had read the book, I had not got the script yet and I heard a few buzz words like 'ice' and Fincher writing [to me], 'I can't write anymore my fingers are frozen.' And we spent—Atticus and I are going to work on this again—three weeks generating, with a new set of rules, it was completely blind with no feedback from David, stuff that I though would be helpful for them to have. Because the David work is that he's the hi-tech guy of filmmaking and when he's shooting digitally it's also being sent back to his editors, and within a couple of days he can see mock-ups of scenes he just shot. And those guys are always looking for temp music to put in there, so I thought it would be a nice present to have—we sent them two hours of music.
Reznor revealed that one of his original plans was to unveil some of the new work-in-progress 'Dragon Tattoo' score to the NYT audience, but his mother passed away unexpectedly last week and that idea was nixed.
"The music is coming great for it. [The new parameters are]... we started recording things in a different way that was all based on performance, nothing programmed. And that would be my limited skills at stringed instruments, and trying passages that we would get that and then we would process them in a way that would give us a real organic, layered feel that felt like something we'd never done before."
The Nine Inch Nails frontman then related a story about working on The Downward Spiral—originally conceived to be a guitar-heavy record—but then the arrival of new samplers gave Reznor the inspiration to try something completely different, moving into a collage-based format and abandon the original idea. "What we're doing with 'Dragon Tattoo,' we stumbled into the very same thing. Now this is at a very early stage where Fincher or the picture could require something much different, once I see what's actually happening. But the bones of it... I heard Atticus say this the other day in an interview, and he was describing what we were attempting to do with 'The Social Network' [score] as 'to create our own world sonically'—much like the way Fincher said he wanted the film to have the same [aural unique and instant recognition] feeling of 'Blade Runner,' like, 'oh that's from that thing.' So we're striving to do the same with 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' and the research we've done, the results we have so far feel like it's really like that."
Sounds fantastic. December can't arrive soon enough.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wmagazine.com%2Fimages%2Fcelebrities%2F2011%2F02%2Fcear_rooney_mara_search.jpg&hash=449b55f536f9ad2272fc8d0c730e188cb1e85e3b)
David Fincher Gets The Girl
Source: W Magazine
On a dark, icy afternoon in late November, director David Fincher was in a photo studio in Stockholm adjusting blood. The blood, which was of course fake, covered the hands of a young actress named Rooney Mara, but to Fincher's mind, which is prone to reimagining reality in cinematic terms, the bloody hands belonged to Lisbeth Salander, the heroine of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Salander—an androgynous, bisexual computer hacker with multiple piercings and a distinctive tattoo on her back—is the complicated star of Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" series, a trio of novels that have sold more than 50 million (and counting) copies worldwide. Larsson described Salander in opposites: slender but tough, "spidery" but elegant. Fincher, who is directing the American movie version of the first book in the series, has taken that gamine, biker-chick, downtown-girl template and tweaked it. Now she's his.
The transformation began with the hair. Mara's long brown mane was dyed black and cut in a series of jagged points that looked as if she had chopped it herself with a dull razor. The bangs were cropped very short and uneven, and the rest of the hair was layered into an extended shag. The final result was a mash-up of brazen Seventies punk and spooky Eighties goth with a dash of S&M temptress. That look, which could also describe Salander's nature, was echoed in her wardrobe—a collection of ripped stockings, low garter belts, skintight leather, and heavy-soled boots. In all the angry, attractive darkness, Mara, who is 25, lithe, and petite, radiated an intriguing mix of menace and vulnerability. Fincher's Lisbeth Salander, as channeled by Mara, is unique—a brilliant but childlike avenging angel with an understanding and an appreciation of violence. In essence, she's a lot like her creator, David Fincher.
"I think we need more blood," Fincher said as he stared at Mara's outstretched hands. Fincher, who is tall and looks like an outdoorsy grad student, was dressed in jeans and winter hiking fleece to combat the chill. Like all great directors, he has a God complex, a need to create people and worlds. Those fully realized realms (which masquerade as movies) are intricate, built to exacting standards, and replete with highly developed personalities that particularly intrigue Fincher. In such films as Se7en, Fight Club, and Zodiac, Fincher masterminded parallel universes filled with violence, decay, and obsession. In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which he characterizes as "a grand romance about death," he invented a land where a man aged backward. And more recently, in The Social Network, Fincher took a "true" story about Mark Zuckerberg and the founding of Facebook and transformed it into a multilayered microcosm of great ambition and lost friendship—a parable, like most of Fincher's films, about America and the times in which we live.
In Fincher's version of the world, the heroes often fuse with the villains, creating an intentional ambiguity. In Se7en, a serial killer (played by Kevin Spacey) becomes surprisingly understandable until his psychotic nature defies empathy. In Fight Club, Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt) is a seductive purveyor of liberation through destruction. Fincher clearly relates: Lisbeth Salander is in the same vein—a relative of the other Fincher-ites. Her actions are at once rebellious, self-protective, and, of course, true to her own moral code. For The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Fincher has imagined more than the obvious—a compelling thriller about a crusading journalist and his mysterious partner, Lisbeth Salander. Instead, he wants Salander to be both subversive and a new kind of role model.
Which is why he has analyzed every detail, from her earrings to her essence. Nothing with Fincher is accidental, and although he delights in being subversive and contradictory, he is deeply committed to his characters, his movies. "Look at this," Fincher said as he returned to the carefully placed spots of blood on Mara's palms and wrists. The bursts of maroon were like stigmata—turning Salander into a martyr rather than a complex force. "That's just not right," he said flatly. "Lisbeth Salander is not about suffering! She is not Jesus! She is about vengeance!" Fincher smiled. An assistant squeezed rivulets of blood onto Mara's hands so that it ran over her fingers. "That's better," Fincher said, clearly pleased. "You have to get it right. Or there's no point at all."
