• Home
  • About Emmy-Winning Blog
  • ©2008-2022 Scott W. Smith (Contact Info)

Screenwriting from Iowa

…and Other Unlikely Places

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« ‘Fight Club’—The First Punch
Writer/Diesel Mechanic Chuck Palahniuk »

‘Nobody was that interested in hiring me…”—Fincher

July 17, 2015 by Scott W. Smith

“I never took advertising seriously enough to worry about whether or not there was any sort of moral ambiguity about—I mean [Fight Club] probably more accurately depicts my take on advertising and what it provides for society than any of the advertising that I did. But, you know, you work where you can. I would have much rather started off making movies but nobody was that interested in hiring me to make movies early on so I did music videos and commercials as a way to just, you know, play with the tools.”
Two-time Oscar-nominated director David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network)
Fight Club Blu-ray director’s commentary 

At 18-years-old Fincher began working for Korty Films in Mill Valley, California before going on to work for ILM in San Francisco. Next Fincher began directing commercials and music videos, and eventually feature films. “Work where you can.” Here’s an anti-smoking commercial directed by Fincher in 1984 when he was 21 or 22 years—starting at an early age being provocative with interesting visuals.

P.S. Fincher’s short time at Korty Films can’t be overlooked in setting the tone for his career. John Korty won an Emmy for his 1974 TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman which film critic Pauline Kael called “…possibly the finest movie ever made for American television.” An article by Paul Liberatore called Korty the “undisputed father of filmmaking in Northern California.”  He’s said to have inspired George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola to join him in creating “Hollywood North.” Korty also won an Oscar for his documentary Who Are the Debolts? [And Where Did They Get 19 Kids?]

And even his story has Midwest roots in that Korty was born Lafayette, Indiana and inspired to make films in 11th grade in Kirkwood, Missouri after a art teacher showed the class films by Norman McLaren.

“I had interests in music and art and writing and everything, and they were all separate things in my mind. When I saw McLaren’s films, I thought, ‘Wait a minute. Film is the one thing you can do that combines all these different elements.’ From that moment on, I was hooked on the idea of becoming a filmmaker.”—John Korty

Related posts:
Filmmaking Quote #25 (David Fincher)
1 Scene + 2 Actors = 99 Takes
‘Fight Club’—The First Punch

Scott W. Smith is the author of Screenwriting with Brass Knuckles

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in screenwriting | 1 Comment

One Response

  1. on July 18, 2015 at 3:45 am Hamish Downie

    Reblogged this on Hamish Downie and commented:
    Fincher, one of my favourite directors, did more than his 10,000 hours before his break with Madonna and “Aliens 3”.



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,338 other followers

  • Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places

    Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places
  • @scottwsmith_com

    • Spontaneous Filmmaking with @Casey Neistat wp.me/paP6U-kep https://t.co/6WckMlbgiD 1 week ago
    Follow @scottwsmith_com
  • Top Posts

    • Why Movie Stars Have Big Heads
    • How an Oscar-winning Screenwriter Uses Index Cards
    • John Ford's Advice to Spielberg
    • Average Length of a Movie Scene (tip #21)
    • David Mamet vs. Aaron Sorkin/Judd Apatow/Martin Scorsese on Theme
    • Inside the ‘Breaking Bad’ Writers' Room & How Bad Ideas Can Lead to Good Ideas
    • How to Write a Screenplay in One Day
    • The Devil Speech by James L. Brooks
    • The Perfect ‘Mad Men’ Monologue
    • Film vs. TV Writing (10 Differences)
  • Recent Posts

    • Learning to Be More Spontaneous with Casey Neistat
    • Spontaneous Filmmaking with Casey Neistat
    • ‘I Love L.A.’—Random Memories (and a Few Life Lessons) from Living in Southern California Back in the Day
    • Magic vs. Grit
    • ‘Hollywood in Your Pocket’ Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and Shot by Greig Fraser
  • Pages

    • About Emmy-Winning Blog
    • ©2008-2022 Scott W. Smith (Contact Info)
  • Categories

    • Book Reviews
    • Film History
    • filmmaking
    • Filmmaking Quote of the Day
    • Miscellaneous
    • Most Viewed Posts
    • Movies
    • Off Screen Quotes
    • podcasting
    • Postcards
    • Quotes from the Road
    • Screenwriters
    • screenwriting
    • Screenwriting & Life
    • Screenwriting Biz
    • Screenwriting Quotes
    • Screenwriting Road Trips
    • screenwriting tips
    • Television
    • Video Blog
    • writing
    • Writing Quotes
  • Add to Technorati Favorites
  • Digg!
  • Archives

    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.com
  • RSS Screenwriting from Iowa

    • Learning to Be More Spontaneous with Casey Neistat
      ”I think I did pretty well, considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper.”—Steve Martin ”Embrace your environment and try to seek out a handful of ideas. . . You don’t need to live in New York for that to work. Find interestingness in your own life ” —Casey Neistat The […]
      Scott W. Smith
  • Blogroll—Favorite Posts from Others

    • ASPIRING TO ACT, WRITE, DIRECT—TomCruise.com
    • BURN IT DOWN—John August
    • CASE STUDIES IN FILM EDITING—Oliver Peters
    • DAVID MAMET'S MEMO— Movieline
    • EVERY SALE HAS A STORY—Blake Snyder
    • FILM FINACE OVERWHELM—Stacy Parks
    • IT'S THE CONCEPT STUPID—Max Adams
    • LISTEN TO A MOVIE—Scott Myers
    • MISHA GREEN INTERVIEW—Scriptshadow
    • QUERY LETTER SAMPLE — Michele Wallerstein
    • RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK—Scriptsnotes, Ep 73:
    • THE 'RAIDERS' STORY CONFERENCE—Mystery Man on Film
    • THE "A" LIST—Christopher Lockhart
    • THE SCREENWRITER'S GUIDE TO MOVIE VILLAINS—Screenwriting Spark
    • THE TOTAL FILM-MAKER BY JERRY LEWIS—Cinephilla and Beyond
    • VINCENT LAFORET—chasejarvisLIVE

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Screenwriting from Iowa
    • Join 1,338 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Screenwriting from Iowa
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: