For a couple of years — from pre-Zodiac to pre-Benjamin Button, roughly — David Fincher had been scoping out new projects, two of which (Black Hole and Torso) seemed particularly attuned to his taste for the dark, disturbing, and unflinchingly brutal. They were not guaranteed entities, per se, but their odds were pretty good amidst this indecisive world we must traverse day in and day out. Then The Social Network fell into his lap, upon its release becoming a cultural sensation, followed that next year by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — an incredible exertion of formal precision and a nice showcase for its two leads, if, perhaps, not a great deal more — and, following 20,000 Leagues‘ pre-production snags, Gone Girl became his M.O. for the next twelve months or so. Torso is in other hands, so what are the odds Black Hole, years after the fact, keeps its prestigious helmer?
Had you wanted to see this come about, thank Brad Pitt. On the final page of a long profile concerning the actor’s Plan B, it’s said the old pair will keep themselves in one another’s business with none other than that adaptation of Charles Burns‘ graphic novel — which, sadly, is about as far as the story goes. That being said, the source material is no great mystery: a period piece set in ’70s Seattle, its narrative follows a group of high school students plagued by an STD which, generally, presents itself in unimaginable, irreversible ways — those who get a call to be on the film’s makeup department might as well prepare their awards speeches once the phone’s hung up — forming a larger portrait of tenuous teen bonds during terrifying ordeals. It’s the kind of story Fincher might’ve made as a younger, more rebellious artist; in his more seasoned state, the fit between piece and maker might prove hugely profitable.
Plan B will, too, back Andrew Dominik‘s Blonde — which is not new news, actually; this has been known for 16 months — a new picture from New Zealand writer-director Taika Waititi (Boy, Eagle vs. Shark) — titled The Last Family of England, it concerns a talking dog; make of that what you will — and The Operators, which follows the controversy that led to the firing of U.S. General Stanley McChrystal. It’s an eclectic slate, all in all, and, while we might anticipate a few more than others, Pitt‘s continued backing of hard-to-pigeonhole titles is easy to commend in the current Hollywood climate.
Are you happy to see Fincher sticking with Black Hole? What are your thoughts on these other Plan B titles?