Zodiac-set-visit-Nev-Pierce

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Caught in the act (from top left): Gyllenhaal as Graysmith. “I spent timewith him. The other guys were [investigating Zodiac] for business, but hewas coming from his heart...”; Ruffalo as Detective Toschi; Fincher onanother fun-filled day of shooting; Downey Jr as journalist Paul Avery.“I was pleased with how I sold my typing skills...”Still, sitting in the edit suite, halfway through theshoot, Fincher is musing: “I don’t know howmany people are going to believe that what we’retelling them is true…”On screen, a pretty girl is lying by the picturesqueLake Berryessa, being stabbed to death. She sobs.She screams. A hooded man knifes her repeatedly.“She was good, man,” reflects Fincher, of PellJames, who played Cecelia Shepard, Zodiac’sfourth murder victim. “She was so game. My God.We did 35 takes of that stabbing because we justcouldn’t get the piece to look like he was actuallystabbing her. So we shot 35 takes and then wewent back the next week and shot 30 more. Shewas black and blue. She got it, though.”Fincher talks about Funny Games, MichaelHaneke’s ruthless anti-thriller. An upsettingexploration of everyday violence, it’s clearlya reference point for the eerily straightforwardmurders in Zodiac. “I want it to be simple,” saysFincher. “Here it is: it’s right here. A guy comes inand goes, ‘I’m going to tie you up. Get on yourstomach.’ And all of a sudden, you’re just fucked.”Bryan Hartnell, who survived the Berryessaattack, was consulted for the scene. Fincher isa little concerned about how he’ll react to a joke– about his studies – which they’ve put into thedialogue. There’s clearly a tension betweendotting every ‘i’ and entertaining an audience (asit turns out, Hartnell will be more than satisfiedwith the finished picture). “It’s walking the line,”‘ DAVID’S A SWEET GUY.BUT HE KNOWS MORETHAN IS PROBABLYAPPROPRIATE…’ROBERT DOWNEY JRsays Fincher. “Ken Narlow [a detective involved inthe Zodiac case] was there on the day we shot thestabbings. As soon as they walked out the trailer,he burst into tears and couldn’t watch. He justsaid, ‘They look so much like them and I forgothow young they were – oh my God.’”Fincher feels a sense of responsibility to that.It’s one Hollywood has not always felt. Back in1971, Dirty Harry riffed on the real-life killings(with Zodiac cunningly renamed ‘Scorpio’), evenas the killer was still sending teasing letters to theChronicle. “People were in fear. It was upsetting,the letters and the taunting,” says Fincher. “ThenDirty Harry sort of used Zodiac as a jumping offpoint… There’s a big moment in Zodiac where thepolice department watch it and kind of go, ‘Wow’.And all those guys cooperated with that movie.I’m sure Dave Toschi [the detective played byRuffalo] met with Clint Eastwood. He certainlymet with Steve McQueen [for Bullitt].” Nonetheless,Eastwood – a revered figure at Warner Bros, whoco-financed Zodiac with Paramount – is notable byhis absence from the Dirty Harry footage shown inFincher’s film. “He didn’t want to be in a serial killermovie,” says the director, with weariness but norecrimination. “I guess he’s done enough of them.”Harris Savides, the cinematographer, has made final adjustmentsto the scene lighting.“I like it,” says Fincher. “It feels real.”Gyllenhaal wanders over and puts his arm around Savides. “Watchout,” says Fincher. “You’ll get a hug.”A Starbucks run arrives. The production assistant makes sureFincher has decaf. “They don’t want to get me hopped up!”Downey and Gyllenhaal sit on the bar stools, ready for action.Take one…Downey: “What’s that drink you’re drinking? That’s my realquestion to you.”The script supervisor turns to Fincher: “Did you like that line headded?”“No. I hate it when he does that.”Take two, take three, take four…Gyllenhaal: “It’s called a Blue Alga. It’s redundant, but it’s good.”Fincher calls across: “Speaking of redundancy…”Take five, take six, take seven, take eight, take nine, take 10…“Last one,” promises Fincher.“What does that mean?” Savides asks the script supervisor.“It means there’s five more,” she says.There are actually two more takes.TOTALFILM.COM 65TFM128.feat_zodiac Sec2:89 26/3/07 17:57:05
