David Fincher, the prolific director behind movies such as Fight Club, Seven, The Social Network, and Gone Girl, will be receiving an honorary César at the Olympia in Paris amongst the cream of the crop of French cinema this Friday. Le Journal du Dimanche speaks with the popular thriller director as he describes being honored with this prestigious award. Fincher recently arrived in Paris with his wife, with a short stay in London “so as not to be knocked out by the jet-lag .”
The French publication asked Fincher how he felt when he was first reached out to about getting the award. The director answered, “This is the first time that I have been honored for my entire career. It is obviously pleasing to note that my work is considered interesting. But I would be lying to you if I didn’t tell you that I find that a bit early… First, I didn’t really know what to answer. I even thought I was being teased. I talked to some friends about it, and they told me that such a proposal coming from the French was probably not a joke. It’s true that you really like cinema.”
Fincher would compare his César honorary award to winning an Oscar. “At least it’s solid. Nothing to do with the Oscar: I never received one, but I was told that it spoiled quickly!”
Fincher is definitely making the most of his visit to Paris as he mixes business with pleasure as he will take the opportunity to see the city with his wife. “With my wife, Ceán, who is also my producer, we come often and we love to walk the streets, scour museums.”
Recently, Fincher has reunited with his Seven screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker for a new noir thriller called The Killer starring Michael Fassbender, which is expected to be released through the Netflix streaming service sometime in 2023. The Killer began filming in November of 2021 and wrapped in March of this year. The film is based on a graphic novel series by Alexis Nolent that follows a cold-blooded assassin who begins to have psychological crisis in a world with no moral compass.