Gone Girl (2014)

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Wikidata Q14920425, film, IMDb tt2267998, TMDB 210577: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by episode credits David Fincher as director (‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More); 1 more episode agrees.

What a model would be handed about it, for corpus:ask.

The Rewatchables' awards

From 'Gone Girl’ With Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Mallory Rubin, and Sean Fennessey (2019-08-13):

Most rewatchable scene

  1. pick Nick comes home, finds Amy missing and calls the police; Boney's meticulous walk-through with the iron and post-its
    “I really like when Affleck comes home and discovers Amy's missing and calls the police and everything they do”
    Bill Simmons · 0:31:40
  2. pick The outdoor Amy rally with the protesters and the turn on Nick
    “The outdoor Amy rally with the protesters is that's a fun twist.”
    unknown · 0:33:51
  3. pick The big reveal, Amy's "I am so much happier now that I'm dead" monologue
    “So the next scene is the big, the next thing I got for rewatchable is the big reveal.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:34:52
  4. pick Lola Kirk as Go: the pool scene and the memory of Affleck touching Emily's face
    “I just love Lola Kirk in this movie.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:39:50
  5. pick Nick's interview with Sela Ward's character
    “Next one is Nick's interview with, um, See La Word's character, who I thought was funny, who was in the Fugitive, which is also a wife burner thing.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:40:15
  6. pick Amy's return to Nick's house, covered in blood, and the lead-up to the TV interview
    “Amy's return to Nick's house.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:40:40
  7. pick Amy returning to Nick, covered in blood, and the rest of the movie from there
    “I'm never not watching that movie if this is on and Amy's about to go back to her house.”
    unknown · 0:41:48
  8. pick Nick's first police interview and Boney's growing doubt
    “I really like his 1st police interview.”
    unknown · 0:42:08
  9. pick The press conference: Nick's hamming grin against the parents' stump speech
    “I think the press conference is a really good scene too”
    unknown · 0:43:03
  10. floated The Desi murder
    “Yeah. Has to be. Has to be in here.”
    unknown · 0:44:08
  11. pick The reveal scene
    “I'm always going to be connected to the reveal scene.”
    unknown · 0:44:58
  12. floated The early seduction scenes: meet-cute at the party and the proposal at the Amazing Amy book party
    “I think also all the seduction scenes between the 2 of them at the beginning are really good.”
    unknown · 0:45:51
  13. pick The reveal, Amy's monologue and the depth of her plan
    “Well, you know, the interesting thing about those scenes and it comes up in the reveal, which is also my pick for most rewatchable scenes.”
    Mallory Rubin · 0:46:29

Casting What Ifs · Who almost played the parts, or who might have.

  1. pick Jon Hamm as Nick Dunne: Was reportedly set to lead but Mad Men would not release him; Bill thinks it would have ignited his career.
    “I think John Hamm was supposed to be the lead of this movie.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:05:13
  2. nominee Tom Cruise as Nick Dunne: Floated and then shot down as too short and not savvy enough to keep up with Amy.
    “Do you think Tom Cruise could have been in this?”
    Bill Simmons · 0:13:12
  3. nominee Reese Witherspoon as Amy Dunne: Optioned the rights and wanted to play Amy; the hosts agree she is too open and likable.
    “Reese Witherspoon obtains the film rights.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:15:22
  4. nominee Charlize Theron as Amy Dunne: Listed among the other actresses considered; Bill says the natural move would have been Charlize and Ben Affleck.
    “I think that the natural move would have just been to get Charlize in call it a day.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:18:09
  5. nominee Julianne Hough as Amy Dunne: The weirdest name on the list of actresses considered for Amy.
    “The weirdest one is Julianne Huff.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:16:55
  6. pick Emily Ratajkowski as Emily: Fincher cast her on a recommendation from Ben Affleck.
    “Fincher cast Emily Radikowski.”
    unknown · 1:07:23

What Aged the Best · The part of the movie that holds up best on rewatch.

