Tag: Interview

“The Most Thrillingly Stupid Fix in the World”: David Fincher Tells Us How He Restored SE7EN in 4K

Original photo by Frank Ockenfels 3

Perri Nemiroff
January 2, 2025
Collider

It’s officially 2025, and that makes it the year of SE7EN’s 30th anniversary. Released in theaters on September 22, 1995, David Fincher’s second feature film enjoyed a successful run at the box office, scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing, a BAFTA nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and is still revered as top-tier cinema to this day.

The movie stars Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt as detectives. Freeman’s William Somerset is a respected veteran on the verge of retirement, while Pitt’s David Mills is a recently transferred detective with loads of confidence, but lots to learn from Somerset. The pair is assigned to investigate a string of elaborate and ruthless murders, each one connected to one of the seven deadly sins.

In celebration of SE7EN’s release on 4K UHD on January 7, and also its first-ever IMAX release on January 3, I got the opportunity to get a peek behind the curtain of the restoration process courtesy of Fincher himself. He broke down the factors he must consider when choosing which of his films to restore, where he draws the line when making changes to the original film during this restoration process, how he used AI to pull off “the most thrillingly stupid fix in the world,” and loads more. You can read about all of that and his thoughts on his Netflix projects getting physical releases in the interview below.

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‘Fight Club’ Sound Designer Ren Klyce Revisits A Classic

Jack Giroux
October 29, 2024
Immersive Media

Fight Club is a cinematic time machine. The film captured the essence of 1999, and, 25 years later, filmmaker David Fincher‘s vision for Chuck Palahniuk‘s novel continues to resonate, cranking up its unsettling relevance in a commercialized and violent world.

The movie hits just as hard today as it did back then.

Fight Club remains as overwhelming as the narrator’s life. The sound is relentless; the world almost never quiets down. It’s a controlled yet unrelenting experience for the eyes and ears. Much of the credit goes to sound designer Ren Klyce, who is once again working on the film, remastering it with Fincher & Co. Before attending MPSE Presents: Fight Club 25th Anniversary Screening, Klyce spoke with Immersive Media about his past and present experiences with Fight Club.

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Holt McCallany Answers Every Question We Have About “Fight Club”

By Roxana Hadadi, a Vulture TV critic who also covers film and pop culture
October 16, 2024
Vulture

Holt McCallany can talk for a long time about filmmaker David Fincher, with whom he’s worked three times. On the beloved crime-thriller series Mindhunter, which was unexpectedly canceled by Netflix after its second season. On Alien 3, the prison-planet sequel that was Fincher’s directorial debut and so plagued with interference from 20th Century Fox that Fincher wouldn’t talk about the movie for years. And on Fight Club, the cult classic that has been misinterpreted in bad faith since it came out 25 years ago. McCallany can mimic Fincher’s tone and jokingly recites his advice from years on set together. And he can just as vividly recall a grudge he’s harbored since the movie’s release.

“I remember sitting in a dentist’s office, and the TV happened to be The Rosie O’Donnell Show. She’s talking about Fight Club and she says, ‘Whatever you do, don’t see Fight Club. It’s demented, it’s depraved. I don’t think I’ve ever hated a movie more.’ I’m thinking, Gee, Rosie. Do we go on TV and bad-mouth your show? Is this really necessary, this kind of abuse?” McCallany says. “It angered me. I won’t pretend otherwise, because we were very proud of the film, we had worked very hard on the film, and we were very loyal to David.”

In Fincher’s adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, McCallany plays The Mechanic, a devoted follower of anarchist philosopher Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) whose unflinching glare and menacing physicality are always in service of Durden’s anti-consumerist ideas. McCallany exudes such certainty of self that once you notice the Mechanic cheering in the background of fight scenes, doing chores in The Narrator (Edward Norton) and Durden’s dilapidated mansion, or threatening to “take” a police commissioner’s testicles with a knife, you’ll keep looking for him, wondering what those wild eyes and set jaw are getting up to. The Mechanic tightened McCallany’s relationship with Fincher (who had previously wanted him for a small role in Se7en), and his melancholy-yet-adamant delivery of the film’s iconic mantra — “His name was Robert Paulson” — indicated how fully he could inhabit heavies with a heart.

