David Fincher Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Well, it's just about 'All Hallows Eve' and if you're anything like me, then you have already depleted your candy supply and you've been watching as many horror movies as you can get your hands on. And as I've watched everything from The Wolf Man to 13 Ghosts I've been thinking how few movies actually scare me -- the rise of torture porn was nauseating, sure, but scary? Not really. Over at Den of Geek they've compiled a list of movies that scare them and it has inspired me to think about what flicks have given me the honest to goodness heebie-jeebies over the years.

Usually when I watch horror, it's with an eye for comedy and usually the lamer the film, the better. But occasionally there's a film that actually does what it's supposed to: scare the crap out of me. But as much as I tried to find a common denominator for what scares me on the big screen, I came up empty. In fact, there's never really any way to tell just what is going to hit the right buttons when it comes to horror, but I guess that's what makes it so much fun.

After the jump: 5 movies that guarantee me a 'bad night's sleep'...

I'll always remember David Fincher's Se7en for a few different reasons (I even had to write an essay once about the opening credits) but the number one reason this film sticks in my brain is John Doe. Now usually when it comes to on-screen villains, you tend to remember the big personalities. In the words of Buffy, "strait up, black hat, tied to the train tracks, soon my electro-ray will destroy Metropolis," types. But as scary as the big bad wolf can be, sometimes the evil you never see coming is the one that becomes the stuff of nightmares.

In Fincher's thriller about a serial killer with a penchant for Dante and the wrath of god, we don't even get to see the bad guy until about half way through the movie. But when Doe (played to perfection by Kevin Spacey) calmly walks into the police station to hand himself over, you know that this is not your run of the mill psycho. Recently I took a look at some movie villains that manage to win you over with a little charm and charisma, and Doe definitely isn't one of those guys. He's the kind of guy you would cross the street to avoid, but only if you got to know him -- and that's what makes him scary, he is completely average. Instead of letting the audience get used to the idea of him, we only see his handiwork (as gruesome as it may be), and just like Mills (Brad Pitt) and Somerset (Morgan Freeman), we are just witnesses to the aftermath.

After the jump; Why Doe still scares the crap out of me, and his horrible plan is made complete...

Nearly two months ago, a homemade bomb exploded outside a Starbucks coffee shop in Manhattan, causing property damage but not injuring anyone. The bomber was finally arrested yesterday, and now the police are saying that the alleged teenage bomber "was launching his own 'Project Mayhem,'" reports The New York Times, "referring to a plan hatched by the protagonist of Fight Club, played by Brad Pitt, to sabotage corporations by destroying property."

The accused, 17-year-old, Kyle Shaw, "had started an underground fight club modeled on the one in the film, [Police Commissioner Raymond W.] Kelly said, and had bragged to friends that he was behind the bombing." A search of Shaw's home turned up news clippings about the explosion, a box of sparklers -- the bomb was reportedly constructed from fireworks explosives, a plastic bottle, and electrical tape -- and a DVD of Fight Club. A former high school classmate remembers that Shaw "wanted to watch the movie in our English class in the 11th grade. We were discussing existentialism in class, and he suggested we watch the movie as an example. We ended up watching I Heart Huckabees."

Based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk and directed by David Fincher, the 1999 film also starred Edward Norton. It would be easy to say that if Shaw was really a fan, he should have remembered the first and second rules of Fight Club. But even before that, he should have remembered: it's only a movie.

Prehistoric caveman or action hero? As our own Jenni Miller recently posted, David Fincher is in talks to direct The Social Network (AKA "The Facebook Movie"). Naturally enough, speculation has begun on who could play Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. CNET News was told by "an entertainment industry source" that Michael Cera and Shia LaBeouf are among the top choices.

But they're on the top of the list for just about any movie featuring a 20-something lead, aren't they? Would either one be suited for the role? The red hot LaBeouf would seem the more logical choice ... except that he's already set for Money Never Sleeps (AKA Wall Street 2) and has The Associate (based on John Grisham's latest best seller) in development. One's about the financial industry, the other takes place in the legal system; a third movie set in the business world in the next couple of years might prematurely age his star.

