- Se7en (1995) (Editor)
- Carnivàle (2003)
- Deadwood (2004)
- Game of Thrones (2011)
- The Americans (2013)
- The Leftovers (Season 2) (2015)
In Studio Partners:
Design: Elastic
Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors
VFX: a52
Still Image: Joe LaMattina
Author: Leonard Zelig
The One Thing Game of Thrones, Westworld, and The Crown Have in Common
Along with shows including American Gods, The Defenders, True Detective, and more, they’ve all got gorgeous, elaborate opening credits designed by Elastic.
By Nick Romano
August 24, 2017
Vanity Fair, Hollywood
How do you set the tone for the sprawling world of Game of Thrones in just under 120 seconds? Ask Angus Wall. For the past six years, the designer—who created the HBO drama’s striking main-title sequence—has been devising new bits of opening animation for Thrones to coincide with the drama’s plot progression. Viewers know within the first two minutes of an episode whether they’re heading to Winterfell, King’s Landing, or beyond the Wall—where the night is truly dark and full of terrors. This year, the show’s plot has taken fans to new and long-absent locations including Dragonstone, Oldtown (where Sam studies to be a maester), and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, which means the sequence itself has also had to evolve.
Greetings from Trish
Thanks to Torrance K
Fincher is wearing a “Psycho” themed T-shirt from Soderbergh’s
Spotted by Joe Frady, our cool-director fashion expert.
A Tribute to Punching in Movies (video essay)
Patrick (H) Willems (YouTube)
Published on Aug 10, 2017
Mondo + Alamo Drafthouse presents: Fight Club
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the American cinema, drinks, and dinner chain, and Mondo are teaming up for a special screening of Fight Club, the “bone-bruisingly hilarious adaptation of author Chuck Palahniuk’s Western culture takedown“, on September 19th in 22 cities: Find & Buy Tickets
One of the most revered films of the last two decades, FIGHT CLUB is much more than an angry screed against consumerism and complacency. Packed with ideas straight from the grimiest depths — basement slugfests, support group tourism, subliminal pornography — it’s also a guide to better living (and what you can do with excess human fat).
And, because clothes really define us as people, we’re happy to tell you that for a limited time, each ticket purchase includes an exclusive “SLIDE” FIGHT CLUB t-shirt designed by Sonny Day / WBYK and produced by Mondo.
Not enough? Mondo and artist Alan Hynes have created an educational and hopefully legal pint glass that you can purchase only with your ticket to FIGHT CLUB. It’ll look great smashed over someone’s cranium or perfectly perched on your perfect Fruktbar coffee table.
The 50 Best Films of the ’90s, From ‘Pulp Fiction’ to ‘Groundhog Day’
The best films of the 1990s came from filmmakers who not only had unique visions but who opened new doors to the endless possibilities of cinematic storytelling.
By Chris O’Falt, Zack Sharf, Michael Nordine, Kate Erbland, Steve Greene, David Ehrlich, Jamie Righetti, Graham Winfrey
Jul 14, 2017
IndieWire
The ’90s were a moment of tremendous upheaval in international cinema. Here in America, the revolt against Hollywood’s bland output a decade earlier had resulted in a small window in which American independent cinema became commercially viable and started seeping into more mainstream fare. Young and exciting directors, most of whom are now A-listers, were given resources and able to make multiple films. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s big commercial films were in the hands of directors like Spielberg, Bigelow, Verhoeven, Woo and De Palma, as franchises continued to be invented rather than recycled.
On the international scene, the Iranian New Wave unloaded a treasure trove of new films, the great run of Hong Kong cinema was peaking and maturing, three great auteurs completely upended how films in Taiwan were made, and a pair of Danish directors with a dogma wanted to change how every film was made.
More than anything, what defined the decade was the emergence of individual filmmakers who not only had unique visions – every decade has its great auteurs – but ones who opened new doors to the endless possibilities of cinematic storytelling. Directors like Abbas Kiarostami, Wong Kar-Wai, David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino reinvented cinema on their own terms and gained recognition as superstars for doing so, each winning major prizes at Cannes. Meanwhile, landmark films like “Hoop Dreams,” “The Celebration,” “Toy Story” and “The Matrix” pointed to ways technology could be used to make films in a different way.
