{"id":43870,"date":"2014-10-01T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2014-10-01T10:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870"},"modified":"2014-11-14T09:17:14","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T14:17:14","slug":"david-fincher-fight-club-provoke-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870","title":{"rendered":"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, let\u2019s discuss a watercooler-worthy quote from director David Fincher<\/a>, who was talking up his thriller Gone Girl<\/em> in this interview with Screen Daily<\/em><\/a>*, but took a detour to discuss how his wildly provocative 1999 movie Fight Club<\/em><\/a>\u2014a movie I\u2019ve grown to love and now feel probably has as much cultural cachet as Network<\/em>\u2014positively stymied the marketers responsible for promoting it. Fincher expressed unhappiness that his movie was thought to be too idiosyncratic to commercialize, and said this:<\/p>\n

\"fight-club-brad-pitt-shirtless-bloody\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople go to the movies to see things they haven\u2019t seen before. Call me a radical.\u201d\u2013 David Fincher<\/h1>\n

Bathing themselves in stereotype-driven cynicism (at least that\u2019s my interpretation), the folks in charge of coming up with the ad campaign to promote Fincher\u2019s smart, funny, and brutal filming of the satirical Chuck Palahniuk novel decided that since \u201cShirtless Brad Pitt\u201d didn\u2019t appeal to (straight)\u00a0men, and \u201cBloody Brad Pitt\u201d wouldn\u2019t appeal to women\u2026the inescapable conclusion was that nobody<\/em> would want to see the film.<\/p>\n

Do you see what\u2019s wrong with that line of thinking? Go back and look at that argument again.<\/p>\n

Do you see it yet? Tick, tock<\/em>. Now? Do you see it now? I\u2019m sure we might be able to deploy some elementary logic equation here, but I have sadly forgotten all that from school except for the intuitive skill set that comes into play whenever the occasion requires\u00a0the use of some\u00a0well-cultivated, green-blooded thinking.<\/p>\n

OK, for those of you who may not already be there:<\/p>\n

Apart from\u00a0the insultingly reductive\u00a0estimation\u00a0of\u00a0the material, there is a blindingly obvious weakness to that marketing assessment we can illustrate with a simple thought experiment. Using the studio marketers\u2019 terse statements of demographic certainty, let\u2019s switch who\u2019s supposed to enjoy \u201cshirtless\u201d and who\u2019s supposed to enjoy \u201cbloody\u201d Brad Pitt. Now: Can we see how \u201cShirtless Brad Pitt\u201d would really appeal to women, and \u201cBloody Brad Pitt\u201d might really appeal to men? And can\u00a0we now see how, based on that neatly rearranged line of reasoning,\u00a0we might reach the equally inescapable (and yes, equally invalid)\u00a0conclusion that everybody<\/em> would want to see Fight Club<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Not that I want to take this conversation too deeply into the \u201ccreatives vs. marketing\u201d rhetorical thicket, because the basic assumptions\u00a0behind those debates are familiar and tiresome, and given sincere desires for success from either side of that collaboration, it\u2019s more than fair to say creative people have their points, and marketing people have their points.<\/p>\n

No, it\u2019s that particular statement by Fincher that got me thinking big-time about whether or not it\u2019s \u201ctrue\u201d that \u201cpeople go to the movies to see things they haven\u2019t seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"angelika-pop-up-film-union-market-wetlands-pay-2-play\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The other weekend, the lure of the new seduced me enough to make the couple-hours\u2019 drive from Philly to Washington, D.C. to see new movies inside a new theater. I was looking for a place to check out the much-talked-about German movie Wetlands<\/em><\/a> (about a young woman\u2019s highly unconventional sex drive and the incredibly weird\/gross\/painful situations she gets herself into as a result); one choice would have sent me right to my city\u2019s most prominent arthouse chain<\/a>, but I had a jones to get out of Dodge, so I chose instead to visit the Angelika Pop-Up Film at Union Market<\/a>, open since mid-June.<\/p>\n

This intimate, three-screen extension of the famous Angelika Film Center is reportedly serving as a temporary setup prior to the eventual establishment of a full-scale Angelika outpost in the nation\u2019s capital. This is a snazzy theater; I liked the place so much I stayed late to watch the political documentary Pay 2 Play<\/em>.<\/p>\n

(For the record: I loved Wetlands<\/em>, though it’s indeed so much in the tradition of “WTF Movies<\/a>” I just don’t\u00a0know very many\u00a0people I’d be comfortable encouraging to see it; I disliked Pay 2 Play<\/em>, a lefty doc whose politics were\u00a0actually in concert with mine;\u00a0I found it to be as smug, self-congratulatory, and, at times, as\u00a0hypocritical\u00a0as any right-wing\u00a0filmmaking hackery I have despised\u00a0in the past.)<\/p>\n

That arresting eyeball graphic on the Angelika building’s exterior, for whatever reason, brought to mind an observation Werner Herzog\u00a0made in\u00a0the amusing and inspiring Les Blank short, Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\"werner-herzog-eats-his-shoe\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe lack adequate images, our civilization doesn’t have adequate images. And I think our civilization is doomed, is gonna die out like dinosaurs if it does not develop an adequate language or adequate images.\u201d<\/h1>\n

