David Fincher responds to ‘Zodiac’ criticism: “That’s the book that we bought”
Throughout his career, David Fincher has made several acclaimed gems such as Fight Club and Zodiac. However, the latter received a negative response from some fans who were not satisfied with the film’s conclusion.
Starring Robert Downey Jr and Jake Gyllenhaal, the 2007 mystery thriller is a labyrinthine recreation of the Zodiac Killer’s terrifying murder spree and the subsequent manhunt. Inspired by other great entries in the genre, like Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder, it’s considered by many to be essential viewing.
During a recent conversation with Steven Soderbergh at the Tribeca Film Festival, Fincher said: “There was so much flak after Zodiac came out about people saying, ‘Why didn’t you go down this rabbit hole? Why did you only go down the Graysmith rabbit hole?'”
“That’s the book that we bought,” the filmmaker explained while referring to the source material written by Robert Graysmith. “We didn’t buy everyone’s book about the Zodiac.”
Fincher insisted that he was very conscious about being factually correct: “You have a responsibility to make sure that you are saying what you want to say because chances are they can deck you in an airport.”
The American director added: “So you want to be conscious and be smart about it. Making movies about things that are ripped from headlines is a slippery slope. I think it’s important to be responsible, and by the same token, you also have to entertain an audience.”
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