Fincher's fascination with all things Salander provided him with an excellent reason to be away from America at the precise moment he was winning nearly unanimous accolades and numerous awards for The Social Network. In September, days after the movie's release, Fincher and his longtime girlfriend, Ceán Chaffin, who produces his films, decamped from their home in Los Angeles for Stockholm and began work on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Fincher, who is contrary by nature, is allergic to garlands. While critics were heralding The Social Network as, hands down, the best movie of the year, a meditation on the inability to emotionally connect in today's increasingly mechanized society, Fincher was scouting locations in Sweden.
"The timing was lucky," Fincher said as he sat down at a candlelit table in a room next to the photo studio. In November there are only a few hours of daylight in Stockholm, and although it was 3 p.m., it was like the middle of the night. The constant darkness and deep freeze were difficult for Fincher. "But nothing is truly hard after Benjamin Button," he said. "I put Brad Pitt's head on somebody else's body. That was hard." Fincher poured a glass of red wine. "I hate the awards part of the moviemaking process," he continued. "And besides, on Social Network, I didn't really agree with the critics' praise. It interested me that Social Network was about friendships that dissolved through this thing that promised friendships, but I didn't think we were ripping the lid off anything. The movie is true to a time and a kind of person, but I was never trying to turn a mirror on a generation."
It was hard to know whether Fincher was saying this to be, as is his way, intentionally provocative, or if he was sincere. "Probably both," Scott Rudin, the producer of The Social Network, explained to me later. Rudin, who sent the script for The Social Network to Fincher and who is also producing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, finds Fincher to be intrinsically, rigorously contrary. "He has a giant brain," Rudin said. "And he can have 19 conversations simultaneously in his brain and he doesn't miss anything. He's capable of taking any point of view and dismantling it until he comes to the conclusion that, for him, makes perfect sense. I thought of David for Social Network because, fundamentally, Social Network is a portrait of an anarchist, and I think David is an anarchist. Besides being brilliant, David has the same fuck-off arrogance as Mark Zuckerberg. David is hardwired to question authority and existing structures. And he likes nothing better than to blow them up."
Fincher divides his work between "movies" and "films"—by his definition, a movie is overtly commercial, engineered for the sole pleasure of the audience. A film is conceived for the public and filmmakers: It is more audacious, more daring. By his reckoning, Fight Club and, especially, Zodiac (neither of which were box office successes) are films, while The Social Network (which is a box office smash—close to $100 million in America alone) is simply a movie.
"It's a little glib to be a film," Fincher maintained. "Let's hope we strove to get at something interesting, but Social Network is not earth-shattering. Zodiac was about murders that changed America. After the Zodiac killings in California, the Summer of Love was over. Suddenly, there was no more weed or pussy. People were hog-tied and died. No one died during the creation of Facebook. By my estimation, the person who made out the worst in the creation of Facebook still made more than 30 million dollars. And no one was killed."
Although a movie's (or a film's) worth should not be determined by its body count, Fincher will not be dissuaded. Zodiac may have special significance for him, as it harks back to Fincher's youth. He is 48 and grew up in San Anselmo, a wealthy suburb outside San Francisco. The Zodiac killer had publicly threatened to hijack a school bus and murder children. "I remember coming home from school and asking my dad, who was a freelance magazine writer and worked at home, why highway patrolmen were following our bus. He pushed his glasses down on his nose and looked at me and said, very calmly, 'It seems that there's a serial killer with a high-power rifle who has said he plans to kill children.' I was terrified. My father thought it was rubbish, that nothing would happen. That is, very clearly, when things changed for me: I became aware of evil. And death. And it also changed California, and then the country."
Zodiac was an audacious movie. Fincher staged every murder according to the varying accounts that witnesses gave to the police. That meant that the killer appeared to be a different size and shape in each scenario. The identity of the Zodiac killer has never been verified—there was no trial, no closure. It was an ideal scenario for Fincher: a mystery without resolution, an existential inquiry into what frightened him most. "At an early screening of Zodiac," Fincher said, "an executive told me, 'It's an intellectual exercise. It's about the unknowable.' And I said, 'Yes—that's the point.' But I have no misconceptions; I know what the game is. They wanted me to do Zodiac because Se7en was successful and both are about serial killers. Now they offer me Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. They think, No one does perv quite like this guy."
For all of his categorizing and put-downs (real or otherwise), Fincher was immediately captivated by Aaron Sorkin's script for The Social Network. He read it in one gulp, and said yes the same day. "Aaron had written his version of The Great Gatsby through Mark Zuckerberg," Rudin told me. "David saw the film differently. He related to Zuckerberg's wish to build something. David was making beta-cam movies in his garage when he was a teenager, and building something like Zuckerberg did was very romantic and personal to him."
Before Fincher signed on, Sorkin had wanted to direct his own script. "There was a ticking clock," Fincher recalled. "I read it on a Sunday night, and e-mailed Sorkin: You'll have to put your directorial debut on hold." Fincher wanted to begin instantly and started casting. Jesse Eisenberg sent a homemade tape of himself playing Zuckerberg, and got the part without auditioning in person. Andrew Garfield, who is English, also tried out for Zuckerberg, but Fincher felt he was openly emotional, and therefore intrinsically better suited to play Eduardo Saverin, Zuckerberg's former best friend and business partner. "When you cast actors," Fincher said, "you try to find the quality you couldn't beat out of them with a tire iron. That's where you find the character."