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Frame & Reference Podcast: “Jim Henson: Idea Man” DPs Igor Martinovic and Vanja Černjul

Kenny McMillan
August 22, 2024
Frame & Reference

Frame & Reference is a conversation between Cinematographers hosted by Kenny McMillan. Each episode dives into the respective DP’s current and past work, as well as what influences and inspires them. These discussions are an entertaining and informative look into the world of making films through the lens of the people who shoot them.

Igor Martinovic (Man on Wire, House of Cards: S02, The Night Of) and Vanja Černjul (Orange Is the New Black: S01, Marco Polo, Crazy Rich Asians), who grew up together in Croatia, talk about their experiences working with David Fincher in House of Cards: S02 (Igor), shooting a big production like House of the Dragon (Vanja), and making together the documentary Jim Henson: Idea Man directed by Ron Howard.

Listen to the podcast:

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Lex Fridman Podcast: Kevin Spacey, Power, Controversy, Betrayal, Truth & Love in Film and Life

Lex Friedman
June 5, 2024
Lex Friedman Podcast

Kevin Spacey is a two-time Oscar-winning actor, who starred in Se7en, The Usual Suspects, American Beauty, and House of Cards, creating haunting performances of characters who often embody the dark side of human nature.

OUTLINE:

0:00:00 – Introduction
0:02:44 – Seven
0:06:24 – David Fincher
0:14:16 – Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman
0:19:46 – Acting
0:28:10 – Improve
0:36:54 – Al Pacino
0:40:38 – Jack Lemmon
0:49:55 – American Beauty
1:10:04 – Mortality
1:12:52 – Allegations
1:30:50 – House of Cards
1:49:25 – Jack Nicholson
1:52:27 – Mike Nichols
1:58:01 – Christopher Walken
2:05:08 – Father
2:14:00 – Future

Listen to the podcast:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify

Read the transcript

Prop Talk: “Finer Points of the Killer”, a Conversation with James & Kelsi Eddy

Chris Call & Michael Trudel
May 23, 2024
PMG (Property Masters Guild)

On this episode of Prop Talk, we sit down with PMG member and Local 44 Property Master James Eddy and his daughter, Local 44 member Assistant Property Master Kelsi Eddy, to discuss their relationship and experiences working for Directors like David Fincher in Mindhunter and The Killer.

Hosts: Chris Call, PMG Founding Member & Local 44 Property Master with Michael Trudel, PMG Secretary & Local 44 Property Master.

Watch the whole conversation on YouTube

Listen to the podcast version

Visit our website for more information on “Prop Talk” and The Property Masters Guild. Follow us on Instagram for more cool prop content!

MINDHUNTER Composer Jason Hill

Darek Thomas
May 20, 2024
Monday Morning Critic

Jason Hill is a multi-talented artist who has made a name for himself as an award-winning film composer, platinum-selling recording artist, record producer, and mixer.

Hill’s upcoming projects include; Apple TV+‘s drama series Dark Matter, which premieres May 8th; and season 4 of Showtime’s Couples Therapy, which premieres May 31st. Hill is also a music producer on the forthcoming Robbie Williams’ biopic, Better Man.

Notable film and television credits include David Fincher‘s psychological thriller film, Gone Girl; the Emmy-winning series, Mindhunter; Voir; Videosyncrasy; and his only animated short film, Bad Travelling (part of the Emmy-winning series Love, Death, and Robots); Elijah Bynum’s drama film, Magazine Dreams; Apple TV+’s Extrapolations; and City On Fire; Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened; The Confession Killer; and This Is A Robbery; and Philip O’Leary‘s film, The Buffalo Hunt.

