More than a month after its release, David Fincher’s latest thriller "Gone Girl" is still sparking debates about its themes of marriage and betrayal, as well as its bevy of twists and turns. Recently, Kurt Andersen conducted a 50-minute interview with Fincher for his radio show Studio 360, discussing “Gone Girl” as well as the director’s overall career.
On “Gone Girl,” Fincher admits that the premise didn’t strike him as something he’d like to pursue as his next project, since it felt like it examined many of the themes he explored with his previous work. However, delving further into the characters and being taken in by author and screenwriter Gillian Flynn’s description of marriage as a delicate social contract, Fincher decided to take on the challenge of turning such a literary narrative into a cinematic one.
The most fascinating part of the interview concerns Fincher’s early inspirations for becoming a filmmaker, as well as his initial career choices that propelled him into becoming one of the most revered and fascinating American directors of his generation. He credits a making-of special about the production of "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid," which showed him for the first time just how much time and work went into filmmaking, as the first spark that began his journey towards becoming a director.
As far as his attraction to crime stories are concerned, he credits being a child during the Zodiac Killer scare and being told by his father what the killer threatened to do to children coming off school busses. For the answer, either listen to the interview, or watch "Zodiac," which is perhaps Fincher’s best film and his most underrated effort.
You can listen to the interview below: