David Fincher is known to be one of the best directors in Hollywood with his career mainly centered around psychological thrillers. With movies like Se7en, The Fight Club, and Zodiac the director has repeatedly proved himself to be a legend among cinema lovers.
But time and again, he is also referred to as one of the most difficult to work with. One of the most interesting cases of this scenario is the Robert Downey Jr. starrer Zodiac, where many of the co-stars were irritated by Fincher’s quest for perfection.
The 2007 film Zodiac is based on the highly infamous Zodiac Killer who is responsible for many serial killings in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970s. The movie starred Robert Downey Jr, alongside his MCU co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo.
However, the presence of so many big personalities also caused certain troubles when Gyllenhaal complained that it was too difficult to work with Fincher.
What happened between Jake Gyllenhaal and David Fincher?
The Zodiac is held as one of the best films in the genre and has appeared in uncountable top ten lists. However, the movie also ensured that Jake Gyllenhaal and David Fincher would surely think twice before collaborating on another project. Notorious for uncountable takes to ensure perfection, the director often disappointed many stars. Gyllenhaal was also one of those who played the role of cartoonist Robert Graysmith in the Robert Downey Jr. movie.
The feud between the Mysterio star and The Social Network director started when Jake Gyllenhaal spoke against the latter in a conversation with The New York Times. He stated that the director “paints with people” and it is “tough to be a color”. David Fincher also responded to Gyllenhaal’s comments by saying that the Spider-Man: Far From Home star was very distracted at that time.
“Jake was in the unenviable position of being very young and having a lot of people vie for his attention, while working for someone who does not allow you to take a day off. I believe you have to have everything out of your peripheral vision…I don’t think he’d ever been asked to concentrate on minutiae, and I think he was very distracted.”
David Fincher added that Robert Downey Jr.’s co-star was also distracted by his then-release Jarhead. Several agents and managers always flocked around him for magazine covers and other stuff that made him distracted from the project he was working on.
“He was being nibbled to death by ducks, and not particularly smart ducks. They got in his vision, and it was hard for him to hit the fastball.”
But the 61-year-old director was sure to admit that the tensions decreased and the actor even apologized to him by the end of the movie. He also appeared to understand the frequent problems that may arise in the actors’ lives but as a man devoted to the art, he couldn’t afford to let it affect his work.
Robert Downey Jr. supported David Fincher during Zodiac
Not only Jake Gyllenhaal but the Mank actor Gary Oldman also called out David Fincher for his long arduous retakes. But even after so many disappointed ones, there was someone who didn’t feel anything wrong. It was Robert Downey Jr. who stood in support of the director’s technique.
The Iron Man fame said to Vanity Fair that the actors can learn how durable they are by working with the Gone Girl director.
“Working with David Fincher, you will learn that you’re more durable than you thought. A scene can devolve into where it just feels really perfunctory and you’re kind of almost on automatonic mode.”
According to Robert Downey Jr., nothing should matter because the craft should be done properly. He also shared a funny anecdote about how the whole unit was frustrated when the director wasn’t satisfied even after 40 to 50 takes. When he called Downey Jr. to check them, he advised for another take. Undoubtedly, everyone on the set was disappointed in him as well. But it can’t be denied that this is only the reason that makes Fincher different from most other filmmakers.
Zodiac can be streamed on Paramount+.
Source: The New York Times | Vanity Fair
