From All Movie Guide: With only a handful of credits to his
name, David Fincher became one of the most talked-about American
directors to emerge during the late '90s. Although Fincher first
earned recognition -- albeit negative -- as the director of the
critically eviscerated Alien 3 in 1992, it was his work on Seven
three years later that earned him both critical approval and
industry acceptance. A noirish, grimly atmospheric crime thriller
starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt as detectives following the
gruesome trail of a serial killer, the film was hailed by a number
of critics as one of the most innovative and unsettling of the
decade, and duly established its director as one of Hollywood's
most compelling new talents.
Originally hailing from Denver, where he was born in 1962, Fincher
began making movies at the age of eight and, particularly inspired
by the work of George Lucas, got his first major industry job ten
years later at Lucas' own Industrial Lights and Magic. After his
four-year stint at ILM, during which he worked on such productions
as Return of the Jedi (1983) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of
Doom (1984), Fincher helmed commercials and music videos for the
likes of Aerosmith, Paula Abdul, and Madonna.
Following the disappointment of Alien 3, his directorial debut, the
filmmaker received Andrew Kevin Walker's screenplay for Seven.
Relentlessly grim and oozing with rancid cynicism, the film's
success was even more remarkable for the fact that it strayed so
far from the escapist fare that typically primes a film for
mainstream commercial standing. Because the acclaim surrounding
Seven made the relatively unknown Fincher one of Hollywood's
hottest new commodities, the anticipation surrounding his
subsequent project, The Game, was considerable. Released in 1997
and starring Michael Douglas as a soulless attorney who becomes
caught up in the sinister, Kafka-esque machinations of the titular
scheme, the film boasted almost as much feel-bad cynicism as Seven,
but failed to get the warm reception enjoyed by its
predecessor.