Matt Damon often visits his friend Ben Affleck’s movie sets, just to see him perform in the role. However, one such ‘take your friend to workplace’ visit to the Gone Girl sets did not go well for both Affleck and Damon. The Jason Bourne actor especially felt bad to witness his friend suffer the consequences of a ‘perfect’ work environment imposed by director David Fincher.
Fincher, an undoubtedly talented filmmaker, was in one of his moods that day, as one little mistake by a background artist irritated him to the core. Damon, who was earlier supposed to work on a film with Fincher, was extremely bothered by the director’s perfectionism.
Matt Damon Was Uncomfortable With David Fincher’s Behavior On Set
Matt Damon arrived at the Gone Girl set expecting to be inspired by Ben Affleck‘s brilliant acting, but his experience was made less than inspiring by director David Fincher. The director, known for films like Fight Club, Zodiac, and most recently The Killer, strives for perfectionism and attention to detail in his films. However, these traits can sometimes border on insane levels.
The Martian actor shared his experience on Bill Simmons’ podcast, recalling the day when he visited the set. Damon revealed that Fincher was not having it for a background artist who ruined his shot. The Social Network director and Damon were sitting behind the monitor as Affleck and Rosamund Pike were doing a scene in a bookstore.
Finch noticed the background actor walking unnaturally in the scene and became visibly agitated. The Departed actor had the headphones on and he could hear Fincher cursing the actor throughout the scene. Damon shared with Bill Simmons:
“I’m behind him and I’ve got headphones on so I can hear the scene. Ben and Rosamund enter the bookstore and the scene’s about to start, but Fincher is already monologuing. He’s going: ‘Who the f**k walks like that?’ It was the background artist. It just instantly caught his eye, like: ‘What the f**k was that? Who the f**k walks like that? Nobody walks like that’.”
Affleck and Pike, unaware of this situation, were acting their hearts out. Damon instantly knew the take was unusable and felt really bad for the Batman v Superman actor. While he agreed that the Seven director identified the right mistake, Damon couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with the way this little mistake ruined an otherwise beautiful shot for the director.
David Fincher Spoke Out Against The Term ‘Perfectionism’
While Matt Damon’s story and numerous other accounts labeled David Fincher as a perfectionist, the director felt the word was an inaccurate description for him. While talking to the MovieMaker magazine, Fincher shared that perfectionism was a term mostly used by lazy people. He argued that his aim was not to achieve perfection but to portray the imperfections in the right way. Fincher told MovieMaker:
“I think that ‘perfectionism’ is a term that’s thrown about mostly by people who are lazy. We’re not trying to do something perfect. You know, perfect is the commercial. You’re looking for stuff to be imperfect in exactly the right way. So what’s important is to be able to articulate what perfect would be, and then avoid it at all costs.”
While The Game director has a valid point, fans may need to find another word to describe his precise filmmaking characterized by almost flawless performances and controlled camera movements. David Fincher’s thrillers always put actors and audiences high on emotions and it’s no wonder that the director feels it too while filming. Gone Girl is now available for streaming on Max.
