The relationship between David Fincher and Netflix is one that intrigues (and sometimes frustrates) film fans. It’s wonderful that Fincher is able to work with Netflix and seemingly make whatever films he wants. But also, for some people, the fact that he’s working with Netflix means he’s not making “cinema” anymore, if you follow Martin Scorsese’s most strict definition of the term. But Fincher is the first to defend his reasons for sticking with Netflix, and apparently, he’s ready to keep the relationship going for another few years.
Speaking to Premiere magazine (via FincherAnalyst), David Fincher talked about his relationship with Netflix and why he recently extended his contract with the streamer. Yes, he confirmed that his deal with Netflix has been extended for another three years, which means we’re going to see quite a bit more of the filmmaker’s work debuting on the streaming service. And honestly, when you hear him talk about Netflix and why he stays with the streamer, it’s clear why he’s only really interested in working within that relationship.
“I don’t feel like I’m deviating from my previous approach when working with Netflix. I make them take the same type of risks that I have made others take in the past,” said Fincher. “‘Fight Club’ was a huge risk. People lost their jobs because they agreed to produce this film. ‘Benjamin Button?’ People at the studio would read the script and go, ‘Oh, this movie will be like a big comforting hug.’ I clarified, ‘Yes, a big comforting hug about death!’ Then 35 million dollars were spent on visual effects, including probably 18 to paste Brad Pitt’s head on actors in wheelchairs so that the star of our film would look like he was 85 years old…”
He then talked about how that is similar to what he’s done with Netflix and added, “Maybe ‘House of Cards’ wasn’t a huge risk, but ‘Mindhunter’ was. A procedural on behavioral sciences that would be neither ‘X-Files,’ nor ‘CSI,’ nor ‘Criminal Minds,’ but would function as the portrait of a guy who loses his virginity in the world of psychosexual sadists? We couldn’t complete the trajectory, but it was a gamble. An expensive series, too. Very expensive. We went as far as we could until someone finally said to us, ‘It makes no sense to produce this series like this, unless you can reduce the budget, or make it more pop, so that more people will watch it.’ We did not want to change our approach so, respectfully, they told us that they were drawing a line under it. That’s it: I always take a slight step aside from what is expected of me. Otherwise, I’m not interested.”
This is something Fincher has said, in a variety of different ways, throughout the past several years—Netflix gives him creative freedom to make the projects he wants to make. Remember, it wasn’t too long ago that Fincher created the black-and-white biopic, “Mank,” with a huge budget and an A-list cast. He’s likely not getting those resources anywhere else. And then to follow it up with “The Killer?” That’s the type of career path Fincher wants to have and what is allowed by Netflix.
Sure, there are limits. He only gets a couple of seasons of a TV show that wouldn’t have aired anywhere else. Netflix isn’t going to just give over money endlessly. But he still made multiple seasons of “Mindhunter” in the exact way he wanted to. And when he felt any pushback, that ended.
All that to say, it’s obvious why Netflix and Fincher are a match made in heaven, and why it is mutually beneficial for both to continue to work together. Unfortunately, for film fans, it means that many people won’t get the chance to see his feature films on the big screen anymore. But hey, he’s still making quality films and they’re getting huge audiences. So, that’s just the way it is.
