Mouloud Achour
March 8, 2023
Clique TV (Canal+)
The immense director David Fincher granted us a 90-minute exclusive interview with Mouloud Achour. This new Clique X is a masterclass from the American genius about the secrets of his filmography that has become so emblematic over the years: Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network…
In English with subtitles in French.
The American Society of Cinematographers / American Cinematographer
March 2, 2023
Cinematographer Anastas Michos, ASC, GSC speaks with American Cinematographer‘s Tara Jenkins about his nominated work on Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities – “The Autopsy” (Netflix).
Michos is nominated in the Pilot, Limited Series, or Motion Picture Made For Television category (Category sponsored by ARRI).
“Don’t improvise. Trust no one.”
January 18, 2023
Netflix
After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal.
Starring Michael Fassbender, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Sophie Charlotte, and Tilda Swinton.
Director David Fincher reunites with Seven screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker.
Watch the full “SAVE THE DATES | 2023 Films Preview | Netflix Official Trailer”.
“He constantly was empowering me, which I think really affected the rest of my choices thereafter,” Mara said of her collaborations with Fincher.
Christian Zilko
January 8, 2023
IndieWire
It’s been a good two years for Rooney Mara. The Oscar nominee has received strong reviews for her back-to-back appearances in Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” and Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking,” but those films were preceded by a multi-year hiatus from acting. Fans of the actress have had to make peace with her sporadic work habits, given that she has become famously selective about the roles she’s willing to take.
In a new appearance on the LaunchLeft podcast, Mara explained that her selectivity is partially a result of an unpleasant on-set experience in the late 2000s that almost led her to quit acting.
Listen to the podcast:
Watch the interview:
Julio Gómez
Diciembre 30, 2022
Camera & Light
Durante el MicroSalón Madrid 2022 tuvimos la oportunidad de charlar con el invitado especial de la AEC, el director de fotografía Erik Messerschmidt ASC.
Os ofrecemos la conversación que mantuvo con Julio Gómez (al que hemos cortado porque no le pusimos micro) sobre sus trabajos con David Fincher (“Mank“, “Mindhunter“) y también trabajaos recientes en colaboración con Dana Gonzáles, como “Fargo” o “Legión“.
Entrevista filmada y montada por Juan Esparza Cevallos para Camera & Light.
Kenny McMillan
December 8, 2022
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.
In this episode, Kenny talks with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, about the new film “Devotion.” Erik has had a very interesting career including work on series such as “Mindhunter”, “Legion”, “Fargo” and as the DP of “Mank” for which he won an Oscar.
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Follow Kenny McMillan: Instagram, OWL BOT
Michael Fassbender: Road to Le Mans. Season 4, Episode 1
November2, 2022
Porsche (YouTube)
Follow the fourth season of Michael Fassbender’s journey to compete at the world’s ultimate motorsport event in this weekly YouTube series.
Starting at minute 2:14, there is a three-minute clip of Fassbender shooting car process scenes for The Killer with Fincher and his team on Sound Stage 2 at Triscenic Production Services. Andrew Kevin Walker, the screenwriter of the film, is also visiting.
The actor discusses working on the film during the off-season of his other passion, car racing:
I had the great privilege and honor of working with David Fincher on The Killer. I have the lead role in his film. To have a small window of opportunity to go to work and then to be able to work with one of the best filmmakers out there was just a dream come true.
It felt really good to go back to work. The film that I’ve done before was just before lockdown. But that was 2019, so I was definitely ready to go back to work.
With somebody of David’s caliber, it was a very special opportunity for me: quite a few locations over a five-month period.
What was interesting for me was taking the experience from what we’re doing on track and bringing it on set, especially with somebody like David who films very precisely and everything is dealing in fractions in terms of how you deliver things and movement and exactly how the frame is occupied.
You have to step on and deliver in a period of time. And David is looking for perfection and to do that within a take, however long that take is. It might be 40 seconds. It might be six minutes long, but within that time frame, you’re looking to do everything exactly as it should be.
You’ve taken on board all the notes and there’s plenty of them to digest, but in the moment when you’re trying to deliver those notes, you’re not thinking at all.
It was a real honor. I felt like I learned a lot from him. It was a full-on shoot, very long hours sometimes six-day weeks. So there was literally not enough time for me to get into car and do any training whatsoever.
So we wrapped up the film in L.A., end of March, and I got directly on a flight the next day and then came straight to the track.
Lighting for David Fincher & Michael Mann
Alex Ferrari
November 29, 2022
Indie Film Hustle
Award-winning director of photography Erik Messerschmidt, ASC has a natural eye for arresting and spellbinding images, thriving in a role that allows him to combine his love of art, craft and science. Recently, he lensed Devotion for director J.D. Dillard, based on the real-life story of a Black naval officer who befriends a white naval officer during the Korean War, with both becoming heroes for their selfless acts of bravery.
He also finished shooting Michael Mann’s biographical film Ferrari, starring Adam Driver, Shailene Woodley, and Penélope Cruz, and David Fincher’s The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.
Previously, Messerschmidt shot Fincher’s passion project Mank, chronicling the screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz’s turbulent journey to write Citizen Kane alongside Orson Welles. Messerschmidt’s meticulous and striking black and white recreation of the period’s aesthetic earned him the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, an ASC Award for Outstanding Cinematography in a Feature Film, a BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Release, a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Cinematography, as well as Best Cinematography award nominations from the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle, the Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics Choice, and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.
In addition, Messerschmidt co-lensed several episodes of the HBO Max original series Raised by Wolves from producer Ridley Scott. He also shot the first and second seasons of Fincher’s hit thriller series Mindhunter for Netflix, earning a 2020 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (one-hour) for episode 206.
With a background in the fine arts world, Messerschmidt honed his skills while working with such renowned cinematographers such as Dariusz Wolski, ASC, Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, Phedon Papamichael, ASC, Claudio Miranda, ASC, and Greig Fraser, ASC. Messerschmidt now lives in Los Angeles and is a member of IATSE Local 600. He is represented by DDA.
The Fincher Analyst 