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American Gangster
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Panic Room
Panic Room
Panic Room
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Fight Club
Fight Club
Fight Club
Fight Club
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 8
- Movies in this archive
- 7
Rewatchables episodes featuring David Fincher’s films
Gone Girl
2014 film
Bill Simmons · Shea Serrano · Mallory Rubin · Sean Fennessey
Aired August 13, 2019
Displaying all 8 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Josh Brolin’s post-film career and alternate-director arguments drive three hot takes
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:26Read transcript
- Josh Brolin is argued to have had the best post-American Gangster career in the cast — Chris Ryan
- Ridley Scott is argued to have prevented the material from becoming a classic — Van Lathan
- David Fincher is preferred for a Golden Triangle version and Brian De Palma for a New York crime version — Chris Ryan
- Michael Mann is argued to have been capable of making this his second-best film after Heat — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:10Read transcript
- Recasting the director: late-1990s David Fincher could have made the film one of the decade's best, with The Game as a reference point. — Bill Simmons
- Brian De Palma is another director choice, imagined bringing more sexuality and a Seattle following sequence. Levinson's brighter, lighter style and prior commercial success are considered an awkward fit. — Bill Simmons
- Levinson's light touch may have broadened the audience, while a Fincher version might have earned less. Gone Girl is proposed as his later version of related material. — Bill Simmons
Probably Unanswerable Questions
James Cameron version; Peter as sociopath; best alternative director
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:05Read transcript
- A James Cameron-directed version is judged likely better. — Charles Holmes
- Lines from Cameron's scriptment are read describing Peter as an ostracized science kid and virgin. — Charles Holmes
- Peter is judged a bit of a sociopath: he lies to Mary Jane about Spider-Man, lets the robber go, watches him die and lies to Aunt May. — Van Lathan
- Of the other directors considered, David Fincher could have beaten the chosen director; Ang Lee and Chris Columbus are dismissed. — Charles Holmes
Who Won the Movie?
David Fincher, after a tentative Jared Leto suggestion
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:30Read transcript
- Jared Leto is raised tentatively before David Fincher is selected — Bill Simmons
- Fincher is credited with making a version of the premise that would otherwise be forgettable — Bill Simmons
Apex Mountain
The panic-room concept and propane explosion
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:21Read transcript
- David Fincher is rejected as being at his apex — Bill Simmons
- Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart are rejected as apex choices
- Diabetes as a plot device is compared with Steel Magnolias and Dog Day Afternoon without a firm result
- Jared Leto is rejected as an apex choice
- Chugging wine in a bath while sad about divorce is proposed as an apex
- Raoul as a character name is discussed without agreement — Bill Simmons
- Forest Whitaker is rejected as an apex choice
- The panic-room concept is treated as an unequivocal apex because the film is built around it — Bill Simmons
- Girl power is placed in the discussion but challenged because Burnham saves the mother and daughter — Bill Simmons
- Dwight Yoakam is discussed without a firm apex conclusion
- Tool is rejected as an apex choice — Bill Simmons
- Propane explosions are accepted as a strong apex choice — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Nicole Kidman originally played Meg before injury led to Jodie Foster
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:59Read transcript
- Nicole Kidman began filming as Meg but aggravated a knee injury and was replaced by Jodie Foster — Chris Ryan
- Fincher is said to have reshaped Meg from Kidman’s more glamorous reading toward Foster’s practical, political portrayal — Bill Simmons
- Foster reportedly became available after Russell Crowe’s injury halted a film she was directing, then her pregnancy complicated this production — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:32:12Read transcript
- Pitt wins: a rock-star performance where the movie jumps whenever he is on screen; Norton or Fincher would be heard. — Chris Ryan
- With Norton as bronze, the choice is between Pitt and Fincher, and Pitt needed it more. — Bill Simmons
- A case exists for Fincher, whose meticulous set dressing made it a film only he could make, but Pitt's iconic 90s performance lifted his career. — Bill Simmons
- Damon could have played either part, and Crowe could have done Tyler, but no modern actor would gamble their career like this. — Bill Simmons
Podcast choices
Apex Mountain
Edward Norton; 1999 movie twists; Helena Bonham Carter; fight clubs; IKEA
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:50Read transcript
- Brad Pitt is not at Apex because the movie was not that successful. — Bill Simmons
- Ed Norton is at Apex: this rounds out his six-movie run, and he has arguably never been as big a star since, unlike Pitt. — Bill Simmons
