David Fincher‘s demanding perfection, insistence on dozens of takes and singular vision don’t always make him the easiest person to work with. Jake Gyllenhaal, for example, was candid about the tough process he faced on "Zodiac." But by all accounts, the set of "Gone Girl" was relatively smooth. There was no studio interference, the cast seemed to get along well and while Fincher, as usual, worked to exacting standards, it appears everyone came into the project with the knowledge of what that meant. But Ben Affleck admits he did have one fight with Fincher while shooting the movie, and it was over a New York Yankees baseball cap.
The diehard Boston Red Sox fan refused to wear a Yankees cap during a sequence set at a New York City airport. “That was the only fight David and I had, and it was a legitimate fight,” Affleck told The New York Times. “I said, ‘David, I love you, I would do anything for you, But I will not wear a Yankees hat. I just can’t. I can’t wear it because it’s going to become a thing, David. I will never hear the end of it. I can’t do it.’ And I couldn’t put it on my head.”
“It was an uprising; it was a coup, I rioted,” Affleck continued, noting that Fincher insisted he wear the hat. “It was a one-man riot against the Yankees.”
In the end, compromise won out—the Yankees hat was swapped for a New York Mets cap, and the shoot continued with no hard feelings.
"Gone Girl" is in theaters today. Check out our look at David Fincher’s music videos, unmade projects and all of his movies ranked. Read our "Gone Girl" review here, and check out a video interview with the film’s co-composer Trent Reznor below.