The next day, a screening of Zodiac was followed by a discussion with the director about the film and his career, “David Fincher par David Fincher, une leçon de cinéma” (“David Fincher by David Fincher, a lesson in cinema”).
Frédéric Bonnaud, Director of the Cinémathèque française Anaïs Duchet, Interpreter October 13, 2023 Cinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française (French Cinematheque) hosted a David Fincher Retrospective from October 13 to 22, 2023, in Paris (France).
Supported by Netflix, Patron of the Cinémathèque, it opened with a preview screening of The Killer followed by a Q&A with Director David Fincher, and Director of Photography Erik Messerschmidt, ASC.
Visual Effects Supervisor: James Pastorius Visual Effects Producer: Brice Liesveld 2D Animation: Kevin Konitsch, Henry Borrasso, H Haden Hammond 3D Animation: Tim Turner, Rusty Ippolito, Andrew Romatz, Luke A. Ewing, Joseph Chiechi, Alvaro Segura, Mike Bettinardi, Mike DuPree
Join Mix’s Jennifer Walden as she speaks with the audio pros behind director David Fincher’s action thriller, ‘The Killer.’ Discussing their work on the film are:
Ren Klyce, Sound Designer, Re-recording Mixer, and Supervising Sound Editor
From his earliest days working for ILM on Return of the Jedi; to his countless music videos for stars like Madonna, Michael Jackson, and The Rolling Stones; to his groundbreaking big-screen adaptations, there’s no one with an eye quite like David Fincher. But how does he do it (apart from doing over 100 takes)? Through his use of razor-sharp precision; his omniscient and unencumbered camerawork; his pitch-black comedy; and the recognition that deep down people are perverts.
Films Included: The Social Network (2010), Alien3 (1992), SE7EN (1995), Zodiac (2007), Mank (2020), Panic Room (2002), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Gone Girl (2014), The Game (1997), Fight Club (1999), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
David Fincher’s films have often been analyzed for their visual style – the exacting cinematography, precise editing, muted color palette, and meticulous construction of the frame. But with the release of The Killer, people are starting to take note of another aspect – his evocative use of SOUND. However, you can’t really discuss the sonic landscape of a Fincher film without talking about his longest creative collaborator – sound designer Ren Klyce. From Se7en to The Killer, and every project in between, Klyce’s mixes have provided a crucial aural backdrop, frequently blurring the line between sound and music. They both build a textural ambience that sets the tone of the film while also allowing us to access the subjectivity of the characters on screen. So let’s explore how a David Fincher film sounds.
CHAPTERS:
0:00: Intro 1:33: Se7en & Ren Klyce 2:43: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 5:01: Zodiac & Musique Concrète 8:15: Role as Re-recording Mixer 10:33: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross 11:43: The Social Network & Expressionistic Sound
You wouldn’t think that Ren Klycewould have a whole lot more to learn about his job as a sound professional on movies. He’s been at it for nearly 30 years, going back to “Se7en” in 1995 and presiding as director David Fincher‘s designated sound guy ever since. He’s earned nine Academy Award nominations for his sonic work, including on Fincher’s “Fight Club,” “The Social Network,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “Mank.” And yet while discussing his latest collaboration with his favorite director, Netflix‘s “The Killer,” he asserts, “I learned a lot on this film. I think I learn every time. I always think, ‘Oh, I’m finally figuring out how to do my job.’ You get a new project and you realize that you’re learning a whole new set of skills. I like the idea that there’s still sort of a beginner mentality to the approach, and I think that’s actually a healthy way to do any type of work, honestly.”
In their Actors on Actors conversation ‘Shame’ costars Carey Mulligan (‘Maestro‘) and Michael Fassbender (‘The Killer‘) reminisce on working with Steve McQueen and talk about the directors they worked with on their current projects, David Fincher and Bradley Cooper.
VarietyActors on Actors presented by AIR from Amazon Studios.
From ‘Shame’ to Netflix Films: Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan on Rejection and Being So in Character You Act Without Thinking
In “Maestro” and “The Killer,” the characters played by Carey Mulligan and Michael Fassbender exist in different worlds. Mulligan’s Felicia Montealegre Bernstein, an up-and-coming actress who becomes conductor Leonard Bernstein’s wife and soul mate, breathes rarefied air among East Coast artists from the 1950s through the ’70s. Fassbender’s tightly coiled, mostly silent assassin, meanwhile, travels the world seeking vengeance, while keeping his focus by doing push-ups on his fingertips.
Twelve years ago, though, Fassbender and Mulligan inhabited the same toxic universe, as dysfunctional siblings in 2011’s “Shame.” The film was writer-director Steve McQueen’s bleak, sexually explicit examination of sex addiction through the eyes of Fassbender’s character, Brandon, a New York City executive brought low by his self-destructive desires. Mulligan’s Sissy, a lounge singer, was sorrowful and also boundary-less.
The Fincher Analyst 