Needless to say, no cinephile’s knowledge base is complete without a robust awareness of the 20th century’s final decade, and these 50 titles represent our sense of the most essential ones.
How Rooney Mara Became One of the Most Exciting Actresses Working Today
Rooney Mara is addicted to filmmaking vision, and it’s resulted in one of the most surprising young careers Hollywood has right now.
Zack Sharf
Jul 7, 2017
IndieWire
It’s the “A Ghost Story” scene critics can’t stop talking about. Still grieving from the loss of her husband, the widow M returns home and consumes an entire vegan chocolate pie in one sitting. David Lowery captures the moment in a nearly four-minute long take, but the stillness of the camera makes it feel like an eternity. It’s up to Rooney Mara to fill the frame with a sense of hopelessness that anyone who’s been through the grieving process can relate to. She does so with the commitment and the sensitive gusto that has defined a majority of her 12 years as an actress.
Mara first began acting as an extra in movies starring her sister, Kate, before landing television supporting roles on shows like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Women’s Murder Club” and “ER.” Now she’s one of the most exciting film stars in the business, with one of the year’s best films in select theaters (read IndieWire’s A review here) and a potential Oscar contender hitting awards season on November 24 (“Mary Magdalene”). Her ascension to becoming an indie film darling has been marked by careful decision-making, and it all started with a shot from Hollywood’s most demanding auteur.
With “A Ghost Story” now playing, it’s become increasingly clear Rooney Mara will never stop surprising when it comes to her performances. Here’s how she made it happen.
Nev Pierce sits down with David Fincher to discuss Netflix’s Mindhunter
Mindhunter News: Twitter / Facebook
August 12, 2017
Nev Pierce sits down with David Fincher one more time to discuss Netflix‘s Mindhunter. The September issue of Empire Magazine offers a “First Look” at the conversation.
Click to enlarge
Previous profiles and interviews with Fincher by Pierce at nevpierce.com
The 20 Best Crime Films of the 21st Century, From ‘Memento’ to ‘Zodiac’
By Chris O’Falt, Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich, Zack Sharf, Jamie Righetti, Michael Nordine, Steve Greene, Jude Dry
Aug 11, 2017
IndieWire
No genre illustrates the evolution of cinema better than the crime film. As recently as the ’90s, Hollywood regularly released stories of cops-and-robber showdowns and mystery-thrillers based on best-selling novels — but as the middle class continues to disappear from Hollywood films, smart crime stories moved to television (see: “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Night Of,” et. al.).
Outside the studios, there is a longstanding tradition – from the B-movies to the Coen brothers – of new directors showcasing their filmmaking chops with dark, stylish, and intense crime sagas. A surge of new filmmakers in the ’90s brought fresh interpretations to the genre, from the pastiche of “Reservoir Dogs” to the unnerving realism in “Boyz n the Hood.”
These days, many of the best contemporary directors — including Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Mann, the Coens, Park Chan-wook and Spike Lee – still love the genre, which has created some of their best work. This list surveys many of those recent highlights.
‘Gone Girl’ and the Inverted American Dream
Sheryl Oh
July 5, 2017
Film School Rejects
“What’s the point of being together if you’re not the happiest?”
TO CELEBRATE AMERICA, WE’RE TAKING THIS ENTIRE WEEK TO LOOK AT HOW CINEMA HAS EXPLORED THE AMERICAN DREAM. FOR MORE, CLICK HERE.
Gone Girl is a fascinating case study of the American Dream, and most of that stems from Amy Elliott Dunne (played by Rosamund Pike). I don’t quite know how to describe her or even label her – is she an antihero or is she an outright villain? I suppose that depends on whose side you’re on – Amy’s or her husband, Nick’s (Ben Affleck). And even then, the pendulum of opinion can swing constantly.
The Fincher Analyst 