Leonard Zelig

Art of the Cut: “The Killer” with Kirk Baxter, ACE

Kirk Baxter and David Fincher enjoying some downtime at Miraval Studios.

Steve Hullfish, ACE
November 23, 2023
Art of the Cut (Boris FX)

Today on Art of the Cut, we’re talking with Kirk Baxter, ACE, about editing David Fincher’s latest: The Killer, which is now on Netflix.

Kirk’s been on Art of the Cut before – for Gone Girl and for Mank. He was nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and an ACE Eddie for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He won an Oscar, a BAFTA and an ACE Eddie for The Social Network. He was nominated for an ACE Eddie and won an Oscar for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Was nominated for an Emmy for House of Cards. Was nominated for an ACE Eddie for Gone Girl. Was nominated for an ACE Eddie for Mindhunter. Was nominated for an ACE Eddie for Mank and won an ACE Eddie for Love, Death and Robots.

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Follow Steve Hullfish, ACE, and the “Art of the Cut” podcast on Ex-Twitter. Buy his book “Art of the Cut. Conversations with Film and TV Editors” (‎Routledge, 2017).

Read the transcription of this interview:

The Killer

Kirk Baxter, ACE, director David Fincher’s long-time editor, talks about the power of believing in the process, pacing, and voiceover changes on the action-packed thriller.

Steve Hullfish, ACE
November 23, 2023
Art of the Cut (Boris FX)

The Editing Podcast: David Fincher’s Editor Reveals The Key To Make ANY Edit Work

Jordan Orme and Hayden Hillier-Smith
November 22, 2023
The Editing Podcast

Welcome to The Editing Podcast, where storytelling meets the art of post-production. In this riveting episode, hosts Hayden Hillier-Smith and Jordan Orme sit down with none other than the master editor behind the brilliance of David Fincher‘s cinematic wonders—Kirk Baxter.

We delve deep into Kirk’s illustrious career, spanning iconic films that have left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. From “The Social Network” to “Gone Girl” to his most recent thriller, “The Killer”, Kirk Baxter’s editorial prowess has shaped some of the most memorable moments in film history and has influenced the editing landscape forever.

In this episode, we dissect the mesmerizing opening sniper scene, a sequence that hooks audiences from the first frame. Kirk takes us behind the scenes, sharing the secrets of crafting tension and suspense that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. We also explore the intricacies of “The Killer‘s” visceral fight scene, a jaw-dropping display of editing finesse that elevates the film to a new level of intensity. Kirk Baxter’s insights into the creative decisions behind each cut and the rhythmic flow of the sequence offer a rare glimpse into the mind of a true editing maestro.

00:00: David Fincher’s Editor Kirk Baxter
01:00: Use Riverside
02:18: Why Hiding Blinks Creates Intention
05:05: The David Fincher Editing Style
09:50: Choreographing The Vicious Fight Scene in The Killer
12:29: Letting Sound & Music Guide Your Edit
13:57: Comment “Storyblocks is cool”
15:00: Hooking Your Audience In The First 5 Minutes
16:23: How To Cut With Intention
18:14: Breaking Down The Sniper Scene in The Killer
25:15: The Magic Of Vertical Sound Cutting
27:53: Breaking Down The “Cool Girl” Sequence in Gone Girl

Editor: ⁠ Tyson Pellegrini and Hayden Hillier-Smith
Executive Producer: Vishnu Vallabhaneni
Thumbnail: David Altizer

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JV Club: Cate Adams, Costume Designer of “The Killer”

Jackson Vickery
November 16, 2023
JV Club

On this episode, we welcome the costume designer of David Fincher’s The Killer, Cate Adams!

She rejoins Fincher after being an assistant costume designer on the Emmy-nominated series, Mindhunter.

The film stars Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.

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Artemple: The Killer VFX Breakdown

November 24, 2023
Artemple – Hollywood

David Fincher‘s Digital Effects Finesse in The Killer.

Watch the VFX Breakdown on YouTube

Visual Effects By: Artemple – Hollywood LLC

Visual Effects Supervisor: Wei Zheng
Digital Production Manager: Alexander Beale
Lead Digital Artists: Kyle Hause, Zach Miller
Digital Artists: Greg Szafranski, Anthony Davis, Yusei Uesugi, David Sudd, Derek Bird

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).

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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.

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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.

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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