  1. pick Nick's unshaven video game swoon: A true-to-life moment of a bummed-out husband.
    “I like his unshaven video game swoon.”
    Bill Simmons · 0:48:44
  2. pick Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's score: Relaxing music that instills dread.
    “The musical score.”
    unknown · 0:51:25
  3. pick Rosamond Pike as Amy Dunne: Her performance will live forever.
    “I think Rosemont Pike's performance as Amy Dunn, which will live forever.”
    unknown · 0:57:23
  4. pick Affleck putting on a Mets hat: Elite detail, from Fincher's Yankees-hat story.
    “You know what's age? Big era for twin cest? Is Affleck putting on a Mets hat?”
    Bill Simmons · 0:57:39
  5. pick The small supporting roles: Every small role is perfectly cast.
    “I think every single small role is perfectly cast.”
    unknown · 0:58:26
  6. pick The mid-movie twist: Argued as both best and worst: the shock is gone but every detail rewards a rewatch.
    “That's why I think it's age the best is because, yeah, I think it's both.”
    unknown · 1:00:07

What Aged the Worst · The part of the movie that holds up worst on rewatch.

  1. pick The mid-movie twist: The theater shock cannot be recaptured once you know it is coming.
    “The big twist in the middle has actually aged the worst because in the theater, if you didn't read the book, it was the best part of seeing the movie in the theater.”
    unknown · 0:59:44
  2. pick The internet's outrage over the movie: The first big wave of online takes treating art as something to be outraged about.
    “The internet. The acting is just all of the internet.”
    unknown · 1:00:40
  3. pick The Desi murder: Brutal, and hard to rewatch.
    “It's aged the worse for me.”
    unknown · 1:03:43
  4. pick Neil Patrick Harris as Desi Collings: Bill thinks he is bad in the part; others defend the casting.
    “I just I think he sucks in this movie.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:04:48
  5. pick Wesley Morris's review: A brilliant piece of criticism that lands on a bad opinion.
    “This is a brilliant piece of movie criticism.”
    unknown · 1:06:37

Picking Nits · Nitpicks of a movie they love.

  1. pick Amy's money belt at the hotel: A meticulous planner has no good way to hide her money and the belt falls off when she jumps.
    “Can't figure out how to hide her money.”
    unknown · 1:17:44
  2. pick Amy's suicide plan: She loves herself too much to ever kill herself.
    “I just think she loved herself too much to ever actually kill herself.”
    unknown · 1:19:35
  3. pick The incompetent FBI interview: No one presses her on the box cutter and she is let go while covered in blood.
    “Um, We talked about how incompetent the FBI was.”
    unknown · 1:19:56
  4. pick Nick going down on Amy with her underwear still on: The sex scene makes no sense with her underwear never removed.
    “Nick is going down on Amy and does not remove her underwear.”
    unknown · 1:27:16
  5. pick Nick leaving Bleeker the cat among the broken glass: Nick walks the cat through broken glass and leaves him alone.
    “I just don't like that when Nick is sweeping off the broken glass in the kitchen.”
    unknown · 1:28:38
  6. pick Tanner Bolt's Google trick: A $100,000 lawyer is sold on finding a registered sex offender anyone could Google.
    “So the thing that sold you on an $100,000 retainer lawyer is that he could Google a guy.”
    unknown · 1:29:19
  7. pick The Mets hat: He wears a Cardinals shirt half the movie, so the Mets hat does not make sense.
    “Should have just been a cardinal's hat doesn't make sense.”
    unknown · 1:29:33
  8. pick Amy covered in blood during the FBI interrogation: They would want her clean; the blood is a movie flourish for the shower.
    “Just Amy covered in blood during the FBI interrogation.”
    unknown · 1:29:58
  9. pick Amy's trust fund math: Almost all of a million minus 870 thousand still leaves over $120,000, so they are not poor.
    “Y'all are not poor, like at, like fucking relax about the fucking depression or whatever.”
    unknown · 1:31:07

Best Quote · Favorite lines, with the Amy monologue off limits.