For the role of Zuckerberg's erstwhile girlfriend, Erica, who has to be the Helen of Troy of Facebook and hold her own opposite Zuckerberg in the crucial opening scene of the film, Fincher knew he had to cast somebody unique, a woman who was, as he put it, "Katharine Ross from The Graduate—the girl who got away. We read everybody in the world for the part of Erica. It's only one scene, but it sets the tone for the rest of the movie. When Rooney walked in, I said, 'There's the girl!'"
For the nine-page scene, which is a beautifully written duet of warring dialogue and clashing emotions, Fincher took two days and 99 takes. As always, it wasn't just technical—he concentrated on the emotional details: Had the two had sex yet? Had she been to his dorm room, or was it more likely that she had brought him home? How much did Erica actually like him? "Rooney and I decided that Zuckerberg had not sealed the deal," Fincher explained. "And I needed to have that information for the scene to work." He demanded dozens of takes to "knock the acting out of them." The final result is thrilling: The scene is like a gunshot at the start of a race.
When Rudin sent Fincher the script for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, he was resistant. The trilogy, which Rudin had bought the rights to, is similar in tone to other Fincher projects. The first book introduces the story of Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist who is also irresistible to women (that he's being played by Daniel Craig, aka James Bond, seems appropriate). Blomkvist has made an error in his probe of a powerful industrialist and has been convicted of libel. While he awaits jail, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families asks him to solve the disappearance of his grandniece, who vanished more than 40 years ago. The investigation leads Blomkvist to a partnership (and romance) with Lisbeth Salander and the realization that there has been a string of unsolved murders. Together they uncover the murderer.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a remarkably unlikely runaway best-seller. It is very dark and often sexually deviant—filled with scenes of sadomasochism, anal rape, and torture. The book is permeated by a seeping sense of menace and loss. Larsson, who allegedly observed the rape of a 15-year-old girl when he was young and did not report it, had to live with the guilt, and begins each section with a statistic regarding crimes against women in Sweden. The script, which captures the novel's bleak tone (its original Swedish title was Men Who Hate Women), was written by Academy Award winner Steven Zaillian, who wrote Schindler's List, and it departs rather dramatically from the book. Blomkvist is less promiscuous, Salander is more aggressive, and, most notably, the ending—the resolution of the drama—has been completely changed. This may be sacrilege to some, but Zaillian has improved on Larsson—the script's ending is more interesting.
This is shocking material for a major studio like Sony. In one of the pivotal scenes, taken directly from Larsson, Salander punishes the man who raped her by raping him with a large prosthetic penis, and then tattooing his torso with the words i am a rapist pig. Not exactly mainstream fare. "Sony and Scott Rudin told me they wanted to be in the adult-film-franchise business," Fincher said. "And they said, 'We want you to kick the A in adult.' They already had a release date—December 2011—but I wasn't sure I wanted to do another movie about a serial killer. Then I read the script, and I called Scott and said, 'I can't imagine why you thought of me.'"
Aside from the visceral and cinematic nature of the material, Fincher was also intrigued by the villains in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. They were not politicians or dictators—instead, the top bad guys are big businessmen. "Fascism has worked its way out of politics," Fincher said, "and gone into high finance. Today Woodward and Bernstein would be investigating corruption in the financial arena. I was interested in that. And, of course, the girl."
"Before I read the book, I didn't think I could do it," Mara said. She was calling me from Zurich, where the production moved in early December. "I locked myself in a room for a week and read all three books, and decided I really wanted to be Lisbeth. But I thought I had no shot at it."
The offspring of two football dynasties—the Rooneys (who own the Pittsburgh Steelers) and the Maras (who own the New York Giants)—Mara has an innate refinement, and there was some concern that she would not jibe with the character of Lisbeth Salander. "I wanted her from the beginning," Fincher stated. "Rooney may be a trust-fund baby from football royalty, but she's levelheaded and hardworking. It's so odd how who people are comes out in auditions. We didn't make it easy for Rooney, and there was no way to dissuade her."
Fincher saw much more famous actresses: Natalie Portman had just finished three movies back-to-back and was exhausted; Scarlett Johansson was too sexy ("Marilyn on a bike," Fincher said); and others, like Jennifer Lawrence, were too tall. "The studio pressures you to pick a name," Fincher said. "All walks of life want the path of least resistance." Rudin disagreed. "The studio never wanted a star," he told me. "But it was David's idea to build a Lisbeth Salander vessel for your fantasies." Toward that end Fincher considered unorthodox choices: Yo-Landi Vi$$er, the lead singer of South African punk band Die Antwoord; Sophie Lowe, an unknown from Australia; Katie Jarvis, who was discovered at a train station in the UK and caused a sensation in the movie Fish Tank. "It was hard," Fincher recalled. "We had five or six girls audition with the rape scene. The girls had to kick a dildo up his ass. That's Salander's big scene, and we had to see if they could do it."
Mara didn't blink. "David added the rape scene at the last minute, and I said, 'Ohmigod! They must be really serious.' They did one test, then another a week later. They shot me in the subway in L.A. in full hair and makeup with a motorcycle. Every day they had a new request. On a Monday morning, David called me in, and I said, 'What do you want me to do to my hair now?' I was at the end of my rope. He told me I had the part. I hadn't even read the script yet."