- Fincher's Apex is still The Social Network; Generation X is a no. — Bill Simmons
- Rosie O'Donnell is a maybe, with her peak placed later in her feud on The View. — Bill Simmons
- Movie twists peaked this year, with this, The Sixth Sense and Blair Witch, before the internet could spoil them. — Bill Simmons
- Helena Bonham Carter is a yes, though still not loved in this movie. — Chris Ryan
- The Pixies are a no, peaking around 91; the ending song started a trend of closing with a pop song. — Bill Simmons
- IKEA is at Apex in the late 90s. — Bill Simmons
- Unreliable narrators are a no despite enjoying the device in this, Memento and Goodfellas. — Chris Ryan
- Fight clubs definitely peaked then; blown-up apartments probably not; Jared Leto no; Meatloaf peaked in the 70s with Paradise by the Dashboard Light. — Bill Simmons
Half-Assed Internet Research
Pitt's chipped teeth; ear prosthetic; Meat Loaf's fat harness; misfired $20 million marketing; Rosie O'Donnell forgiven on commentary; EW's top DVD; Norton smoking; Starbucks refusal; UFC tapes; orgasm recordings; replaced abortion line; salary gap
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:39Read transcript
- Pitt had pieces of his front teeth chipped off for the role and restored after filming. — Bill Simmons
- The makeup artist studied mixed martial arts on pay-per-view and designed an extra ear, inspired by Tyson-Holyfield. — Bill Simmons
- Meatloaf wore a 90-pound fat harness, and reportedly eight-inch lifts in scenes with Norton, which is doubted. — Bill Simmons
- Fox marketing executives ran a $20 million campaign selling it as a fight movie rather than a smart one. — Bill Simmons
- On the DVD commentary Pitt called Rosie O'Donnell's actions forgivable. — Bill Simmons
- Entertainment Weekly's 2001 list of 50 essential DVDs ranked it first; Boogie Nights would be the choice for greatest DVD. — Bill Simmons
- Norton refused to smoke in Rounders but smoked here. — Bill Simmons
- Starbucks allowed product placement but not the coffee-shop destruction, hence the renamed shop. — Bill Simmons
- Fincher and the cast studied UFC tapes. — Bill Simmons
- Pitt and Bonham Carter spent three days recording orgasm sounds. — Bill Simmons
- Laura Ziskin made Fincher cut Marla's abortion line; he agreed on condition she could not veto the replacement, the grade-school line. — Bill Simmons
- Pitt was paid $17.5 million and Norton $2.5 million. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Best?
The twist; the DVD; the shirtless Pitt image; 'His name is Robert Paulson'; the narration; Fincher's timing and nameless city; Marla's glass-slipper line; the rules of Fight Club; the Pixies ending
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:21Read transcript
- The twist ages best because rewatching means hunting for clues, such as identical suitcases; someone online counted 27 hints. — Bill Simmons
- The DVD ages best: the 99-2000 era of double discs, director commentary and deleted scenes. — Bill Simmons
- The famous shirtless-Pitt fight image is the one picture always associated with the movie. — Bill Simmons
- 'His name is Robert Paulson' was dropped into old football-pick columns after two theater viewings, and is proposed as a crowd chant at free throws. — Bill Simmons
- The support-group material is too long and could be 30 seconds, though its aphoristic narration is the first clue the narrator and Tyler are the same. — Bill Simmons
- Despite a dislike of narrators, the narration could not work better here. — Bill Simmons
- Fincher's timing, catching the moment again with The Social Network, and the nameless always-raining, empty Fincher City are praised; he should have directed Escape from New York. — Bill Simmons
- Marla's line that the condom is the glass slipper of our generation is a favorite. — Bill Simmons
- The eight rules of Fight Club are read, with jokes about adding two more to reach ten. — Bill Simmons
- The Pixies ending was undersold in aged best; it was a thrill in the theater and a perfect song choice, though it also gives away the movie. — Bill Simmons
Most Rewatchable Scene
The bar and first fight; Tyler's speech through the stranger-fight and Project Mayhem montages
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:14Read transcript
- The semi-opening insomnia and IKEA-catalog setup works like a narrator blog post of the life he hates. — Bill Simmons
- The first 32 minutes, through the title sequence, support groups, meeting Marla, the plane fantasy, Bob and meeting Tyler, are relentless, with one-frame Pitt flashes. — Chris Ryan
- The second Tyler scene, where the things you own end up owning you, leads to the first fight; Fincher told Norton to actually hit Pitt in the ear so the reaction is genuine. — Bill Simmons
- Tyler's speech to the fight club and the fight with Lou are highlighted; the speech is played. — Bill Simmons
- The most rewatchable stretch is Tyler's speech through the stranger-fight montage, the narrator fighting himself in the boss's office and the first Project Mayhem montage, about 20 minutes. — Bill Simmons
- Combined, that is the first hour, which still makes the hair stand up even though the film quickly became a cliche of itself in bathroom stalls and MySpace bios. — Chris Ryan
- The car accident is a half-rewatchable scene, shot uniquely.
