Guests:
Christine Duncan - Wife of Dana and Mother of Tom
Peterson W. Hill - Co-Host of the War Starts at Midnight podcast
@petersonwhill on IG, Letterboxd, and Twitter
Cast:
David Fincher, Director
Gillian Flynn, Writer
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Music
Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne
Rosamund Pike as Amy Elliott Dunne
Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings
Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt
Carrie Coon as Margo "Go" Dunne
Kim Dickens as Detective Rhonda Boney
Patrick Fugit as Officer James Gilpin
Missi Pyle as Ellen Abbott
Emily Ratajkowski as Andie Fitzgerald
Casey Wilson as Noëlle Hawthorne
*Recognition:
Gone Girl was wide released on October 3, 2014.
On a budget of roughly $61 million, it would gross roughly $370 million worldwide to finish #19 for 2014 at the global box office.
The film received widespread acclaim, was in the top 10 of many major critics for the year, and eventually garnered Rosamund Pike a nomination for Best Actress.
Gone Girl currently holds an 88% among critics on RT, a 79 score on Metacritic, and a 4.1/5 on Letterboxd.
Plot Summary: In "Gone Girl," we delve into a real-life mystery that’ll have you on the edge of your seat. A charming husband (Ben Affleck) finds himself in hot water when his wife (Rosamund Pike) mysteriously disappears. As the media frenzy grows, secrets surface, revealing a twisted tale of deceit, betrayal, and the ultimate manipulation of truth. This isn't just a whodunit—it's a dark reflection of marriage and the masks we wear.
Did You Know:
Ben Affleck postponed directing Live by Night (2016) in order to work on this film with David Fincher, even stating, "He's the only director I've met who can do everybody else's job better than they could." On-set one day, Affleck changed the lens setting on a camera an almost indiscernible amount, betting a crew member that Fincher wouldn't notice. Affleck lost the bet as Fincher brought up, "Why does the camera look a little dim?"
"The Bar" restaurant in the movie opened as a functional bar and restaurant after filming and operated for a few years. It has since permanently closed.
When it comes to casting roles, David Fincher typically goes on the internet to look through pictures of actors to help him find the right type of actor for a role. When casting the role of Nick Dunne, Fincher spotted photos of Ben Affleck and noticed a particular smile Affleck had on in dozens of pictures. According to Fincher, it captured a particular emotion in a scene of Nick Dunne smiling that showed the essence of the character. Soon afterward, Fincher cast Ben Affleck in the role.
David Fincher's musical brief to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross was based upon a visit he paid to a spa, wherein the music meant to relax him he perceived as creepy and made him feel uncomfortable. This gave him the idea to set the music as though it is passive and relaxing, but actually instills a sense of dread.
Ben Affleck would constantly sing '80s songs in between takes. Impressed, Tyler Perry decided to start a game that ended up lasting the entire duration of filming. Perry would start to sing the most random song he could think of to see if Affleck would start singing along. According to Perry, Affleck knew all of the words to every single song Perry threw at him, including Broadway showtunes and songs by Barbra Streisand.
Rosamund Pike told film critic Peter Travers that, whenever David Fincher would catch her on-set about to use her cell phone, he'd take a "stern face" selfie and send it to her causing her to instantly pocket her phone.
Ask Dana Anything:
Peterson W. Hill - War Starts at Midnight
What do you hate about being a lawyer?
Would you have taken Nick Dunne's case?
Christine Duncan
Do you have a favorite dog?
Best Performance: Gillian Flynn (Writer)/David Fincher (Director)/Rosamund Pike (Amy)
Best Secondary Performance: Rosamund Pike (Amy)/David Fincher (Director)/Carrie Coon (Go)/Ben Affleck (Nick)
Most Charismatic Award: Tyler Perry (Tanner)/David Fincher (Director)
Best Scene:
Meet Cute
Twist
Meeting w/ Tommy
Desi
Reconciliation
Favorite Scene: Meeting w/ Tommy/Coming Home/Desi/Shannon Scheiber
Most Indelible Moment: Desi/Reconciliation
In Memorium:
Freddie Salem, 70, American guitarist (Outlaws)
Roger Palm, 75, Swedish drummer (ABBA)
Kathryn Crosby, 90, American actress (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Anatomy of a Murder, Operation Mad Ball)
Barbara Leigh-Hunt, 88, English actress (Frenzy, Paper Mask, a Merry War, Vanity Fair)
Drake Hogestyn, 70, American actor (Days of Our Lives)
John Ashton, 76, American actor (Beverly Hills Cop, Breaking Away, She's Having a Baby, Gone Baby Gone)
Kris Kristofferson, 88, American singer-writer, actor (A Star is Born (1976), Blade)
Author of such No. 1 country hits as “For the Good Times” (Ray Price, 1970), “Sunday Morning Coming Down” (Johnny Cash, 1970) and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (Sammi Smith, 1971). His song “Me and Bobby McGee” became a posthumous No. 1 pop hit for his former paramour Janis Joplin in 1971.
Maggie Smith, 89, English actress (Harry Potter films, Sister Act, Downton Abbey)
Best Lines/Funniest Lines:
Margo Dunne: Everyone knows that 'complicated' is a code word for bitch.
Tanner Bolt: He shouldn't smile at the makeup artist.
Amy Dunne: We're so cute. I wanna punch us in the face.
Amy Dunne: I'm the cunt you married. The only time you liked yourself was when you were trying to be someone this cunt might like. I'm not a quitter, I'm that cunt. I killed for you; who else can say that? You think you'd be happy with a nice Midwestern girl? No way, baby! I'm it.
Nick Dunne: Fuck. You're delusional. I mean, you're insane, why would you even want this? Yes, I loved you and then all we did was resent each other, try to control each other. We caused each other pain.
Amy Dunne: That's marriage.
Desi Collings: Octupus and Scrabble?
Amy Dunne: Nick Dunne took my pride and my dignity and my hope and my money. He took and took from me until I no longer existed. That's murder.
Amy Dunne: The girl with the giant cum-on-me tits.
Nick Dunne: When I think of my wife, I always think of the back of her head. I picture cracking her lovely skull, unspooling her brain, trying to get answers. The primal questions of a marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? What have we done to each other? What will we do?
Nick Dunne: ...we should go to Outback tonight.
Margo Dunne: Whoever took her is bound to bring her back.
Amy Dunne: When two people love each other and they can't make that work, that's the real tragedy.
Tanner Bolt: I will drill you as if you were doing a deposition. What to say, what not to say.
Margo Dunne: A trained monkey?
Tanner Bolt: A monkey who doesn't get the lethal injection.
Amy Dunne: Want to test your marriage for weak spots? Add one recession, subtract two jobs. It's surprisingly effective.
Margo Dunne: Boo hoo, I got laid off. Guess I'll fuck a teenager.
Amy Dunne: [writes a diary entry in February 14, 2012] For Valentine's Day, I thought I'd buy a gun.
Rhonda Boney: I'm conducting an investigation, not a witch-hunt. And two, don't talk to me that way, ever!
Tanner Bolt: I swear, you two are the most fucked up people I've ever known and I specialize in fucked up.
The Stanley Rubric:
Legacy: 6
Impact/Significance: 7.38
Novelty: 8
Classic-ness: 7.38
Rewatchability: 7.5
Audience Score: 8.3 (87% Google, 79% RT)
Total: 44.56
Remaining Questions:
Where does Amy Dunne rank among female villains and villains period in film?
Would you have stayed with Amy?
Who can Nick have sex with now?
Wouldn't the FBI have investigated further?
Comments