Five days later Mara moved to Stockholm. She began training—learning to ride a motorcycle and kickboxing. The (temporary) dragon tattoo proved to be tricky: Fincher did not want it to look Asian or like it came out of a comic book. He finally settled on a dragon that could have been drawn by Escher—more like an engraving and quite beautiful. In one "very intense" day, Mara's eyebrows were bleached, her hair chopped, and her lip, brow, nose, and nipple pierced. "I didn't even have pierced ears," Mara said, still sounding a little shocked. "They put four holes in each ear, and, weirdly, that hurt the most. It was all very organized. With David, everything is measured and carefully considered. He wants what he sees in his head."
Back in Stockholm, Fincher opened his laptop and clicked on some images of Mara that had been taken to test different hair and makeup ideas for the character. An embedded element of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is that Salander is a modern update of Pippi Longstocking, the independent scamp who is a Scandinavian icon. "Lisbeth is the goth Pippi," Fincher said as he showed me a picture of Mara reincarnated as a kind of ghostly clown. Her face was powdered white and there were stitches in her lips. "We started there," he explained, "and then we honed in." He clicked on an image of Mara with exaggerated Pippi pigtails and dark, dripping eye makeup. "We ended up there."
Fincher looked happy. "When you see David on set, you see him at his best," Rudin told me later. "He's like a happy child, exactly where he's supposed to be." From the age of eight, when he asked his parents if he could have an 8mm camera or a BB gun for his birthday, Fincher has known what he wanted to do. "I knew they'd never give me the gun," he said, "and I started making movies. By 13 or 14, I had a pretty good plan for my future. I would work at [George Lucas's] Industrial Light & Magic, make commercials, and then do the sequel to Star Wars or Alien."
Which is exactly what happened: Fincher began working for the nearby Industrial Light & Magic on Return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when he was still in high school. The Bay Area in the early Seventies was full of creativity: Coppola was shooting The Godfather; Lucas was directing American Graffiti and living two doors down from Fincher's family. "I didn't have the grades to get into UCLA or USC, and, frankly, I thought, why would I raise $10,000 to make a film at USC when USC will own the copyright." In the early Eighties, Fincher directed his first commercial. Warning of the hazards of smoking during pregnancy, the ad showed a fetus carefully taking a puff in the womb.
It was shocking, which became one of the director's trademarks. He used his gift for arresting visuals mixed with quick narratives to create music videos, most notably for Madonna ("Vogue") and the Rolling Stones ("Love Is Strong," which won a Grammy). When he was 27, Fincher was asked to direct Alien 3. It proved to be a disaster. At the time, the $60 million budget was the biggest ever given to a first-time director. There was no script, only a murky storyline about an alien baby, and it was a mess. When considering The Social Network, Fincher drew on the Alien 3 experience: "I know what it's like to be in a room full of people who just think it's so cute that you're young and have an idea about how things should be done. But they're not about to give you control. I understand that anger."
Alien 3 taught Fincher to micromanage, to fight for his point of view, his work. Interestingly, he did not become disenchanted, as many directors have, with the major studios. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he has never pursued the independent route. Fincher's done something almost subversive: He has made challenging, idiosyncratic movies within the increasingly homogenized and limited studios. While most studios are pushing superheroes and animation, Fincher is directing The Social Network. "I do have an idea for an R-rated 3-D animated film," Fincher said. "A heavy-metal comic book brought to life, like Avatar. In Avatar there are topless blue women. That's heavy metal."
After the success of Se7en, which was Brad Pitt's first starring role and made $327 million, Fincher never again doubted himself. "Actually, I didn't really doubt myself after Alien 3," he said as he closed his computer. "I have 380,000 things on my mind. It's an air traffic control tower in there. I can't really imagine anything else gripping me the way directing does." He smiled. "This is all I can do."
Read More http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2011/02/rooney_mara_girl_with_the_dragon_tattoo_film#ixzz1AqAHLRSN
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogcdn.com%2Fblog.moviefone.com%2Fmedia%2F2011%2F01%2Fdragontattoow2.jpg&hash=6e4d43aee0eaead4a17f61bad6e67660cc58856d)
I hope she gets pretty again after the movie.
Quote from: Stefen on January 12, 2011, 12:51:50 PM
I hope she gets pretty again after the movie.
I don't know about the ass tatt, but IMO she's set that cover on fire.
That was a good article, by the way. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, mod. I was rather ambivalent about it to begin with, simply because I've never read the books or seen the Swedes flick, but this has certainly piqued my interest. I'm really looking forward to more meticulous madness from Fincher.
No prob. Yeah, after hearing that Trent Reznor is scoring and reading that article I'm now really really excited for this.