In addition to his work in film/television scoring and production, Hill is also the lead singer, guitarist, and producer for the band LOUIS XIV along with the band Vicky Cryer (which contained members of bands The Killers, Muse, Julian Casablancas and the Voidz, Jet, and Jamiroquai). In 2011, he also joined The New York Dolls and played bass on several tours after producing the album Dancing Backward in High Heels, their final Dolls album. He has produced, written records or otherwise worked with such artists as The Killers, David Bowie, Robbie Williams, Jet, Sky Ferreira, Brandon Flowers, Ariel Pink, The Virgins, Macy Gray, Neon Trees, The Bronx, Nick Littlemore/Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun, Pnau), IDKHBTFM (I Don’t Know How But They Found Me), and more. Hill was also part of the seminal alt-country band, Convoy in his early years.

In 2015 Hill bought a building in Glendale that was originally built as a music studio in the mid-1970s and reimagined it into one of the world’s premier modern recording facilities, Department of Recording and Power. This iconic complex was once the birthplace of massive hits from The Beach Boys, James Brown, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, Joe Cocker, and many more, and is now reborn for the next generation of influential artists.

Listen to the podcast:

Apple Podcasts

David Fincher and Erik Messerschmidt, ASC Target V-Raptor to Shoot “The Killer”

April 10, 2024
RED Digital Cinema

In David Fincher’s Netflix darkly comic thriller The Killer, Michael Fassbender is the nameless assassin who goes on an international hunt for revenge while insisting to himself that it isn’t personal. 

The film marks the second Fincher-directed feature shot by Erik Messerschmidt ASC, following the Citizen Kane drama Mank, for which he won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

It is also the latest in a long line of Fincher movies since The Social Network to be shot on RED.

“There was not a conversation about using another camera system – there never is with David,” Messerschmidt says. “RED as a partner have been enormously collaborative with us in terms of helping us develop new ideas and solve problems. RED is absolutely creative partners to David’s process and certainly to me.”

Read the full profile

Film Secession: Darius Khondji Exhibition

Richard I. Suchenski
February 2024
Film Secession

The singularity of cinema lies in its unprecedented capacity to transform the energies of the other arts into an integrated audiovisual experience. This synthesis makes cinema particularly engaging, immersive, and resonant, although, precisely because the constituent elements are organically fused together, it can easily be taken for granted. Film Secession creates new ways of exploring the ideas and artistic currents that have shaped different filmmakers, periods, and art forms. Subscribers will discover nonlinear pathways through the histories of the arts, be able to watch rare films provided by the world’s preeminent studios, production companies, and archives, and have special access to events held worldwide.

The Vienna Secession is a key inspiration. Created at the very moment of cinema’s emergence (1897-1905), its motto was, “To every age its art, to every art its freedom.” By fostering deeper understanding of our cinematic heritage and revitalizing our shared creative legacies, Film Secession will similarly provide opportunities to reimagine the future.

Join and support Film Secession

Darius Khondji is one of the most acclaimed and influential cinematographers working today. This exhibition explores Khondji’s work – especially his approach to light, color, space, and framing – and the larger question of the role of the cinematographer as a shaping agent in the overall style of a film.

Explore the Darius Khondji virtual exhibition

Innovative Lives: Beverly Wood

March 8, 2023
The Lemelson Center

Meet Beverly Wood, an innovator in color technologies for major motion pictures. She began working as an analytical chemist in the early 1980s before moving from the east coast of the U.S. to the west coast—a move which greatly influenced the trajectory her work. Her specialized knowledge of chemistry, engineering, and filmmaking led to her award-winning contributions to the creation and development of Color Contrast Enhancement (CCE) and Adjustable Contrast Enhancement (ACE) motion picture processes.

During this live online interview, you will be inspired by the story of Wood’s career, helping cinematographers, like Darius Khondji and Roger Deakins, to achieve their visual goals, and guiding them through the transition from chemical to digital technology, which changed how we see films today.

Learn more about Beverly Wood and the CCE process on Seven