Month: November 2023

Zodiac Revisited

A new podcast, an old set visit, and wondering whether it was all worth it…

Nev Pierce
November 24, 2023
The Fall Will Probably Kill You (Substack)

“There’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer…” So runs the tagline of Zodiac, a film which opened to little fanfare outside of Fincher aficionados in 2007, yet grew to be regarded as one of the best of the decade.

I visited the set in 2006, felt the warm aura of Mark Ruffalo, the intimidating charisma of Robert Downey Jr and the general indifference of Jake Gyllenhaal, who may have justifiably been suspicious of a journalist on set, or just had more important things on his mind.

I’ve just had the pleasure of talking with Tim Coleman about the film on his fine podcast Moving Pictures Film Club – which prompted a lot of thoughts, not least that there’s a reason I’m a writer rather than a broadcaster: I need the delete key.

Read the full article and the April 2007 set report for Total Film “The Devil Is in the Detail”.

The Fall Will Probably Kill You is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support Nev Pierce‘s work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Watch the shorts by Nev Pierce, including Bricks, an Edgar Allan Poe adaptation starring Jason Flemyng and Blake Ritson, which David Fincher said about: “A morbid yet classy take on a morbid classic.”

Moving Pictures Film Club: “Zodiac” with Nev Pierce

Tim Coleman
November 14, 2023
Moving Pictures Film Club

This month Tim is joined by Nev Pierce (Empire Magazine) to reopen the case files and discuss David Fincher‘s Zodiac (2007).

Listen to the podcast:

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For exclusive bonus episodes sign up to our Patreon. Follow us on Facebook, Facebook Discussion Group, Twitter, Instagram, Moving Pictures Film Club.

Homecrux: Interview with Donald Burt, Two-Time Oscar Winning Production Designer

Atish Sharma
November 9, 2023
HomeCrux

The 1970s was influenced by conceptualism and performance arts, and Donald Graham Burt, a university student who was then transitioning from boy to manhood was drawn to the conceptual movement. He found it as a way of expressing himself and relied on the art form as a medium to communicate his heart. It’s been more than forty years since Donald graduated but his approach to work and life has remained the same. I caught up with the two-time Academy Award winner to discuss art, design, films, and life in general.

Read the full profile

The Filmmakers Podcast: David Fincher’s Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, Editor Kirk Baxter, and Sound Designer Ren Kylce, on “The Killer”

Giles Alderson and Dom Lenoir
November 14, 2023
The Filmmakers Podcast

We have a bumper episode for you with not one, not two, but three Oscar-nominated or Oscar-winning filmmakers who work with David Fincher. We have Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, Editor Kirk Baxter, and Sound Designer Ren Kylce, who have all worked with Fincher multiple times. We talk about their latest collaboration, The Killer, which starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.

Listen to the podcast:

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Follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Support it on Patreon and access bonus episodes, industry survival guides, and feedback on your film projects!

‘The Killer’ Cinematographer Breaks Down the Methodical Opening Scene of Fincher’s Netflix Thriller

Jazz Tangcay
November 17, 2023
Variety

‘The Killer’ Cinematographer on the Opening Scene of David Fincher’s Thriller and Making Michael Fassbender’s ‘Nest’

Valerie Wu
November 18, 2023
Variety

How do you get into a killer’s head?

It starts with situating yourself within their perspective, as “The Killer” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt says.

That perspective was firmly established in the film’s opening sequence where subjectivity was key. The Parisian opening scene features the titular character — the assassin known only as “The Killer” played by Michael Fassbender who readies himself to kill a target in the building across from him.

Messerschmidt who sat down with Variety expressed that his familiarity and previous work with “The Killer” director David Fincher shortened the process of bringing the script to life. For Messerschmidt and Fincher, the goal was to hone in on the core themes of the story, and then start delving into the details from here.

Read the full profile

Clubhouse Conversations: “The Killer” Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, ASC

Wally Pfister, ASC
November 16, 2023
American Cinematographer

In this episode, cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, ASC is joined by interviewer Wally Pfister, ASC to discuss his work on The Killer — the neo-noir thriller from director David Fincher that follows an assassin on the run after a botched hit job.

In The Killer, the titular antihero misses one of his intended targets for the first time in his career, and is forced to flee and survive the inevitable consequences. The film marks the second Fincher-directed feature shot by Messerschmidt, following the 2020 film Mank, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

In this interview, Messerschmidt discusses the film’s Paris-inspired color palette; how he shot scenes “loosely” or “rigidly,” based on the main character’s degrees of control over varying situations; how he approached the lighting for a complex fight scene; how he incorporated planned postproduction decisions for lighting, flares and camera destabilization into his workflow; and what he learned about what an audience sees versus what it hears.

Erik Messerschmidt, ASC first emerged as a filmmaker when he was hired by Society member and mentor Mark Doering-Powell on several features as a grip and later gaffer. After Messerschmidt served as Society member Jeff Cronenweth‘s gaffer on the David Fincher-directed Gone Girl (2014), Cronenweth encouraged Fincher to hire Messerschmidt to photograph the Netflix series Mindhunter. Messerschmidt would reunite with Fincher for their 2020 feature Mank, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

Wally Pfister, ASC is a filmmaker whose cinematography credits include the Christopher Nolan features Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010). He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography for all of these works, winning one for Inception in 2011.