Red Band Trailer here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kOFGI0p6SM)
REALLY looks like the original from the trailer
Trent Reznor & Karen O Cover 'Immigrant Song' For David Fincher's 'Dragon Tattoo' Teaser
Tagline For The Film Reportedly 'The Feel Bad Movie Of Christmas'
Source: Playlist
Update: Pitchfork has confirmed that Trent Reznor and Karen O indeed cover Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" which is featured in the red band teaser for "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." If you see "The Hangover Part II" this weekend there's a chance you might catch it, but hey Sony, how about throwing it online already? OK, this is pulling together bits of info from various places and we really have no idea if it's legit, but all the arrows point in the same direction and if it's true? Well, that's pretty fucking awesome. Let's go back a little bit. A few days ago, a reader pointed us in the direction of Albert Ratings Board website which recently dropped an 18+ (or R in the United States) and PG rating on two separate trailers for David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Not long after, word dropped that overseas the red-band trailer was already screening in Sweden and France, with a green-band version scheduled to launch in North America next Thursday, June 2nd. However, it looks like some people are already seeing it even earlier—and that's not even the best part. For those of you going to see "The Hangover Part II" this weekend, you may be in for a treat. Readers are commenting over at IMDb that the red-band trailer is unspooling in front of the hit comedy sequel. So what are we likely to see? /Film tracked down this comment on IMDb: So a few thoughts on this, anyone that is worried about it not following the Orginal/book can put that worry to bed. This looks to be as graphic if not more then the orginal. The trailer consists of a bunch of quick cuts of scenes from the movie. Alot of things from the Orginal 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 Zeppelin's "immigrant song." So far, so good. But here's where things get even more interesting. Among the comments over at /Film, one reader said, "BTW the Zeppelin song they use is actually a remix. It sounds as if [Trent] Reznor remixed the track, but I highly doubt it was him, just in the same vein as a NIN remix." Another added with more confidence, "The music is a cover of the 'Immigrant Song' done specifically for the movie by Trent Reznor with vocals by Karen O." Yes, we know. It's pretty thin considering the comment comes from an anonymous reader but consider this: Led Zeppelin songs are massively expensive to license and it would be weird to hear that stomping rock song over a trailer for a dark film like "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Moreover, as we all know, Trent Reznor is scoring the film and having him refashion the song into a cover seems to make sense and would fall in line with approach used for "The Social Network" where the Scala & Kolacny Brothers' version of "Creep" was used in the first spot for that movie. Nothing is official, but we're hearing that the tune is one Fincher has been wanting to use for a while, and if it's there it's going to be the best early Christmas present we could receive. We can't wait to hear it. With Rooney Mara poised to launch into the A-list with the film, and with expectations running high, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is one of the most anticipated movies of the fall. The actress is said to have completely transformed for the role—Mark Zuckerberg would hardly recognize her. "It's extraordinary," co-star Christopher Plummer recently told E!. "And because she looks so young, it's very frightening. The innocence makes it even more terrifying. She is going to be the most wonderful Tattoo Girl." And we've saved the best for last. The tagline for the film is apparently: "The Feel Bad Movie Of Christmas."
Great trailer!
I don't like that song.
I do.
those shots at the end, with the frozen trees and the mansion.. that's an excellent trailer.
"she's coming" - that's pretty cool.
Why can't all movie trailers be this exciting? At least more of them.
Yeah, I definitely liked that. Isn't it a homage to this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKwy9aKiTjM), especially at 1:16 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kOFGI0p6SM&t=1m16s)?
I thought it was a horrible trailer (maybe just because i REALLY don't like david fincher and his shit) and a horrible music cover. Its funny how alot of hollywood films want to use zeppelin songs but they make it to expensive or just don't let them lol.
It seemed like a good trailer (apart from that song I didn't like), but it's hard to judge with a bootleg trailer. Especially when it's by a stylish filmmaker like Fincher.
How come two of the biggest trailers we want (this one and trailer of life) were only available in horrible bootleg quality? You would think they would be up somewhere in HD right away. What gives?
The trailer was good I thought, Just didn't like the "the feel bad movie of christmas" tagline.
that's the best part!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kOFGI0p6SM&t=0m41s
you think the breath shot at the 41 sec mark is in reference to all the shit he got for the cgi breath in The Social Network?
this is amazing.
via Mashable:
A new teaser trailer for David Fincher's upcoming The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has hit the web. The highly anticipated English-language film adaptation of Steig Larsson's hit trilogy isn't slated to hit theaters until December. However, it appears the viral campaign is already taking off.
The teaser, which hit YouTube over the weekend, is purportedly from Europe, where it was allegedly covertly recorded inside a movie theater. After viewing the teaser, however, we echo The Hollywood Reporter's contention that this isn't a covert cam job, but part of a greater viral marketing strategy.
Consider the facts:
The trailer contains a red-band MPAA advisory notice before it starts. That's all well and good, except the MPAA is an American organization, thus, why would that notice be displayed in Europe?
The video footage is off-center and designed to look as if it has been taken inside a theater, however, the sound is clear, and the picture remains in focus.
The washed out colors, apparently a result of "recording inside theater" look post-processed. Take it from someone who has seen hundreds of shaky-camera trailer recordings — this was a professional.
The angles and framing for the final bit of the teaser that starts with "Columbia Pictures" is just too perfect. Moreover, the black levels in the titles match the so-called theater frames perfectly.
For what it's worth, the website dragontattoo.com, which is promoted in the teaser, currently just redirects to Sony's official website.
We're going to go on record and call this a cleverly branded viral video. We can't wait to watch how the campaign develops, especially as the film nears release.
AND it hasn't been taken down for two days.
hey that's amazing, makes me like the trailer even more. fincher's getting really good at these things..
i don't know anything about the movie or the plot or themes of the story so does this approach to the marketing reflect anything to do with the movie at all? what is the movie ABOUT? other than some chick who kicks ass or whatever. or, is this campaign simply trying to make something that is extremely popular look gritty and grimy and somehow NOT pre-digested and regurgitated?
i think i just answered my own question. not that they need to try hard to get ppl to see this movie, since no one saw the original adaptation, but i'd like to think there's something about this story that resonates further than the "cool" thing to be into this year. that's all this ad has achieved right now, and it's kinda worked on me since i'm suddenly paying attention to this franchise i've had ZERO interest in until now.
fincher you old dog.
It's just kind of standard procedural murder mystery with an extra-quirky/dark central character. I watched the first two of the Swedish movies and didn't really give a shit about them, but I'll watch this one for Fincher.
if you saw already the first two, you should check out the third.
hey, it cant be worse than blackout.
