Three years after Fight Club, David Fincher decided to create a “small movie” that steered him heavily back into suspense thriller territory. Starring Jodie Foster, Panic Room situated itself in a single house, with a terrified mother and daughter, as they worked to outwit and outlast a gang of thieves hell-bent on capturing the lost money from the previous owner. Despite the supposedly small scale, your hosts explore how Fincher pushed the envelop with effects, camerawork, and performance to create a memorable and entertaining film that helped refine his techniques afterward.

There was one film in 1999 that everyone was waiting for from George Lucas, a surprise hit that redefined Keanu’s career, and an Austin Powers sequel that made buckets of money. But David Fincher left his
own indelible mark on the times as he re-teamed with Brad Pitt to deliver the screen version of Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. Teaming also with Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter, join the hosts as they speak to what Fight Club means to them, what it seemed to mean to the world at the time, and what they think of that last shot.

After Se7en, David Fincher transitioned to a more intimate tale told on a grand scale. The Game found its way to audiences with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn filling the lead roles, and Fincher’s growing comfort with spectacle and misdirection put to full use. Regarded by many as somewhat disappointing after the bravura Se7en, discover the deep resonance that one of the hosts has with the film and the noticeable earmarks of Fincher’s trajectory in playing with expectation and fantasy.

Working past the debacle that was the production of Alien 3, David Fincher quickly found his way to a film that would serve as his calling card for years afterward. Se7en gave him the chance to tell a story outside the shackles of studio interference, uniting him with the talents of Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey. They created a film that shocked audiences, stunned critics, and created a fanbase that follows him to this day.

After years in the music video industry, David Fincher was handed the break of a lifetime to the direct the third installment in the landmark Alien franchise. The first two defined genre filmmaking and Fincher found himself challenged by second-guessing executives, an Oscar-nominated star, and numerous production challenges. The film was not received warmly by critics or fans. We discuss the merits of this maligned sequel, and whether the “workprint version” released in 2003 as a direct-to-disc special edition is more worthy of recognition as the work of David Fincher.

In our first episode exploring David Fincher's directorial works, we discuss his music videos. We each pick our absolute favorites and where we see his distinct style in them. We start the episode with why we love the works of this director.