Watch the full conversation

Find all episodes in our ASC Clubhouse Conversations series

The Film Board: Erik Messerschmidt on The Killer

Justin Jaeger and Tommy Metz
November 14, 2023
The Film Board (TruStory FM)

This month, The Film Board is taking on David Fincher’s latest, The Killer. Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt sat down with Justin Jaeger and Tommy Metz III to talk about making the movie, how movies are made, and why David Fincher’s reputation in one important area is wildly overstated.

Listen to the interview:

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Listen to the full podcast on The Killer:

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“The Killer” Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt on Re-Teaming with David Fincher

Jack Giroux
November 14, 2023
The Credits (MPA)

David Fincher’s lean, mean The Killer is a film stripped down to its bare essentials, much like the work of its titular assassin. Based on a French graphic novel and adapted by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en), Fincher’s adaptation tells the story of an unnamed killer (Michael Fassbender) and the strict, self-imposed protocols of his trade. It’s the rules of the process that concern the titular character, not moral dilemmas, yet they become unbearably intertwined after he botches an assignment, and the fallout affects someone he loves.

On the surface, The Killer is a revenge story. Once the job goes terribly wrong and his partner, Magdala (Sophie Charlotte), suffers violent consequences, Fassbender’s nameless assassin breaks his own rules to track down those responsible. The Killer is a world of shadows, sociopaths, and the people they prey on. For Fassbender’s antihero, feeling like the prey is a novel concept, and he’s determined to do anything to realign the world so he fits back in as a proper predator.

Once again, the director collaborates with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, who has been Fincher’s DP on Mindhunter and Mank. With The Killer, Messerschmidt helps Fincher place the viewer into the cramped, icy perspective of the titular character with a grace that belies the chaos he creates. We spoke to Messerschmidt about his working relationship with Fincher and what it was like to bring The Killer to life.

Read the full interview

How Cate Adams’ Costume Design Helped David Fincher’s “The Killer” Disappear

Kelle Long
November 14, 2023
The Credits (MPA)

The coldest assassin is the kind you don’t see coming. In a lineup of globe-trotting sharpshooters from the movies, The Killer (Michael Fassbender) may be the most difficult to identify. On a crowded city street, he could be anyone—and that is by design. Costume designer Cate Adams developed the style for director David Fincher’s vision of a dangerous character you would hardly ever notice.

“Basically, he wears clothes that he can just find anywhere. Find in an airport, find in a convenience store. He doesn’t want to have to think about it,” she noted. “[Fincher] wanted a bucket hat instead of an umbrella to be water resistant for any kind of weather he was going to be in. He wanted a ‘lazy people notion.’ So, zippers or velcros or something pullover. Dad chinos. Anything he could have bought from an airport.” 

That mindset even extends to modern conveniences. Sometimes, the easiest way to shop today is with online delivery, and The Killer could plausibly wear pieces he purchased with the click of a button.

“One of the shirts he wears is a printed, short-sleeved Aloha shirt that was actually from Amazon. So, there are some pieces from Amazon,” Adams revealed. “It’s just very basic. Whatever he could find easily. He doesn’t take a lot of time to think about his clothes, which I really liked. He’s not in suits like James Bond. He just kind of looks weird, and you’re not really sure what he’s doing there. He just kind of looks normal and blends in.”

Read the full profile

How Liam Gallagher Inspired Michael Fassbender’s Style in ‘The Killer’

What’s the story, morning gory? Cate Adams, David Fincher’s costume designer, explains how Our Kid ended up on The Killer’s mood board.

Johnny Davis
November 10, 2023
Esquire

David Fincher’s new film The Killer stars Michael Fassbender as a ruthless hitman with a penchant for process, a drive for revenge and a high threshold for boredom. It’s a stylish movie, as you’d expect from the director of such gloomy noirs as Fight Club (1999), Zodiac (2007) and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011).

Illustrations by Richard Merritt
(Click to view in full resolution)

Except maybe when it comes to The Killer’s own wardrobe. As we see our protagonist move from Paris, to the Dominican Republic to New Orleans to Florida and finally New York, his wardrobe is an oddball mix of Hawaiian shirts, sensible slacks, anoraks and bucket hats.

Less John Wick more dad-at-Wickes. That, apparently, was the point.

To tell us more, Cate Adams, costume designer on The Killer, who previously worked with Fincher on the 2017 Netflix series Mindhunter, shared her mood board and inspirations. And helpfully provided actual sources for anyone wanting to ‘Get The Look’ – including Fassbender’s bucket hat, glasses, shirts and casual sneakers. Enjoy!

Read the full interview

Costume Designer Cate Adams

‘The Killer’ or Fashion Victim? Why Michael Fassbender’s Assassin Ended Up in Those Outfits

Jim Hemphill
November 10, 2023
IndieWire

Rock Star Liam Gallagher Inspired David Fincher’s The Killer

November 14, 2023
Below the Line