Quote from: Fernando on May 30, 2011, 11:41:39 PM
if you saw already the first two, you should check out the third.
hey, it cant be worse than blackout.
It's tricky, because there are aspects that I really liked; the lead actors, the mood, a handful of good plot points. I never got invested in the stories, though. Ultimately, though I liked the characters, I stopped caring what happened to them.
yeah I didn't give a shit about the first one until it started ripping off Blow Up, which was very enjoyable. sometimes a superficial version of antonioni is exactly what you look for in a thriller.
but there were rumors that fincher and steve zailian changed the ending of these movies, in order to surprise the viewers.
Green Band Trailer here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dxiNROjxJE)
Ha, THAT one gets taken down due to a copyright claim by Sony.
It's here though: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/01/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-american-trailer_n_869545.html
(Same trailer, better picture, no sideboob)
Quote from: pete on May 29, 2011, 07:04:17 AM
"she's coming"
looks like this was too red bandy as well.
that trailer is The Sideboobs!
You mean side skin and bones.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mikethefanboy.com%2Fsite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F06%2Fgirl_with_the_dragon_tattoo.jpg&hash=8e8c7c1d911ad17db933ff170c45a1df7bcb612a)
oh shit :shock:, never seen a pierced titty in a movie poster before
hey guys - its been a while - (like a year and some change) - but i hope to be a bit more active - like a weekend thing - i even checked the idle chat thread and i didnt even see a /i miss neon thread/ :ponder: - but, anyways i know nothing about the books other than i think the covers look really cool - the trailer is great - its fast & loud - i agree w/the FEEL BAD MOVIE OF CHRISTMAS line being slick and one of the best parts, along w/trents immigrant noise
Quote from: NEON MERCURY on June 03, 2011, 07:04:21 PM
i even checked the idle chat thread and i didnt even see a /i miss neon thread/ :ponder:
Maybe you just weren't looking hard enough...
New Trailer here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyj2Qb9PEiQ)
Quote from: MacGuffin on September 22, 2011, 08:35:46 AM
Entire Movie here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyj2Qb9PEiQ)
Fixed
This is an 8-minute trailer, I don't know how much it gives away (I haven't watched) or if it's much more than what exists within the current trailers. Thought I'd show anyway. http://www.crazycritics.com/page/dragon-tattoo-8-minute-trailer
Dragon Tat takes a cue from Dumb & Dumber:
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/12/06/strange-and-amazing-dragon-tattoo-related-video-watch-the-mysterious-nine-minute-hard-copy-tribute-here-exclusive-video/ (http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/12/06/strange-and-amazing-dragon-tattoo-related-video-watch-the-mysterious-nine-minute-hard-copy-tribute-here-exclusive-video/)
que "Golden Ticket" fanfare, im seeing this monday!!!! :multi: :multi: :multi:
What did you think, 72teeth?
My thoughts: it was enjoyable, but the more I think about it, the less I like it.
Fincher's direction is strong and interesting, but I guess I just don't really care for the story and the whole thing is as much of a male sexual fantasy as any other movie, masquerading as a "girl power" story. I think people find Lisbeth Salander compelling because she's an active female character, which is shamefully rare in stories like this and in film in general, but I didn't feel that she was all that great or interesting as a character.
This is all just standard fare with above-average direction and a female lead that looks a bit different and is more active than we're used to seeing, which seems like a step in the right direction except that she ultimately ends up being just a different kind of impossible male sexual ideal, zooming around on her motorcycle, solving crimes, kicking bad dudes in the balls and having sex with the good dudes. The story/movie is problematic in that it wants to be pro-feminist by featuring an ideal woman who is so obviously invented, adapted for the screen, and directed by men.
Quote from: matt35mm on December 15, 2011, 08:12:17 PM
What did you think, 72teeth?
My thoughts: it was enjoyable, but the more I think about it, the less I like it.
Same here. It never quite lives up to the badassness of the trailer, and never really lives up to the mystery and suspense Zodiac did so well, everything kind of plays out before you can wonder about it... but it does definitely feel like the beginning of a great trilogy, lots of seeds for the Lisbeth/Mikael story are planted. And it definitely has that Fincher ascetic that sticks with you after the movie is over.
I never saw the originals so i was bummed that it didn't quite get into the 'Rosemary's Baby' evil family story that i thought i was in for, but that's on me...
again, i hope this is Fincher's Trilogy, because the best thing about it is how excited it made me for the third one, which it even hints at in the opening credits with shots of fire and hornets and a love between Lisbeth and Mikael that we only really see in one scene.
Winner: Me! They handed out badass exclusive posters before the show.
Super Winner: The guy who sat in front of me, who won one of the ultra rare metal blade posters.... that schmuck.
David Fincher and cast on Charlie Rose (http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12037)
I liked this a good deal, but I have to admit I was a tad disappointed. We've seen Fincher do much better work.
It's got a Fincher look and feel, but the screenplay just doesn't quite do it for me. I haven't read the book, but this movie reeked of a script that was desperate to adhere to the source material... so much that I can imagine what was lost in the transfer.
I'm looking forward to seeing where this trilogy goes, but I hope to see Fincher focus on something else first.
I think my Fincher list goes:
Zodiac
Se7en
The Social Network
Fight Club
The Game
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Panic Room
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Alien3
It really, really felt like a TV pilot to me. An awesome one, for a series I'd definitely keep watching, but still - very small screen in its scope. The opening credits set the stage for this perfectly. Amazing TV-series credits, but not the type of credit sequence I'd expect out of a movie.