- The hotel-room reveal that the narrator is Tyler is hard to overstate, followed by chasing Tyler around the map, the final Pitt-Norton scene and the Pixies ending.
- The other pick is the bar and first fight; the twist ages best among the era's twist movies but matters least, because the first hour and a half works as a relationship drama. — Chris Ryan
- The speech, the Lou cameo and the stranger-fight montage section is endorsed as the choice. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Matt Damon or Sean Penn as the narrator; Russell Crowe as Tyler; Janeane Garofalo, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon or Courtney Love as Marla; Radiohead score
In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:10Read transcript
- The studio wanted Matt Damon or Sean Penn for the narrator while Fincher wanted Norton; Norton was also up for The Talented Mr. Ripley, Man on the Moon and Runaway Jury in a casting merry-go-round. — Bill Simmons
- An alternate universe where Damon does Fight Club and Norton does The Talented Mr. Ripley is fun to imagine, though Damon's Ripley is one of his best roles. — Bill Simmons
- Norton and Damon competed for The Rainmaker, Coppola steered Norton to American History X, and Damon has said he was devastated to miss Primal Fear; Scent of a Woman went to Chris O'Donnell. — Chris Ryan
- Damon brings relatability and Norton a cerebral quality; Damon could have played either part, Pitt only Tyler, and Norton not Tyler. — Chris Ryan
- Leo was a little young post-Titanic but this would have been his dream part a few years later; Pitt's casting works because he is who guys daydreamed of being. — Chris Ryan
- David O. Russell was approached to direct and declined; one producer wanted Russell Crowe as Tyler, but senior producer Linson wanted Pitt. — Bill Simmons
- Crowe was about to go on his Gladiator-Insider-Beautiful Mind run and would have crushed the part with an Aussie hooligan authenticity, though Pitt is still preferred. — Bill Simmons
- Fincher's first choice for Marla was Janine Garofalo; she reportedly accepted, then was dropped as not right for the role at Norton's urging, framed as the birth of the behind-the-scenes Norton monster. — Bill Simmons
- Per Variety, Sarah Michelle Geller was sought but was doing Buffy; the studio wanted Reese Witherspoon, whom Fincher thought too young, and then Courtney Love, who was dating Norton, before landing on Bonham Carter. — Bill Simmons
- Marla is said to have Courtney Love meets Joan Crawford energy, leading to a tangent about loving the band's 90s songs. — Bill Simmons
- Fincher wanted Radiohead to score the film; it would have been eerier and more somber than the Dust Brothers' electronic score, not necessarily better, though the movie needs the Dust Brothers' energy. — Chris Ryan
- Norton worked 129 days on the film, over four months. — Bill Simmons
- Julie Louis Dreyfus and Winona Ryder as Marla candidates from the research are doubted as made-up IMDb trivia. — Bill Simmons
Displaying discussions 13 - 24 of 55 in total
Films in the archive
Fight Club
1999
Gone Girl
2014
Panic Room
2002
Se7en
1995
The Game
1997
The Social Network
2010
Zodiac
2007