David Fincher Month Continues with: 'The Game'
As David Fincher month continues we will movie on to his next movie. Two years after the movie 'Se7en' came out and became one of the scariest movies of all time, David Fincher released his next film Project ‘The Game'.
‘The Game' is about a real douche bag millionaire named Nicolas Van Orton played by Michael Douglas that has a reall people problem. He just grew up to be one hard assed son of a bitch. His Brother Conrad Van Orton who is played by Sean Penn ends up getting him a unusual birthday present. What do you get a guy that has everything for his birthday? The Birthday present Conrad gets him is a live action game that would take over his life.
This was one crazy ass frustratingly fun movie. I was really just anxious and fidgety most of the time because the story was just so crazy and out there. It was a very different type of film even with today's standards it is different and original. The movie was like watching a Twilight Zone episode or one of Roman Polanski's crazy films like ‘The Tenant'. ‘The Game' got me. I was right along for the ride with Nicolas Van Orton the whole time. He had no idea what in the hell was going on and neither did I. What a freaky ass scary game that would be because you have no freakin idea it is a game. Good lord thats just frustrating to me. After going through all of that hell, in the end you break and jump off a building only to find that it really all was just a game. I'll tell you what, I would have been incredibly pissed off at everyone for putting me through that ordeal. But then I really didn't play the game so I wouldn't know how I would react. I just knew how I felt watching the movie. I wasn't sure how Nicolas would react to it either. But he was grateful for the experience. It changed him and in the end it made him a better man.
The crazy thing is this movie is based on a game that actually exists.
The movie was done very well, and in the end I really enjoyed myself. I love it when a movie can make me feel all kinds of different emotions and this movie does that.
David Fincher did an incredible job directing this movie. The guy truly knows how to direct his actors. I love the way this movie was shot. It looks like he experimented with a few things in ‘The Game' because I have seen some of those same things in later films but the skills have been fine tuned.
One of David Fincher trademark shots is having the actors walk into focus.
So here is some Trivia about ‘The Game' you may not know:
Jodie Foster was in talks for the part eventually played by Sean Penn. At that time in pre-production the character was intended to be Nicholas Van Orton's daughter or sister. But was dropped from what she viewed as a firm commitment from PolyGram (the same company her own production company, Egg Pictures, is affiliated with). She sued PolyGram. The case was settled before trial for an undisclosed amount.
David Fincher claimed in an interview in UK film magazine Empire, that there is a can of haggis in every scene of the movie. This was done as a joke, because "Haggis" is the nickname of cinematographer Harris Savides.
Deborah Kara Unger fractured a bone in her foot and jumped into a dumpster infested with real rats on the while working on this film.
Spike Jonze makes a cameo as the paramedic who shines a light in Van Orton's eyes after his fall.
The real Game is, more-or-less, a Ph.D. caliber scavenger hunt. It's also a team event. There is no prize money. Each team's entry fee is $25,000; limited to ten teams. All of the entry money is donated to charity. The game is actually supported by several wealthy benefactors, including Microsoft's 'Bill Gates'. Each team consists of one van full of players - usually four to six people. A series of clues, often in the form of puzzles, must be solved; each clue's answers lead to the next clue. Teams travel from clue to clue, until reaching the finish line. The winners typically take about 24 hours to finish. Often the clues are so intricate and choreographed that they approximate small theatrical productions, occasionally employing a dozen or more actors.
The Criterion laserdisc and the SE DVD feature an alternate ending where Nicholas Van Orton comes out of the hotel, declines a taxi and just walks away.
Check out this a really cool little trailer for the movie: