David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American director and producer, notably for films, television series and music videos. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and The Social Network (2010). For the latter, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and the BAFTA Award for Best Direction.
He is also known for having directed the psychological thrillers Seven (1995), The Game (1997), Fight Club (1999), Panic Room (2002) and Gone Girl (2014), and the mystery thrillers Zodiac (2007) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), as well as being instrumental in the creation of the Netflix series House of Cards (2013-) and Mindhunter (2017-).
Early life
Fincher was born on August 28, 1962 in Denver, Colorado, the son of Claire Mae Boettcher, a mental health nurse from South Dakota, and Howard Kelly "Jack" Fincher, an author from Oklahoma who worked as a reporter and bureau chief for Life. Howard died of cancer in April 2003. Fincher knew from a young age he wanted to go into filmmaking.
When Fincher was two years old, the family moved to San Anselmo, California, where filmmaker George Lucas was one of his neighbors. Fincher moved to Ashland, Oregon in his teens, where he graduated from Ashland High School. During high school, he directed plays and designed sets and lighting after school, and was a non-union projectionist.
Career
Fincher was employed at Korty Films as a production head. He moved up the ranks and became a visual effects producer, working on the animated Twice Upon a Time (1983). He was hired by Industrial Light & Magic in 1983 as an assistant cameraman and matte photographer, and worked on Return of the Jedi (1983) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
In 1984, he left ILM to direct a commercial for the American Cancer Society that depicted a fetus smoking a cigarette. This quickly brought Fincher to the attention of producers in Los Angeles, and he was given the chance to direct the 1985 Rick Springfield documentary.
Filmography (as director)
Film:
- Alien 3 (1992)
- Se7en (1995)
- The Game (1997)
- Fight Club (1999)
- Panic Room (2002)
- Zodiac (2007)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- The Social Network (2010)
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
- Gone Girl (2014)
- Mank (2020)
Television:
- House of Cards (2013-2018)
- Mindhunter (2017-)
- Love, Death & Robots (2019-)