“What a cool job”: The “eureka” moment that sparked David Fincher’s career choice
David Fincher has made a career out of thrilling plot twists and eureka moments. It all started with Se7en, his first venture into the thriller genre, culminating in a grisly realisation and a head in a box. Since then, Fincher has brought us more mind-bending endings with Fight Club and The Game and even followed Mark Zuckerberg’s journey from eureka moment to billions in The Social Network. But not all of Fincher’s life-altering realisations take place on our cinema screens.
Most kids love films. They provide us with a feeling of wonder and escapism, with new worlds to delve into and with an excuse to snaffle through popcorn buckets aplenty. But not all kids love films so much that they decide to make a career out of it. For a young Fincher, there was a specific eureka moment that pushed his love for the movies into a desire to make them.
At just seven years old, Fincher discovered his desire to direct through George Roy Hill’s 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It wasn’t necessarily his admiration for the film that prompted an enthusiasm for filmmaking, though. It was actually a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the western that piqued a young Fincher’s interest.
“It was kind of a shabby EPK that had been cobbled together,” Fincher remembered during a conversation with The Guardian, but the quality of the work didn’t matter to him. The glimpse of a movie set prompted a realisation that would transform Fincher’s understanding of the medium, prompting his wish to become a part of it.
The narration from Hill helped Fincher to recognise that films didn’t simply appear out of thin air. The events he was witnessing through the cinema screen weren’t occurring as he watched them but were meticulously planned out and recorded by teams of people behind the scenes. “It was the first time I’d ever conceive that films didn’t happen in real time,” the director recalled.
“What a cool job,” Fincher remembered thinking, “You get to go on location, have trained horses and blow up trains and hang out with Katharine Ross.” Deciding that this seemed like a “pretty good gig,” the budding director decided upon filmmaking as his vocation of choice. As he grew older, the filmmaker ventured into the worlds of music videos and advertisements before landing his first feature with Alien 3.
As a result of that early eureka moment, cinema-goers have been blessed with some of the most interesting and innovative films in modern cinema. From the dread-inducing atmosphere of Se7en to the slick style of Gone Girl, Fincher’s understanding of cinema has increased and evolved with each new project, turning his youthful awe into mastery of his craft.
While he never quite managed to secure a project with Ross, Fincher has linked up with some equally exciting collaborators ranging from Madonna to Brad Pitt. He may not be working on westerns with trained horses and explosive effects, but he has perfected the art of the thriller, utilising his unparalleled attention to detail and understanding of suspense. Fincher has turned his childhood dream into a reality, becoming one of the most influential filmmakers in contemporary cinema.
Watch the trailer for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid below.