Thus, I definitely want to see the next two Fincher movies (I don't know if I'll watch the Swedish ones, just because I don't know if I care THAT much. Plus it was really nice to go into this blind, not knowing a thing about the plot) but like RK I'd rather see him do something else first.
I'd put this above The Game but below just about everything else (I love the workprint of Alien 3 - a lot). Also, still no love for Panic Room? I watched it again the other day and still find it awesome. Great, great filmmaking.
Has Fincher said he definitely plans on directing the rest of the trilogy?
Also how violent is this compared to his other stuff? I might see this with mom but she's a little squeamish violence-wise. She did love the books so I assume she knows what she's in for.
Quote from: Ghostboy on December 21, 2011, 01:01:20 PM
still no love for Panic Room? I watched it again the other day and still find it awesome. Great, great filmmaking.
I'm actually going through his filmography in order right now and I'm just about to rewatch Panic Room. I remember liking it. There's a big drop in quality between Panic Room and Benjamin Button on my list so don't take that as me hating Panic Room.
Quote from: ©brad on December 21, 2011, 01:56:50 PM
Also how violent is this compared to his other stuff? I might see this with mom but she's a little squeamish violence-wise. She did love the books so I assume she knows what she's in for.
I wouldn't take my mom to go see this, personally. There's not a TON of violence, but the violence that there is is pretty brutal... especially the sexual violence.
It's a good movie, but it doesn't feel like a Fincher movie to me. Sure, it looks likes one, sounds like one, but deep down, nothing stirs. It's missing that emotional violence that you find in his other pictures and strikes me as the serial killer movie, the director of Se7en and Zodiac didn't have to do. Remember Fincher talking about loving Se7en because it didn't end with the killer coming through the window to get Gwyneth and Mills and Somerset showing up at the last minute to save the day, well this one kinda ends that way. Now, obviously it's the script but I expect better from Fincher, and found the movie to be a disappointment and not as different from the Swedish version as I would've liked.
It's a shame because all the actors give strong performances, especially Rooney Mara, the score is amazing and the visuals (aside from some dodgy looking green/blue screen) are top notch as we'd expect.
And thus, my Fincher list currently looks like this:
Se7en
Fight Club
Zodiac
The Social Network
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Game
Panic Room
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Alien3
I really enjoyed this, especially taking it for what it is--a pulpy mystery that doesn't really strive to be more than entertainment. My only problem with it was the very large amount of arbitrary information the audience is presented with, especially (
spoilers) the relationship between Mikael and Lisbeth, as well as the majority of Lisbeth's back story. It doesn't seem to actually bear any weight on the story of this film, but my assumption is that much of it comes into play and actually makes a difference in the rest of the trilogy. But with the 2hr. 40min. run-time, it made me wonder if a little bit of the fat could've been trimmed, as there was quite a bit of space before the story starts, and then even more after it ends.
Quote from: matt35mm on December 15, 2011, 08:12:17 PM
The story/movie is problematic in that it wants to be pro-feminist by featuring an ideal woman who is so obviously invented, adapted for the screen, and directed by men.
I find this comment really interesting, and I was thinking about it after I saw the movie. I don't disagree--(again,
spoilers) the scene where Lisbeth goes to have sex with Mikael is as much of a manifestation of a male fantasy as anything else, but I didn't think the movie was actually trying to make any sort of feminist statement. Yes, the personal is political, etc., and so this movie is making a statement, but I don't think that was its intention. The main character is the man, and as much as Lisbeth proves that she is just as, if not more, powerful than him, it is really his narrative that gets the most attention, even though Lisbeth is the character we walk out of the movie remembering. All I'm saying is, while I don't think the movie is hugely anti-feminist (it's certainly not a worse perpetrator than most movies out there), it's not pro-feminist, either. I just don't think it ever considered the question in the first place.
As a side-note, did anyone else totally cringe when Lisbeth said, "...and there will be blood"?
4K DI Workflow on this film (http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/4k-di-on-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo)
Quote from: wilderesque on December 19, 2011, 11:25:46 AM
David Fincher and cast on Charlie Rose (http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12037)
Thank you! but that was such a clusterfuck. I would've preferred to just see an interview with Fincher, Mara, and Craig. Rooney Mara just keeps making Charlie look stupid, she really didn't want to be there. Christopher Plummer was the best part.
After comparing and contrasting the sweedish film and this one I can't help but love the remake more. Maybe its because I have a undying love for Fincher that I will never shake. The performances of the girl are different. One is not better than the other. I just hope this won't define Rooney's career so much that she'll get typecasted. Although, if she does two more with Fincher she just might.
Its not fincher's best and its not my favorite of his but its certainly really solid and entertaining in the best way. I believe that this is Fincher's ulterior motive for a cash grab. He's gonna make a bundle off of this trilogy and I couldn't be more proud of him
The original gave more of Lisbeth's backstory and I'm sure if we get the american sequel we will get more of Lisbeth's backstory then.
There are some differences to both films but they don't matter all THAT much. Although, it makes you feel differently about some minor characters. There are some scenes that seem to be created beat by beat.
The endings to the two films are also slightly different.
Its really a beautiful thriller and I am infatuated with it, almost too much.
I don't want to say any more than that in fear that I will spill the beans. but go see this asap.
