David Fincher has made an indelible mark on the industry ever since his breakthrough 1995 movie “Se7en.” The acclaimed director’s love for bleak realism and his obsessive attention to detail have shaped seminal films such as “Fight Club,” “Zodiac,” and “Gone Girl,” for which Fincher has received several accolades over the decades.
Fincher was fascinated by criminal psychology, using Netflix’s now-dead true crime drama, “Mindhunter” to explore the science of criminal profiling and the cost of being involved with such a taxing process. Fincher also served as director and executive producer on “House of Cards,” which made Primetime Emmy history by snagging the highest number of nominations in 2013. The “Alien 3” director also co-created “Love, Death, & Robots,” which earned three Primetime Emmy awards for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program.
Fincher’s commitment to his uncompromising creative vision makes him one of the most influential auteurs of all time, which is why he is delivering today’s Quote of the Day.
Quote of the Day by David Fincher
“You have to fight for things you believe in, and you have to be smart about how you position it so that you don’t just become white noise.”
The above quote comes from Fincher’s interview with The Guardian in 2009, where he talks about the experience of pushing through the anxieties that surrounded the making of “Alien 3.” Fincher explains that the process was “a baptism by fire,” as he wasn’t prepared for the deluge of behind-the-scenes issues, including challenges with production and an ever-increasing budget.
“You have to get what you need to get out of it … On that movie, I was the guy who was constantly the voice of, ‘We need to do this better, we need to do this, this doesn’t make sense,'” Fincher adds.
Deeper meaning of David Fincher’s quote — stick to your guns, no matter what
Although Fincher had a hard time on the set of “Alien 3,” he refused to compromise with his creative vision and made sure that his opinions were heard amid the chaos. It’s easy for a first-time director’s voice to become background noise when several collaborative forces are involved, but Fincher stuck to his guns — no matter what.
While “Alien 3” was widely considered a critical and commercial disappoinment at the time of its release, it remains a fascinating insight into the mind of a gifted director with a daring, one-of-a-kind vision. In the aforementioned 2009 interview with The Guardian, Fincher notes that the lesson learned from his divisive feature debut was that he could use it as an impetus to “fail upward.”
“I figured that there were people who had made worse films than I had and they were still working, so I figured I’d get one more shot,” he says.
More quotes from David Fincher
- “Television has become the place for characters to evolve. There is very little time in the movies anymore for characterization. Scenes in movies have become ground acquisitions … Television is a place where characters can be slowly peeled to reveal.” — from a 2014 interview with Screen Daily
- “Look, directing movies is a little like painting a watercolor from three blocks away through a telescope with a walkie-talkie and 90 people holding the brush. And as frustrating as that sounds, it’s also thrilling and invigorating when it comes off.” — from a 2021 interview with Rolling Stone
- “I don’t think of myself as difficult. We’re expected to do stuff that’s awesome; that means we’re going to have to push each other.” — from a 2011 interview with The Hollywood Reporter
