MI:3

[children with angels]

I cannot believe Fincher was thinking of directing a Mission Impossible film...! Okay: maybe I can.
Alright: I absolutely LOVE Fight Club - I think it's one of the best, most important films ever (seriously), and I have similar feelings about Se7en (though not quite as much) but I always had this nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that Fincher was kind of - I don't know - POSING a little as this nihilistic anti-capitalist. It felt a little like an image. Panic Room troubled me a little by being pretty damn conventional (maybe a tad darker than your average, but surely one of the lamest following acts in movie history - to follow Fight Club with that...), but I calmed myself by thinking "don't worry: the next one will be great, the next one will be great..."
And now I find out he's considering directing M:I 3. Jesus Christ... I'm gonna have a hard time defending that decision against my cynical side. I feel like we're now seeing again the Fincher who started by making those great-looking adverts for Nike. What would Tyler - or, for that matter, Jack - say? He's an incredibly talented filmmaker, but maybe he just likes to make things look fucking cool, you know? It used to be corporate logos, next it was musicians, then it was pessimism. And now it's the sequel to a brainless action movie...

[©brad]

I cannot believe Fincher is directing a Mission Impossible film...! Okay: maybe I can.
Alright: I absolutely LOVE Fight Club - I think it's one of the best, most important films ever (seriously), and I have similar feelings about Se7en (though not quite as much) but I always had this nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that Fincher was kind of - I don't know - POSING a little as this nihilistic anti-capitalist. It felt a little like an image. Panic Room troubled me a little by being pretty damn conventional (maybe a tad darker than your average, but surely one of the lamest following acts in movie history - to follow Fight Club with that...), but I calmed myself by thinking "don't worry: the next one will be great, the next one will be great..."
And now I find out he's directing M:I 3. Jesus Christ... I'm gonna have a hard time defending that decision against my cynical side. I feel like we're now seeing again the Fincher who started by making those great-looking adverts for Nike. What would Tyler - or, for that matter, Jack - say? He's an incredibly talented filmmaker, but maybe he just likes to make things look fucking cool, you know? It used to be corporate logos, next it was musicians, then it was pessimism. And now it's the sequel to a brainless action movie...

brainless action movie eh?
first off if u think fincher's intention in fight club was to promote anti-capitalistic nihilism u might want to watch the film again. (listen to the commentary if your still confused.) I would love to see fincher do a MI, esp. with a half decent script written by anyone except the a-hole who wrote MI2. I don't understand all the shit fincher fans give him for doing something like panic room. why, b/c it doesn't make profound social and/or political commentary that makes movie buffs cream their pants? Tarantino's movies NEVER do that, and no one seems to care when he does movies like jackie brown and kill bill.

[MacGuffin]

I cannot believe Fincher is directing a Mission Impossible film...!

He's not. You may wanna read the bottom of page two, and also this:

http://xixax.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=255

[children with angels]

No: I realise that Fincher wasn't promoting an all-out acttack against capitalism - it's about growing up and realising that the seduction offered by groups like Project Mayhem is false and doesn't hold all the answers - all I'm saying is that Fight Club is a supremely intelligent film that questions our perceptions of accepted society and our relationship with it. You surely can't deny that there is a definite critique of capitalism going on, even if its not a total rejection. All I'm saying is that having displayed that kind of intelligence and interest on those kind of issues, it's disappointing to see him move onto films devoid of any kind of point other than the entertainment of the masses. And, okay: etertainment of the masses is no bad thing - of course it isn't: that's what many films I love are soley aiming to do - but I basically think that he's shown he can make much more profound films than Panic Room or a Mission Impossible sequel, and it's a shame he doesn't want to keep trying at it. Hopefully his pulling out means that maybe he does.
As for Tarantino: he's never shown an interest in making movies for any other reason than to show us cool characters with cool dialogue to make us feel cool and excited while watching them, so for him to not want to make profound "cream-your-pants" points is no big deal - for Fincher, I can't help but feel its a regression...

[©brad]

alright i agree. i just don't think him doing MI3 is the end of the cinematic world as some people seem to think 'round here. he's still relatively young. he has lots of time for more fight clubs.

[budgie]

No: I realise that Fincher wasn't promoting an all-out acttack against capitalism - it's about growing up and realising that the seduction offered by groups like Project Mayhem is false and doesn't hold all the answers - all I'm saying is that Fight Club is a supremely intelligent film that questions our perceptions of accepted society and our relationship with it. You surely can't deny that there is a definite critique of capitalism going on, even if its not a total rejection. All I'm saying is that having displayed that kind of intelligence and interest on those kind of issues, it's disappointing to see him move onto films devoid of any kind of point other than the entertainment of the masses. And, okay: etertainment of the masses is no bad thing - of course it isn't: that's what many films I love are soley aiming to do - but I basically think that he's shown he can make much more profound films than Panic Room or a Mission Impossible sequel, and it's a shame he doesn't want to keep trying at it. Hopefully his pulling out means that maybe he does.
As for Tarantino: he's never shown an interest in making movies for any other reason than to show us cool characters with cool dialogue to make us feel cool and excited while watching them, so for him to not want to make profound "cream-your-pants" points is no big deal - for Fincher, I can't help but feel its a regression...