  1. pick I swear you people are the most fucked up people I've ever known: Tanner Bolt's line, a non-Amy favorite.
    “My favorite non-Amy quote is, I swear you people are the most fucked up people I've ever known, and I specialized in fucked up.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:32:23
  2. pick I love tests: Amy's answer to Nick asking for a paternity test; Bill's favorite line of the movie.
    “That's my favorite line of the whole movie.”
    Bill Simmons · 1:33:22
  3. pick Fun fact for the readers, you have a world-class vagina: Mallory's pick, thrown out in case someone else took it.
    “I was throwing it out there thinking maybe one of you were going to pick.”
    Mallory Rubin · 1:33:49
  4. pick I think of my wife. I always think of her head.: The opening narration and its questions about any marriage.
    “The real payoff is the primal questions of any marriage, what are you thinking?”
    Mallory Rubin · 1:34:11
  5. pick I thought writers hated cliches: One of Go's good lines when she needles Nick about the affair.
    “I love when goes like, I thought writers hated cliches.”
    Mallory Rubin · 1:34:44
  6. pick There's some wood, bitch: Go's pep talk, called the least believable line of dialogue in the movie.
    “You can go home and fuck her brains out.”
    unknown · 1:35:36
  7. pick No, but it is humiliating: Gil's line, which gets at the gender politics of Nick being funded by Amy.
    “I like, um, I like the exchange between Boney and Gil about how Amy is funding Nick's life and the line when Gil says, no, but it is humiliating.”
    Mallory Rubin · 1:35:47
  8. pick Invite pregnant idiot into your home and ply her with lemonade: One of Amy's many good lines.
    “Invite pregnant idiot into your home implier of lemonade.”
    unknown · 1:36:33
  9. pick He actually expected me to love him unconditionally: Amy's line, which the speaker finds crushing.
    “I think my favorite Amy one, though, is he actually expected me to love him unconditionally.”
    unknown · 1:36:35

Sequel, Prequel or TV Show · Whether the movie could be a series or have a follow-up.

  1. pick Gone Girl as a 10-episode Netflix show: Yes, but as two five-episode seasons; the hosts prefer Mindhunter as a series.
    “I think the answer is yes, but it would have to be two, 5 episodes seasons.”
    unknown · 1:37:07
  2. pick A Gone Girl sequel: Rosamond Pike has said there are rumors; the hosts joke it would be the further crazy adventures of Amy.
    “What does a Gone Girl sequel look like?”
    unknown · 1:37:56

Unanswerable questions · Things the movie leaves open.

  1. pick How many YouTube views Amy's return clip would get: Guesses range from 125 million to 500 million.
    “Would Amy returning to Nick's house in front of the cameras?”
    unknown · 1:37:31
  2. pick Did no one hear them in the bookshop?: A person is close by while they have sex.
    “Did no one hear them fucking the bookshop?”
    Mallory Rubin · 1:39:35
  3. pick Was there any fluffing?: A question about the filming of the Desi sex scene.
    “Was there any fluffing?”
    Mallory Rubin · 1:40:04
  4. pick Tanner Bolt's two guys: The recurring "I got 2 guys" that could have filled 30 minutes.
    “I can't believe we didn't do an unanswerable question on Tanner Bolt's 2 guys that he keeps mentioning.”
    unknown · 1:42:08
  5. pick What happened to Bleeker the cat: Hosts are told the cat is thriving, then joke he ran away.
    “What happened to Bleeker, the cat?”
    unknown · 1:42:19

Hottest Take · The speaker's boldest opinion of the episode.

  1. pick Staying with Amy: He would stay and make a life with her because she loves him or will pretend to.
    “But listen, this is going to be my hottest take of the whole of the whole podcast.”
    unknown · 1:23:12

Who Won the Movie · Who came out ahead from making the movie.

  1. winner Rosamond Pike as Amy Dunne: A shared win, since four or five actresses would still have scored points with the part.
    “Rosamond.”
    unknown · 1:40:53
  2. nominee David Fincher: Bill's usual answer for Fincher movies: his biggest hit before he left for Netflix and an ode to Hitchcock.
    “I always say Fincher when we do Fincher movies.”
    unknown · 1:40:55
  3. winner Bleeker the cat as Bleeker: Proposed as a co-winner with Pike.
    “Maybe it's a shared win for them and for for Bleeker the Cat.”
    unknown · 1:42:05

Best That Guy / Joey Pants Award · The best that-guy actor in the movie.

