Cinephiles celebrate ace director David Fincher for his choice of films and signature style. Most of his projects fall under the neo-noir and psychological thriller genre. Fincher’s films stand out due to their chilling undercurrent of darkness and thrill that evokes a sense of eerie which elevates the cinematic experience. While he boasts an enviable filmography including titles like ‘Seven,’ Fight Club’ and ‘Gone Girl,’ several of his other projects ended up changing hands or didn’t see the light of the day. Some of the titles include ‘Blade,’ ‘Chicago’ and ‘Black Hole’ among others. One such project for which Fincher was in talks for J.K. Rowling’s bestselling novel series about the eponymous wizard, Harry Potter.

In a recent conversation with The Variety, David Fincher revealed that he iterated interest in giving Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ a creepy spin for its adaptation. However, the studio had something else in mind. “I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do ‘Harry Potter.’ He recounted, “I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it. I want to do something that looks a lot more like ‘Withnail and I,’ and I want it to be kind of creepy.’” However, Warner Bros. wanted something more traditional in mind for their series of adaptations of the adult books about the wizard. “They were like, ‘We want Thom Browne schooldays by way of ‘Oliver’.’”

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Warner Brothers has backed the ‘Harry Potter’ film series. The adaptation titles feature Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint in lead roles.

Moving ahead, the celebrated director is working on the American adaptation of Netflix’s smashing Korean series ‘Squid Game.’ Moreover, Fincher is working on the miniseries prequel to ‘Chinatown’ that he co-wrote with the film’s late screenwriter, Robert Towne. During the interaction, the filmmaker also opened up about what drew him to the titles he has directed. His hit titles like ‘Gone Girl’ and ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ are adaptations of bestselling books. Moreover, his breakthough title ‘Seven’ is getting a 4K re-release.

Talking about it, he said, “Is there a built-in audience? That’s somebody else’s job.” He said, “Those books get sold to movie studios when it’s shown that there’s a built-in audience, so I’m usually coming into the food chain after it’s been decided that this is something tasty. I was interested in ‘Gone Girl’ in spite of the fact that it was a bestseller… I liked the idea of punishment for our narcissistic leanings as it relates to finding a mate.”

Continuing, he said, “With ‘Dragon Tattoo,’ I’m much more fond of ‘Chinatown’ and the shoe leather in that than I am in any hacker thing. But I loved this broken girl who’s given a chance to do research with this guy that she’s not quite so sure about. And I don’t even know that he’s kind to her. I think he just treats her the way you want to be treated, and for her, this is so revelatory.”

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Looking at his other hit titles, David Fincher noted that each film had something different to offer and satiate. Fincher called ‘The Social Network’ “just a script that you couldn’t put down.” However, he had a more personal connection to ‘Zodiac.’ “[The Zodiac killer] was a boogeyman when I was a 7-year-old. I was kind of going through the process the main character was going through — what happened? I felt kindred to that. ‘Benjamin Button,’ I loved the idea of a romance with that kind of body count.” “There’s different things about every movie.”

Summing it up, the renowned filmmaker remarked that every project finds a place in a unique combination of personal interest and professional opportunity. He added, “I like the idea that you can kind of pick and choose where you’re going to spend your efforts — what you’re going to underline, and what you’re going to blur.”