Although Fincher obviously felt some affinity with the subject of Fight Club, you can't really align him with it as a social critique, because that belongs more to Chuck P. (not even taking into account the change in the ending from book to film - who did Fincher agree with there?). There just aren't gonna be many books/scripts to allow the meaning of Fincher's style to be understood so powerfully, and so readily. Before you dismiss less challenging thrillers and action movies, don't you think that the style a director uses can transform a seemingly 'brainless (meaningless?' narrative into something that does have a social comment/view? It just isn't so obvious to read because its expressed visually instead narratively.

[children with angels]

I don't know - I guess you're probably right: I can't think of any examples right now... (suggestions?) But I still reckon its content rather than style that will always communicate better...

[budgie]

I don't know - I guess you're probably right: I can't think of any examples right now... (suggestions?) But I still reckon its content rather than style that will always communicate better...

... or is just easier to read because we've been schooled in literary narrative not visual literacy. It's getting better, though pictures still seem to cause a lot of nervousness.

Suggestions? Any Kubrick movie? Punch-Drunk Love?...

[Him]

hey guys, i'm not sure if you've already heard about this, but i read in hotdog magazine a couple of weeks ago that fincher, free from m:i 3 constrictions (the guy who directed narc has taken over that one) he was planning a fictionalised account of dogtown and z-boys, that documentary that did quite weel about the skateboarders.

the source was roger avary, who let it slip in an interview about the rules of attraction. he said he's on script writing duties at the moment. i doubted it to begin with, but when avary began talking about how fincher wanted to try out computer generated camera angles a la tony hawks pro skater (apparently fincher is also a huge ps2 fan) it began to sound more credible.

i'm still a little disappointed though. for a director who has managed to merge a story-telling ability with his undoubted technological genius, he seems to be slipping more towards his cg fetish with the still pretty good
panic room, and now this.

what does everyone else think?

[budgie]

cg fetish

Mmm... cg fetish. I say: let's see a pure Fincher movie, nothing but movement through spaces.

[Him]

i hear he has to wrap all his film-making computer equipment in plasti-wrap.

you know, so he doesn't get, um, coffee stains on them.

as for a pure david fincher movie, how about a pure cameron crowe movie? the camera looking lovingly at tom cruise's majestic figure as he runs...

hmm. maybe cameron crowe actually directed minority report. after all, he made a cameo - spielberg didn't. (PTA did as well, by the way)

[MacGuffin]

what does everyone else think?

http://xixax.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=255

[brockly]

Fincher IS directing MI:2, alongside Joe Carnahan.

[MacGuffin]

Mission: Impossible 3 Moved Back
Source: Variety

Paramount Pictures has quietly stepped away from a May opening for its Tom Cruise tentpole "Mission: Impossible 3."

The studio, which had no official comment, moved off the date recently after Michael Mann announced plans to direct "Collateral" for DreamWorks, with Tom Cruise expected to topline and lensing starting in the fall. As a result, "M:I 3" is now expected to begin shooting in January, which clearly precludes the previously planned May 21 release.

The studio has not set a new release date, but the most likely scenario would be for "M:I 3" to open during the 2004 holiday season or in May 2005.

[MacGuffin]

"Mission: Impossible 3" Looking for Leading Lady; January 2004 Start Confirmed  

While the plot of "Mission: Impossible 3" is being kept more secret than the formula for Coca-Cola, casting notices obtained by FilmJerk.com this morning give us a clear look at who will be the requisite female team member-turned-love interest for our intrepid hero, when filming begins in Los Angeles this January: Leah Quint.

The character is described as a natural American beauty and endowed with grace, warmth and vulnerability. She is exceedingly intelligent with a compelling presence and a great, disarming sense of humor. Leah has had extensive training with the IMF (Impossible Mission Force), starting her training with the agency right out of school. She has extensive experience for someone her age, a force to be considered with, as she can instantly turn into a person of steely resolve and toughness.

The ideal actress being sought would be between 24 and 36 years old, and in keeping with the casting of Thandie Newton in the previous installment, could be a person of diverse ethnicity. Producers and casting agents are looking for a facile, confident and skilled actress with a significant depth of range, and should have a "perfect American accent" if she is not American. While previously rumored actresses Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Brook both would fit within these character traits, no actress has been signed for the role and this casting info indicates that both will not be a part of this project.

"Narc" director Joe Carnahan is still on board as director, although it is currently unknown if "Paycheck" and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" screenwriter Dean Georgaris is still the sole writer of record. It is more than likely Robert Towne will take a pass at the script before production begins.