The Big Picture’s David Fincher Draft (Part 1)

David Fincher is a director that Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey and Chris Ryan all have found affection for. That is why it is rather crazy that this episode which features a DRAFT of one of America’s greatest technical filmmakers gets rather testy. If we are being brutally honest, the podcast episode got a little off the rails. With the ways the categories were situated and the rules that were established at the jump…it got hairy really fast.

For those that haven’t listened, the podcast is below.

Unlike this particular episode of the Big Picture, I am going to be dividing the David Fincher draft recap into two different blogs. This blog post is going to recap the episode with the weird ass rule that nothing can be duplicated once picked. Really tough for a guy with a very limited film catalogue.

This is my 16th reflection on a The Big Picture’s draft. Thus far I have Sean Fennessey and Chris Ryan tied for the lead with six wins each. Taking up the bronze position is Amanda Dobbins with two wins. Guest Joanna Robinson picked up the win in her celebratory appearance. The David Fincher Draft has the normal trio drafting.

Now let’s head into the David Fincher movie draft, where once the movie was picked, it can not be selected in any other category.

Also, I could not find a graphic with the draft selections like normal, so I am going to have to make this roughly into a table and it is not going to look so pretty.

	*Amanda*	*Chris*	*Sean*
*Thriller*	The Game	Se7en	Zodiac
*Blockbuster*	The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button	N/A	Panic Room
*Oscar Nominated*	The Social Network	Gone Girl	Mank
*Scene/Sequences*	Ending Torture Scene of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo	Scooter Scene from The Killer	Ending of Fight Club
*Advertisement/Music Video*	Vogue – Madonna	Leave Nothing Commercial	Freedom ’90! – George Michael
*Wild Card*	Ben Affleck Interviewing David Fincher – Gone Girl	Season 1 Mindhunter	Alien 3

Thriller

Sorry Amanda, I am not going to pick The Game. I don’t particularly like the movie
I am going to go with Sean. Zodiac is arguably my favorite Fincher movie. And while Se7en is more in the Thriller genre, that basement scene in Zodiac still scares the hell out of me. Existential dread is evident in both movies. Se7en punches the audience in the face with its shocking moments, and Zodiac is a slow dread that doesn’t leave you with a definitive answer. I prefer the large unknowing question of existential dread.
Sean leads my interpretation of the draft, 1-0-0.

BLockbuster

With this format, Chris did not get to claim a Blockbuster movie, and that is brutal for his chances to win this draft.
It is between The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and Panic Room. Two very different types of movies. I do think that Benjamin Button is a better movie, but in terms of a Blockbuster and pure watchability, I think we have to do Panic Room. When thinking of blockbuster, I think of the movie theater experience. Panic Room has the propulsion I envision that experience to be like that.
Sean is leading this draft now, 2-0-0.

Oscar Nominated

I wish this wasn’t such an easy decision as it is. Gone Girl is an awesome movie, but The Social Network is one of the best fusions of director and screenplay writer…ever? Fincher and Aaron Sorkin? The whole movie moves like a bullet train, and it’s a non-stop ride to a destination that’s still highly relevant today.
Personally, I am not a huge fan of Mank. I respect it for Gary Oldman, but compared to The Social Network or Gone Girl, it is remarkably different.
Amanda gets on the board, but she trails Sean, 2-1-0.

Scenes/Sequences

I really like The Killer, but the scooter scene is not the scene I would have selected from this movie. I would have chosen the New Orleans scene, or the fight with the Brute.
We have two endings here to pick from. One is Fight Club; it’s iconic and everyone knows its. One is The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which not many people saw and less people want to rewatch. I am going to lean with the latter because Stellan Skarsgård is outrageously evil. It is a great version of a Bond villain final speech, but the danger to our hero seems far more real.
Amanda and Sean have now tied it up with two selections apiece. Chris is still waiting to get on the board.

Advertisment/Music Video

This one is an easy one for me. The Leave Nothing NIKE commercial is one of the best commercials I have ever seen. I remember seeing it on my TV and being enthralled by it. I could have told you that it was Shawne Merriman’s commercial right from the jump. I had no idea it was directed by David Fincher, but that just makes it so much better.
Chris is on the board. We have a game on our hands, 2-2-1.

WILD CARD

Right from the jump, I am going to have to bid Amanda an apology because the lore of the Ben Affleck and David Fincher Gone Girl commentary doesn’t stick in my crawl like it does others.
And Sean, I know that Alien 3 is remarkably important to FIncher’s career…but it is not a very good movie. It may not be Fincher’s fault, but still. When you compare Alien 3 to season one of Mindhunter…I mean it is not even a comparison. It is not even close.
Alright, we have a problem here. Chris Ryan wins this category, which means that he, Sean and Amanda have all won two categories in my book. Oh boy. Now it just comes down to a tie-breaking scenario.

With all three draftees getting two points from me, it is time to select a winner. This is going to be extremely subjective. For the record. And I think I am going to take some crazy pills, but I am going to select Chris Ryan as the winner in this draft. I know he doesn’t have a blockbuster, but his two category wins with the Nike commercial and season one of Mindhunter are blowout wins. Ryan’s selections of Se7en and Gone Girl are also incredibly close in those respective categories. So Chris Ryan is proof that quality over quantity is a thing.

	*Stanko’s Picks (Complete Freedom)*	*Stanko’s Picks (Can’t Match TBP Pod)*
Thriller	Zodiac	The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Blockbuster	Gone Girl	Gone Girl
Oscar Nominated	The Social Network	Se7en
Scene/Sequences	Ending To Zodiac In Diner	Ending To Zodiac In Diner
Advertisement/Music Video	Leave Nothing Commercial	Leave Nothing Commercial
Wild Card	The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Trailer	David Fincher not winning an Oscar

Chris Ryan – 7 Win
Sean Fennessey – 6 Wins
Amanda Dobbins – 2 Wins
Joanna Robinson – 1 Win

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Posted on December 8, 2023 1 By jstanko99 General Topics Posted in General Topics, Movies, Podcasts Tagged #Alien 3, David Fincher, David Fincher Draft, Draft, Fight Club, Gone Girl, Mank, Panic Room, Podcast, Rick Springfield, Rick Springfield: The Beat Of The Live Drum, Se7en, Stanko's Stance, The Big Picture, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, The Game, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Killer, The Ringer, The Social Network, Zodiac

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