Talk show (clockwise from left): Gyllenhaal with Chloë Sevigny,who plays Graysmiths wife; Anthony Edwards as Detective BillArmstrong. “Hes such a great listener,” says Fincher; detectivesgrill Zodiac suspect Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch);Toschi clashes with Avery; (on opposite page) Ruffalo as Toschi.“Hes sort of an unsung hero... I hope this does him justice.”In the edit suite, the Berryessa sequence ends andanother scene flickers across the wall-mountedmonitor: Gyllenhaal as Chronicle cartoonist RobertGraysmith, walking across the newspaper officesto where the staff has gathered to read anotherletter from the killer. Fincher wants to know if itlooks ‘period’. He’s concerned to avoid kitsch.“I didn’t want to make a movie about sideburns;I didn’t want to make a movie about plaid andflared pants, bell bottoms and platform shoes.”He hasn’t. Stylistically the film will beconsidered a departure for Fincher: the MTVauteur, famous/notorious for his envelopepushingcamerawork and supposedly in-yourfaceaesthetic. Visually, it’s relatively simple: twoshots, few cuts, stable camera. Some reviewerswill say this is the director maturing. They’ll bewrong. He’s just using the right tools for the job.The frame-rattling visual virtuosity of Fight Clubmatched the anarchy and aggression of TylerDurden. The elaborate, digitally enhanced trackthrough Panic Room’s house established thegeography of the claustrophobic thriller (and,alright, maybe there was a little bit of showingoff). And in Zodiac, the camera’s steady, matterof-factfocus on people is because that is wherethe story lies. As ever, Fincher uses CGI andwhizz-bang visuals only when it’s necessary – asin a key scene when dogged detectives Toschi andBill Armstrong (Edwards) walk through theChronicle offices and digitally generated symbols– from the killer’s coded messages – hang in theair. A passing of time, growing obsession and asense of panic are all deftly conveyed in a fewseconds. It’s superbly economical storytelling(though it cost thousands of dollars). “He couldhave shot the shit out of this thing,” saysVanderbilt. “And I think the reason he didn’t isnot because he’s ‘matured’, but because he’s agreat storyteller and he just wants to serve thestory. And that’s why he’s such a joy to work for.”A joy for the screenwriter, then, and the producers– but a Fincher gig is never easy on the actors…“My first day was 68 takes with Jake and I waslike, ‘Please kill me’,” says Mark Ruffalo, whosenuanced, subtle turn as worn-down cop Toschi isthe stand-out in an impressive ensemble. “WhenFincher came walking over at one point I was like,‘I hope he’s coming here to fire me.’ Then I realised‘ THERE’S A PART OFFINCHER THAT ENJOYSHAVING PEOPLE HEARIT’S NOT EASY’JAKE GYLLENHAALit had nothing to do with Jake and I... Well, maybethe last 30 takes were us, but it was a huge dollycrane shot with 30 extras, five pages of dialogueand a really intense scene... So there were a lot ofthings in play. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t respectthe actors and their processes, but he does wantpeople to be the best he believes they can be.Sometimes with ‘movie stars’, we want to come inand be a little lazy and do our ‘good enough’ andgo home… [but] I know what David’s set up is.He’s taking a stab at immortality – he knowsthat. Somewhere along the way I think Finchersaid to himself, ‘Good enough is not fuckinggood enough.’”“He’s kind of a sweet guy,” says Downey Jr. “Butthen you’re on the set and he knows more thanmost directors and more than is probablyappropriate. So he’s just... I hate to say ‘right’…”Robert Downey Jr is on fire. The resurgent actor has been smokingnicotine-free cigarettes throughout his latest scene. But, for reasonsbest known to himself, he’s been stubbing the butts out in tissuepaper – which has finally ignited, underneath Gyllenhaal’s seat.There’s much laughter.Fincher walks past and Downey offers an exaggerated flinch…The scene resets. Fincher disappears to the monitor and callsacross: “Last one.”“Yeah, right,” says Gyllenhaal.“Have a little faith,” says a crewmember.“Come on!” says Gyllenhaal. “We’re going to fuck all night!”At lunch, he looks tired.66 TOTALFILM.COMTFM128.feat_zodiac Sec2:90 26/3/07 17:57:10
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