☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roger Ebert’s four-star review is discussed, including its comparison to All the President’s Men.
In the discussion (2)
- Ebert awarded Zodiac four stars.
- The review compared the film’s procedural texture to All the President’s Men.
Gary Oldman, Orlando Bloom, Brad Pitt, and Jennifer Aniston appear in a detailed casting history.
In the discussion (6)
- Gary Oldman was considered for Melvin Belli but physical resemblance was an issue.
- Orlando Bloom was lined up as an alternative Graysmith.
- Jennifer Aniston reportedly recommended Gyllenhaal and Ruffalo to Fincher.
- Aniston declined the Chloë Sevigny role.
- Fincher wanted Brad Pitt for Avery before Robert Downey Jr.
- The panel prefers Downey’s fast, nervy energy for Avery.
Michael Keaton for Anthony Edwards is rejected as too large a presence; John Slattery is proposed for the ensemble.
In the discussion (4)
- Michael Keaton is proposed for Anthony Edwards’s role.
- The proposal is rejected because Keaton would be too large for the role’s assist function.
- Fincher reportedly called Anthony Edwards the embodiment of an assist.
- John Slattery is proposed for an unspecified supporting role.
Research covers period reconstruction, digital photography, a 1972 sting film, repeated straw takes, Ruffalo’s deal, and a cocktail.
In the discussion (7)
- Production used period photos to recreate streets, cars, and the number of Volkswagen Beetles.
- The Thomson Viper digital camera is discussed as an early major digital-production choice.
- A 1972 Zodiac movie was reportedly screened as part of an attempted sting.
- The filmmakers behind that movie hoped the killer would attend.
- Downey’s straw trick reportedly required 26 takes.
- Ruffalo recounts a blunt studio negotiation over his casting.
- The movie’s cocktail recipe is enumerated and judged unappealing.
Meetings, the roadside sequence, a clue, detective conduct, food history, and Herb Caen produce distinct nitpicks.
In the discussion (6)
- The number and arrangement of cartoonist meetings are questioned.
- Ione Skye pulling over for the stranger is questioned.
- The Narlow clue is questioned.
- Detectives interacting so freely with a prime suspect is questioned.
- Penne alla vodka is flagged as a possible historical error.
- The handling of Herb Caen is questioned.
The explicit questions ask who the Zodiac was, why police did not begin with people known to victims, what non-work obsession could consume a life, whether Graysmith saw money in the project, and how a 1970s handwriting expert established authority.
In the discussion (5)
- Who was the Zodiac killer?
- Why do police in serial-killer stories fail to begin with people the victims knew?
- What non-work subject could someone pursue so obsessively that they would throw their life away?
- Did Graysmith eventually see that his obsession could make money?
- What qualified a 1970s handwriting expert, and what made one better than another?
Dirty Harry is the strongest pairing, with All the President’s Men also proposed.
In the discussion (2)
- All the President’s Men is proposed as a pairing.
- Dirty Harry is proposed and favored for giving an exciting, solved fictional counterpart to Zodiac’s unsolvable reality.
Roger Ebert's review