  1. nominee Patrick Fugit as Gil: The Almost Famous guy, all grown up.
    “It's got to be Patrick Fuget, right?”
    Bill Simmons · 1:08:08
  2. winner Missi Pyle as Ellen Abbott: The Nancy Grace character; no one knew her name.
    “It's the Nancy Grace lady because I have I had no idea what her name was until you just said it.”
    unknown · 1:08:37
  3. nominee Boyd Holbrook: Pushed back on since he has outgrown the status.
    “I mean, Boyd Holbrook is in this movie?”
    unknown · 1:08:26
  4. nominee Kathleen Rose Perkins as Shawna Kelly: A face seen in many TV shows, great in her one minute.
    “Kathleen Rose Perkins because she's an episode.”
    unknown · 1:08:49
  5. nominee Casey Wilson as Noelle Hawthorne: Also considered, though some say she is already famous from SNL.
    “Casey Wilson for me.”
    unknown · 1:09:07

Best Overacting · The Saul Rubinek Award for overacting.

  1. nominee Casey Wilson as Noelle Hawthorne: Nominated.
    “I had Casey Wilson, I had Rosamond Pike.”
    unknown · 1:09:21
  2. nominee Rosamond Pike as Amy Dunne: Goes for it a couple times in the cunt you married speech, maybe 10% too much.
    “ratchet it up maybe 10% too much.”
    unknown · 1:09:27

Small Role, Big Impact · The Dion Waiters Award for a small part that lands.

  1. pick Lola Kirk as Greta: Bill's pick; called the runaway winner unless Tyler Perry makes his case.
    “My personal choice, Lola Kirk”
    Bill Simmons · 1:10:03
  2. pick Tyler Perry as Tanner Bolt: Only in about four scenes and a likable performance.
    “Tyler Perry, who I think qualifies, is only in like 4 scenes.”
    unknown · 1:09:57
  3. pick Casey Wilson as Noelle Hawthorne: Nominated for the Dion Waiters.
    “Casey Wilson.”
    unknown · 1:10:01
  4. pick Scoot McNairy as Tommy O'Hara: A harrowing 90-second scene.
    “Scu McNarius, Tommy O'Hara, the boyfriend who Ben Affleck goes to visit and he tells the whole story of their encounter.”
    unknown · 1:10:16
  5. pick Emily Ratajkowski as Andie: Her whole performance is a series of vivid moments.
    “She's my pick.”
    unknown · 1:11:57

Apex Mountain · Where a star's or filmmaker's work sits on the mountain.

  1. pick Rosamond Pike as Amy Dunne: The definition of Apex Mountain.
    “Rosemont Pike, I think, is definition of Apex Mountain.”
    unknown · 1:16:00
  2. pick The Social Network: Their Fincher apex, though it changes depending on the last one watched.
    “We decided social network, right?”
    unknown · 1:16:06
  3. pick Mountain Dew product placement: The one product placement the movie lingers on.
    “Is this the Apex Mountain for Mountain Dew?”
    unknown · 1:16:32

Picked in other episodes

Who talked about it

Blank Check — Patreon

The Big Picture

The Rewatchables

Came from

What the speakers say it drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

A Simple Plan: 1 line the maker said so ×1

  1. lineage (adaptation model): A Simple Plan ⇒ Gone Girl (the maker said so). Flynn used A Simple Plan as her model for adapting her own novel, then worried she could not match it.
    “And she said, so I tried to use that as a model and then I freaked myself out because I was like, well, this is too good. I won't do this well.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:36:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Alex Cross: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. people (led to casting): Alex Cross ⇒ Gone Girl (the host's read). Perry's turn in Alex Cross is given as the reason Fincher cast him as Tanner Bolt.
    “Well, that's why Fisher cast him in this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:09:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn novel): 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. lineage (adaptation): Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn novel) ⇒ Gone Girl (the host's read). The film adapts Flynn's novel, and the first-person diary trickery was the open question about how it would work on screen.
    “Because it is such like a little fun piece of 1st person narration trickery.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:34:23 · Esther Zuckerman (0.70 sure it was them)

Lolita: 1 line the maker said so ×1

  1. theme (character type (Desi)): Lolita ⇒ Gone Girl (the maker said so: In the commentary). On the commentary Fincher says he wanted a Claire Quilty type for Desi and found it in Neil Patrick Harris.
    “Fincher said he wanted a Claire quilty type and he's like, what's a modern Claire quilty type?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:18:15 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Reese Witherspoon: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. lineage (originated the project): Reese Witherspoon ⇒ Gone Girl (the host's read). Witherspoon took the book and had the idea of bringing Fincher on board.
    “takes this book, has the smart idea, bring Fincher on board.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:20:39 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Steven Soderbergh: 1 line the maker said so ×1

  1. unmapped (nod to a friend): Steven Soderbergh ⇒ Gone Girl (the maker said so). Fincher put Soderbergh's Singani 63 in the film as a nod to his buddy and let him pick the scene.
    “Fincher wanted to put it in the movie, as a nod to his buddy, Sudi, and said, uh, you can pick the scene where you want it applied.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:25:53 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. people (casting approach): The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ⇒ Gone Girl (the host's read). The speaker thinks Fincher's exhaustive casting search on Dragon Tattoo informed how he cast Amy with someone new to the audience.
    “that exhaustive casting search, which I do think informs the way he approaches Amy going into this movie as well”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:55:22 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Led to

What the speakers say drew on it, marked the same way.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: 1 line the host's read ×1

  1. people (led to casting): Gone Girl ⇒ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (the host's read). While making Gone Girl, Affleck reportedly joked to his agent that he needed a heroic-chin movie after the evil-chin one.
    “the joke was the chin things in the script, he calls up his agent, while making Gone Girl, and says, like, I'm doing the evil chin movie now, you got to find me a heroic chin movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:06:28 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Connected to

The Killer: 4 lines unmapped ×2 lineage ×1 industry ×1

  1. lineage (genre lineage): The Killer → Gone Girl. It is the closest Fincher has come to a pure thriller since Gone Girl, maybe Dragon Tattoo.
    “he hasn't made a movie quite like this, I guess, since Gone Girl, but even, I mean, you could maybe even going back further to Dragon Tattoo is maybe a little closer to this kind of a pure thriller.”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:17:53 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)

Reese Witherspoon: 3 lines lineage ×1 what-if ×1 people ×1

  1. people (casting): Reese Witherspoon → Gone Girl. Fincher also passed on Witherspoon for Gone Girl, as he had for Fight Club.
    “And then, of course, he fucks her out of gone girl as well.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Fight Club with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) · 1:42:41 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Alex Cross: 2 lines people ×1 what-if ×1

  1. what-if (what-if): Gone Girl → Alex Cross. If Gone Girl had come first, a better Alex Cross franchise might have been built around Perry.
    “If Gone Girl had come first. And then he was like, I want to take on Alex Cross.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:10:07 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 2 lines people ×1 industry ×1

  1. people (casting approach): The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo → Gone Girl. The speaker thinks Fincher's exhaustive casting search on Dragon Tattoo informed how he cast Amy with someone new to the audience.
    “that exhaustive casting search, which I do think informs the way he approaches Amy going into this movie as well”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:55:22 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

A Simple Plan: 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (adaptation model): A Simple Plan → Gone Girl. Flynn used A Simple Plan as her model for adapting her own novel, then worried she could not match it.
    “And she said, so I tried to use that as a model and then I freaked myself out because I was like, well, this is too good. I won't do this well.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:36:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Alfred Hitchcock: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (Hitchcock blonde): Alfred Hitchcock → Gone Girl. Fincher says he read the book and felt Amy had to be a Hitchcock blonde, which is not Witherspoon's type.
    “I read this and I immediately felt in need to be a Hitchcock blonde, which is just not who Reese is as a type.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:40:31 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Annabelle: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (opening-weekend rival): Gone Girl → Annabelle. Gone Girl and Annabelle opened to almost the same money.
    “Two movies opening to the same amount of money, essentially.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:50:30 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: 1 line people ×1

  1. people (led to casting): Gone Girl → Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While making Gone Girl, Affleck reportedly joked to his agent that he needed a heroic-chin movie after the evil-chin one.
    “the joke was the chin things in the script, he calls up his agent, while making Gone Girl, and says, like, I'm doing the evil chin movie now, you got to find me a heroic chin movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:06:28 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Dark Places: 1 line industry ×1

