Rowley's Word

I’ve been a  fan of David Fincher’s work ever since I saw “The Game” in 1997.   The picture  stayed with me for days after seeing it.  I think the sheer exhaustion I felt in my lungs from watching what Michael Douglas’ character experienced is what did it.

I met David for the first time at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival two weeks ago. With all the success of “The Curious Case of Benjaming Button” it made sense that the SSIB folks named him their Director in Residence for 2009.  

Taraji P. Henson said to me, “You can always tell a Fincher film.”

“On a film that that could have been so fantasy-like, he was the director to make it real and believable,” said Henson. ” It would have been quite hard for the audience to go on that journey if it was too fantasy and fiction, and I think that’s why this film ["The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"]has made such an impact.”

I must say that for a man being honored for the brilliance of his work,  David was overwhelmingly modest, pleasantly unassuming and somewhat shy.  In fact, I was surprised at how much his demeanor seemed to deeply contrast with the dark nature of his most famous films, “Seven,” “Fight Club” and “Zodiac.”  (I haven’t seen “Benjamin Button” yet.  It’s up 13 Academy Award nominations, I know I know, but with all the mixed reviews I’ve read and heard, I think I’m going to have to wait until it’s released on DVD.  If I’m going to sit through three hours of something, my sofa needs to be involved.) 

Here’s a little snippet of David and me on the red carpet.  Once again, my minoHD received high praise.

Later during the arrival line, Jake Gyllenhaal, the all-American boy himself, shared some interesting insight with me about David’s films. 

Jake Gyllenhaal on David Fincher’s directing style: 

“This is an odd thing, but I remember watching his movies before I worked with him, and I thought ‘man, as someone who works on movies, extras in movies, you always can spot them as  extras.’  But in David’s movies they always look like real people because there’s just something about the tone of how he makes the set that just feels real. So even the people who aren’t really acting in the scenes, but are in the background and moving around, everything feels real. You rarely find that in other people’s movies, and I always felt that way about them. That’s a strange way of putting it, but that’s how I feel.”

Thanks, Jake!  I have the intense urge to go rent a Fincher flick right now just so I can check out the extras. 

I’ll report back when I’m finished.