Spoilers:
I loved a lot of the minor visual flourishes, like Lisbeth driving the motorcycle through the tunnel in between all the cars, and the dolly shots in the hall of records. I also really appreciated how good Fincher was at establishing the locations throughout the island, almost too good in fact, as this version of the film gave away the villain much more obviously than the earlier version, mostly due to what the camera was telling us. (hey, let's do a nice sweeping shot of the location of the finale!)
There are a lot of subtle things that I enjoyed mostly due to knowing the source material, but the mood of this film was much more dour than the book and other film version. Once Lisbeth and Mikael meet, it seemed like a breathless sprint to that basement scene. Their sex scene was almost laughably unearned, and the film glossed over a lot of the investigative elements that I found interesting in the book. In this version she just sort of sails in and knows everything already.
Aside from these flaws though, Fincher deserves a lot of credit for being so restrained stylistically with such dense source material. I hope he does the other two films, as the ending of this film screamed with his intention to do so. I'll echo what Ghostboy said that it felt like a really good TV pilot that I didn't want to stop watching. Some people groaned at the long epilogue but I would have been just fine sitting through this story for another two and a half hours.
I liked it! I agree with the consensus that it's not his best but I think I liked it more than most. Like GB I went in blind, having actively avoided the books and previous films (just always skeptical of anything that widely popular). It was a lot of fun and I can't wait for the next two.
Quote from: matt35mm on December 15, 2011, 08:12:17 PMThe story/movie is problematic in that it wants to be pro-feminist by featuring an ideal woman who is so obviously invented, adapted for the screen, and directed by men.
Yeah but such is the case with any super hero character. Remember she's a fantasy for women too. There were middle-aged soccer moms cheering for her at my theater (in South Carolina no less) and how often do women get to do that in a mainstream hollywood movie these days. I don't necessarily disagree with your larger point, I just don't find it as problematic.
One of the most sophisticated love stories I've seen in a while, especially considering how little screen time was devoted to it.
here is my list:
Zodiac
The Game
Se7en
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Panic Room
The Social Network
Fight Club
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Alien3
I went with kind of low expectations for some reason and I was surprised at how much I liked it. Everyone around here seems to be saying: "I liked it, but I didn't". But I think it's going to hold up pretty well as the years go by. Fincher is in complete control, so much so that he can do absurd things like the sex scene and make them work. He really turns this grim, ugly story into a fun ride where everything works.
I usually love when the best filmmakers are in the middle of their career high point doing all sorts of personal films and then dive in with passion on a genre film (like Scorsese in Cape Fear), the results are usually fantastic, and to me this was no exception.
Rooney Mara was terrific.
Fincher does his best, Craig and Mara are both great, and it's overall a step above the Swedish version, but it still failed to solve the central problem of the material, which is the inherently uncinematic nature of most of the investigation. A story where most of the plot drivers involve scrolling through old photographs and news articles simply doesn't lend itself to being filmed. Fincher is such a master craftsman that he does it better than most could, but he still can't escape the flaws built into the source material.
Less eyebrow
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F9UhzV.jpg&hash=032967ec68f068f8f07e574f08efe0ef0c95249d)
yeah...glad they developed that look further.
so the dragon tattoo dvd looks like this:
http://i.imgur.com/VuKDk.jpg
which caused amazon to post this on the film's page:
http://i.imgur.com/dZKP9.png
Hah that DVD art is perfect. I really want to see this again.
the blu ray has the most intimate special features EVER. i feel like i was a part of the shoot. there are featurettes and conversations that don't even really have anything to do with filmmaking. just fun shit that happened. i don't even understand how some things got on, like finch casually complaining to mara that the studio wanted the poster font changed because "it looked too 'asian'". it's actually one step beyond That Moment and the Episode I doc because it's so bloody specific down to every facet of production, divided into juicy pieces.
I'm getting it.
somebitch sold me on it too.
watched it for the 2nd time last nite since theatrical release w/ Fincher commentary. The way the story is told and shot and acted still has impact for me, and an especially epic final shot that is perfect for the film.
It's a movie that could stand alone and not have sequels, if not for the fact that a few of us want to see the following chapters in the Millenium story given a much better treatment than the Swedish follow-ups.
Gonna have to buy a blu-ray player just for the special features.
The opening credits sequence was great (of course).
Rooney Mara was pretty amazing. Certainly deserved the role. Even with all her screen time, she managed to remain sufficiently enigmatic. I do find it funny that the poster shows her in a vulnerable position being protected by Daniel Craig, when in the movie it's exactly the opposite.
Having no familiarity with the book, I was often confused and never sure how much I was supposed to be figuring out. But that was always eventually resolved. So I think it worked.
I liked the movie overall, but the editing was very strange. Much of the film felt rushed and perfunctory, like they obviously took a hatchet to it in the editing room. Especially that last "investment" sequence.
SPOILERS
The rape scene seemed rushed, too. Didn't they also cut away from it to Daniel Craig's character's story? The suddenness and quickness of it was frightening, but it might have had more impact as a longer continuous scene. Oh well... It was still powerful.
After the guy is smacked in the face with the golf club, why doesn't he just hit that gas switch again? Even if that's somehow impossible, trying to escape from his own house which is filled with confusing hallways and lots of his own guns seems like a very poor decision. Not only is he injured, but he loses every advantage he had and leaves behind the witnesses, with the serial killer dungeon completely open. That's just creating more problems. What the heck?
I'm not the type that tries to figure out mysteries during movies, but for some reason I always believed that Harriet was still alive and even correctly identified who she was. I rarely do that. (I prefer to be surprised.) Did they hint too heavily?
I think we all learned something from that final scene, as if it weren't already self-evident: Robin Wright ruins everything.