Cera might be the better choice. Even though Year One flopped, he was the second banana and doesn't seem to have suffered from the box office fallout. The upcoming Youth in Revolt and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World could cement his appeal, setting him up for a dramatic turn with a very talented director. I'm curious to see if he can expand beyond his usual shtick; at the same time, his comic chops could come in handy, depending on Aaron Sorkin's script.

Would you rather see Michael Cera or Shia LaBeouf as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg? If not them, then who?

[via The Playlist]

It's looking very likely that David Fincher will be joining a social network soon. Make that The Social Network, a movie based on a script written by The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin about Facebook.

Just like in those good old dot com days, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg hatched the site in his dorm room in 2004, which now boasts over 200 million users. The Social Network will follow the site from its, uh, humble Harvard beginnings to marketing buzzword. By the way, Zuckerberg's net worth is $1.5 billion, according to Forbes' list of the world's billionaires in 2008.

IMDb lists the project as on track for 2011, and Variety says the team is hoping "to begin production later this year."

The real questions are whether or not the project will tackle some of the issues looming over Facebook, such as your right to privacy and who owns the information you upload to Facebook, and if the idea and/or code was Zuckerberg's to begin with.

Next up: Scorsese will direct a film based on the Tweets of Courtney Love.

I couldn't begin to describe how excited I was yesterday when I had to have my iPhone replaced at the Apple store due to it breaking a month after I bought it only to learn that Apple has just launched a new iPhone to screw with folks who recently bought the old one. Don't you love those guys? To coincide with the latest iPhone 3GS (which I heard features an app that will actually babysit your kids and one that will take your girlfriend to a boring chick flick -- but don't quote me on that), Apple has launched a new marketing campaign beginning with this commercial from director David Fincher, who's apparently a pretty big mac junkie.

To be quite honest, I was hoping for colorful dancing set to some sort of quirky hipster tune, but instead what we have here is some dude breaking in to iPhone headquarters (or some such place) in order to test out the phone's new video function. It's not exactly brilliant, but Fincher directed it alongside his Fight Club cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth. Will this be the first of a set of related ads? Guess we'll see.

Watch the commercial after the jump

Film School Rejects is reporting that Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has spilled some major beans on the remake of Heavy Metal, the totally over-the-top 1981 sci-fi flick full of boobies, violence, and, some might say, awesomeness.

Eastman wrote Heavy Metal 2000, which stars former Penthouse Pet Julie Strain, who is also, incidentally, Eastman's ex-wife. She also voiced Heavy Metal 2000 and starred in the Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 video game. Eastman told FSR,

"I've got breaking news that Fincher and James Cameron are going to be co-executive Producers on the film. Fincher will direct one. Cameron will direct one. Zack Snyder is going to direct one and Gore Verbinski is going to. Mark Osborne and Jack Black from Tenacious D are going to do a comedy segment for the film. Three other directors have agreed but we haven't signed them, but they're equally as jaw-dropping. So we're on cloud nine to be working with such an amazing amount of talent."

Will Heavy Metal benefit from a high-tech remake? Or was part of its appeal the cheesiness of the original? More importantly, will Dio have a part in the Tenacious D segment?

Many people think that a movie needs to avoid an R-rating in order to become a blockbuster. Most recent top earners have followed that dictum, with only four R-rated movies among last year's top 25 at the box office. Zack Snyder's 300 was a defiant exception in 2007, earning more than $456 million worldwide, and clearing the way for Snyder's R-rated dream project, Watchmen. Its content advisory warns / promises: "Strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language." Can such an R-rated superhero movie become a blockbuster today, especially in the wake of PG-13 smashes like The Dark Knight and Iron Man?

If the history of the movies has taught us anything, it's that people will flock to see films that they really, really want to see, no matter the rating. As evidence, here are seven R-rated films with strong, adult content that may have made some folks blanch -- but it didn't keep the flicks from becoming blockbusters.

Basic Instinct
Paul Verhoeven's thriller has it all: sex, violence, profanity, and very adult themes. The most notorious shot features Sharon Stone's, er, legs, but the flick also includes male and female nudity, intense sex scenes, stabbing, blood spattering, dozens of profanities, and relentless sexual innuendos. But it's not just a sensationalist button-pusher. Indeed, Basic Instinct lives up to its title in its dogged, sometimes earnest exploration of the basest desires known to man or woman. It may have tittilated, but it also made you think long after the credits rolled.