Brad Pitt shares stories about watching movies with David Fincher

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

We here at JoBlo.com are long-time fans of David Fincher. From SEVEN to THE GAME, FIGHT CLUB to ZODIAC, there are few movies that we don't love from the director. We have analyzed how his movies are shot and nitpicked the details of his TV series House of Cards and Mindhunter. If you are like us, you have probably imagined what sitting down with the auteur might be like. Now, three-time collaborator and friend of the director, Brad Pitt, recently shed some light on what watching movies is like with David Fincher. In fact, he likened the experience to watching a football game with a head coach.

“He’s one of the funniest [expletive] I’ve ever met,” Pitt explained to The New York Times about his movie nights with Fincher. “He’ll be muttering the whole time: ‘That shot works. That’s a bad handoff. Why would you go to the insert of the glove there? Stabilize!’ It’s like watching a football game with Bill Belichick.”

Now, if you are someone who doesn't like talking during your movie-watching experience, Fincher may not be the best companion. But Pitt's story makes it sound as if sitting with Fincher is like having a live commentary by a master of the craft next to you. Add some adult beverages and you have yourself one heck of an evening.

Meanwhile, Steven Soderbergh, a notorious perfectionist, had a much different experience with Fincher. To put it plainly, Soderbergh once became so overwhelmed by Fincher's relentless analysis of the 2002 thriller PANIC ROOM he had to leave the room.

“David had a laser pointer out, and he was circling this one section of a wall in the upper part of the frame, saying, ‘That’s a quarter of a stop too bright,’” Soderbergh said. “I had to leave the room. I had to go outside and take some deep breaths, because I thought, Oh, my God — to see like that? All the time? Everywhere? I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

As you can see, both tales shed light on Fincher as being a craftsman of the highest order and one who doesn't sit back and see movies like the rest of us. That's not to say that David Fincher doesn't enjoy watching movies for fun, but maybe don't send him your student film if you haven't checked every inch of the frame. He's likely to send you a commentary track that serves as an audio laundry list of nits and picks.