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Tyler Perry Didn't Know Who David Fincher Was, Hypes Up 'Gone Girl'

by Ethan Anderton
August 27, 2014
Source: Vulture

Most of the time, people who are lucky enough to work in Hollywood are so busy with their own projects that they don't have time to keep up with what's happening outside of their own professional bubble. That means actors, writers, directors and more aren't quite as knowledgeable as to what's happening with other films, sometimes not even being aware of one another's work. However, when it comes to a director like Tyler Perry mentioning in an interview with Vulture that he didn't know who David Fincher (director of The Social Network and Se7en) was before signing on for a role in Gone Girl, that seems a little ridiculous.

Perry mentions this absence of knowledge when talking about his supporting turn in Gone Girl, explaining that he wouldn't have taken the role if he had been aware of who Fincher was as a filmmaker. Don't worry, it's not as cocky as it sounds on the surface. Perry says:

"This is the honest-to-God's truth. If I had known who David Fincher was, and his body of work. If I had known that the book was so popular, and so many people loved it. Had I known all those things, I would have said no. And my agent knew that! So he didn't tell me any of those things! Not until after I had signed on to do it. And the reason I wouldn't have done it is because when things are that magical for people and they become very special for people, there's a lot of pressure for it to be what they want it to be."

So at least Perry wouldn't have turned down the role because he didn't respect Fincher as a filmmaker. But at the same time, it's almost just as disrespectful to not be aware of other filmmakers, especially ones like Fincher whose films have been so prominent and influential. On another level, it just seems so weird that someone like Perry wasn't aware at all of someone like Fincher as a filmmaker. Anyway, Perry is certainly familiar with the director now, and he talked about what it was like to work with him and his surprising method of shooting dozens of takes:

"Nobody told me. The first time I found out he did that was on set. One of my first lines, on the first day, Ben goes, 'Just want you to know, minimum, 30 takes.' And the blood was draining from my face. I turned around and I was like, 'Are you serious?' He was like, 
'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' But I'll tell you what I found, what I found in it. I love studying people. And I realized that this man sees like no other person I've ever known. I think his own vision is hyper, so when he's doing a take, he's seeing everything on that screen all at once. I mean, it's almost like some kind of alien. And until all those things line up, he's not happy."

Thankfully, Perry understood exactly what he was doing once he became familiar, and he praises him:

"But he is brilliant at getting the perfect shot. So once I realized that it's not me, or it's not Ben — it could be a napkin turned the wrong way, he's just looking at every little detail in the scene — so once I realized that, I was ready to go with it. He is the master, man. He is just great. I loved working with him. I learned how to make a movie, number one. I was just soaking everything up. I was paying attention to every move, every word, everything he was saying when he'd talk to the camera people, the DP — just the level of communication and director-speak was awesome. It makes me want to approach [filmmaking] with just a little more patience."

If there's one director Perry can learn a lot from, it's David Fincher. It's probably not enough to get him to stop making Madea movies, but there's nothing that will stop that nonsensical machine. As for Gone Girl, Perry is already hyping up the film saying, "I was beyond impressed, blown away. I laughed and I was moved and I just thought the performances were amazing. It's incredible. He's brilliant. It's pretty awesome. He nailed it. We'll all just have to find out if that's true when the film hits theaters this fall on October 3rd. Watch the most recent extended TV spot for the film and the second theatrical trailer. Thoughts?

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