Herzog and Fincher seem to be on the same page, to the extent that\u00a0a healthy cinema culture depends on\u00a0the search for the previously unseen that is urgently required (Herzog), and\u2014lucky us!\u2014a desire already\u00a0intrinsic to our basic\u00a0activity as moviegoers (Fincher).<\/p>\n

Once more, before closing:<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople go to the movies to see things they haven\u2019t seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is that true? Was it true once, and not now? Is it more or less true for the people going to the movie theater to watch movies vs. the people now mostly sitting at home watching their TVs and building their home video collections? Who has the true thirst for the new, and who clings tightly to the familiar?<\/p>\n

And why?<\/p>\n

*A Tip of the Hat to <\/em>Movie City News<\/a>, an almost-daily destination for me, where I first read the Fincher quote that led me down the path to today’s post.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Fincher and “Fight Club” have done it again! While promoting the upcoming “Gone Girl,” the filmmaker made a reference to “Fight Club” and why audiences go to the movies that’s watercooler-worthy for film fans. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":43872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1571],"coauthors":[5441],"class_list":["post-43870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-staff-notes","tag-independent-films"],"yoast_head":"\nDavid Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again - MovieFanFare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Fincher and "Fight Club" have done it again! Promoting "Gone Girl," Fincher made a statement that's watercooler-worthy for film fans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again - MovieFanFare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David Fincher and "Fight Club" have done it again! Promoting "Gone Girl," Fincher made a statement that's watercooler-worthy for film fans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MovieFanFare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Movies-Unlimited\/88679322377\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-01T10:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-11-14T14:17:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"George D. Allen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"George D. Allen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"George D. Allen\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/45709d6791583b25dbf6c3bf2fa8407e\"},\"headline\":\"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-01T10:00:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-11-14T14:17:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870\"},\"wordCount\":916,\"commentCount\":5,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Independent Films\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Staff Notes\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870\",\"name\":\"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again - MovieFanFare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-01T10:00:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-11-14T14:17:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/45709d6791583b25dbf6c3bf2fa8407e\"},\"description\":\"David Fincher and \\\"Fight Club\\\" have done it again! Promoting \\\"Gone Girl,\\\" Fincher made a statement that's watercooler-worthy for film fans.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=43870#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"MovieFanFare\",\"description\":\"Movie Articles, Movie Reviews, New DVD Releases\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/45709d6791583b25dbf6c3bf2fa8407e\",\"name\":\"George D. Allen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/56a1cadf2f7f5a7f15e12d39c6c3b814f2cad71faf1e183353ae566f39294351?s=96&d=mm&r=gea8fff3599f696124a08bc4e274d5b0e\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/56a1cadf2f7f5a7f15e12d39c6c3b814f2cad71faf1e183353ae566f39294351?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/56a1cadf2f7f5a7f15e12d39c6c3b814f2cad71faf1e183353ae566f39294351?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"George D. Allen\"},\"description\":\"George produces Movie Irv's video content for MovieFanFare; he loves the Universal Monsters, Tarzan movies, \\\"You Bet Your Life,\\\" and Werner Herzog films.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com?author_name\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again - MovieFanFare","description":"David Fincher and \"Fight Club\" have done it again! Promoting \"Gone Girl,\" Fincher made a statement that's watercooler-worthy for film fans.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again - MovieFanFare","og_description":"David Fincher and \"Fight Club\" have done it again! Promoting \"Gone Girl,\" Fincher made a statement that's watercooler-worthy for film fans.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870","og_site_name":"MovieFanFare","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Movies-Unlimited\/88679322377","article_published_time":"2014-10-01T10:00:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-11-14T14:17:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":200,"url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"George D. Allen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"George D. Allen","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870"},"author":{"name":"George D. Allen","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#\/schema\/person\/45709d6791583b25dbf6c3bf2fa8407e"},"headline":"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again","datePublished":"2014-10-01T10:00:29+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-14T14:17:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870"},"wordCount":916,"commentCount":5,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg","keywords":["Independent Films"],"articleSection":["Staff Notes"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870","url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870","name":"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again - MovieFanFare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg","datePublished":"2014-10-01T10:00:29+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-14T14:17:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#\/schema\/person\/45709d6791583b25dbf6c3bf2fa8407e"},"description":"David Fincher and \"Fight Club\" have done it again! Promoting \"Gone Girl,\" Fincher made a statement that's watercooler-worthy for film fans.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/fight-club-brad-pitt-bloody.jpg","width":300,"height":200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=43870#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"David Fincher, Fight Club Provoke Again"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/","name":"MovieFanFare","description":"Movie Articles, Movie Reviews, New DVD Releases","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/#\/schema\/person\/45709d6791583b25dbf6c3bf2fa8407e","name":"George D. Allen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56a1cadf2f7f5a7f15e12d39c6c3b814f2cad71faf1e183353ae566f39294351?s=96&d=mm&r=gea8fff3599f696124a08bc4e274d5b0e","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56a1cadf2f7f5a7f15e12d39c6c3b814f2cad71faf1e183353ae566f39294351?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56a1cadf2f7f5a7f15e12d39c6c3b814f2cad71faf1e183353ae566f39294351?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"George D. Allen"},"description":"George produces Movie Irv's video content for MovieFanFare; he loves the Universal Monsters, Tarzan movies, \"You Bet Your Life,\" and Werner Herzog films.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com?author_name"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43870"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=43870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}