  1. industry (marketing tie-in): Gone Girl → Dark Places. Dark Places was sold off Gone Girl, with the Gone Girl one-sheet on its poster; a business pairing, not a creative claim.
    “Dark Places came out a year after Gone Girl and had like Gone Girl on the poster.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:32:49 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Fight Club: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (unreliable voiceover): Fight Club → Gone Girl. Fight Club, Gone Girl and The Killer share voiceover that turns out to be lying.
    “But like, Fight Club, Gone, Girl, and the killer are all very unreliable voice.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:06:31 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Glengarry Glen Ross: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (character type (Tanner Bolt)): Glengarry Glen Ross → Gone Girl. Fincher reportedly said the book's Tanner Bolt reads like Baldwin in Glengarry and would have turned the audience against him.
    “The way it reads on paper is you imagine him being more of a like Baldwin and Glengarry Glenn Bross.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:12:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn novel): 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (adaptation): Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn novel) → Gone Girl. The film adapts Flynn's novel, and the first-person diary trickery was the open question about how it would work on screen.
    “Because it is such like a little fun piece of 1st person narration trickery.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:34:23 · Esther Zuckerman (0.70 sure it was them)

Jon Hamm: 1 line what-if ×1

  1. what-if (what-if casting): Jon Hamm → Gone Girl. Hamm was considered for Nick Dunne but his Mad Men schedule blocked it.
    “John Hamm is considered for the role of Nick Dunn.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:51:40 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Lolita: 1 line theme ×1

  1. theme (character type (Desi)): Lolita → Gone Girl. On the commentary Fincher says he wanted a Claire Quilty type for Desi and found it in Neil Patrick Harris.
    “Fincher said he wanted a Claire quilty type and he's like, what's a modern Claire quilty type?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:18:15 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Mad Men: 1 line contrast ×1

  1. contrast (persona contrast): Mad Men → Gone Girl. The speaker argues Hamm's Don Draper unknowability would sit on the surface where Affleck's reads as real doubt.
    “Ham would be affecting a thing that just exists on the surface of Affleck.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:33:59 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Nancy Meyers: 1 line what-if ×1

  1. what-if (what-if): Gone Girl → Nancy Meyers. Meyers directing Gone Girl could nail Amy but might soft-pedal her viciousness.
    “the Nancy Myers movie I want to see is Gone Girl”
    The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 1:12:33 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)

Panic Room: 1 line craft ×1

  1. craft (visual comparison): Panic Room → Gone Girl. A host says Panic Room's antiseptic, fluorescent look anticipates Gone Girl.
    “Like, not eight, but like, it looks like Gone Girl.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 1:30:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Promising Young Woman: 1 line contrast ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): Gone Girl → Promising Young Woman. Gone Girl's cool-girl monologue is praised as clear; Promising Young Woman is said to lack a clear worldview.
    “But I think that is a movie that, like, on a pretty fundamental level, does not really have a clarity in what it is saying or what its worldview is.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:57:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Runner Runner: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (lesson learned): Runner Runner → Gone Girl. Affleck reportedly said Runner Runner was a mistake and he should only work with top-tier directors; the speaker does not tie it to Gone Girl by name.
    “this was a mistake. I need to only work with like really top tier directors”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:05:14 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Steve Kloves: 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (adaptation advice): Steve Kloves → Gone Girl. Flynn asked Kloves how he handled the Harry Potter adaptations; the speaker does not say it shaped the script.
    “She goes to Steve Cloves and is like, how did you adapt the Harry Potter books?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:39:03 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Steven Soderbergh: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (nod to a friend): Steven Soderbergh → Gone Girl. Fincher put Soderbergh's Singani 63 in the film as a nod to his buddy and let him pick the scene.
    “Fincher wanted to put it in the movie, as a nod to his buddy, Sudi, and said, uh, you can pick the scene where you want it applied.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:25:53 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Strangers on a Train (unmade Fincher/Flynn project): 1 line career ×1

  1. career (announced next project): Gone Girl → Strangers on a Train (unmade Fincher/Flynn project). Fincher and Flynn almost at once announced a Strangers on a Train that never happened.
    “they almost immediately announced after this, the strangers on a train that doesn't happen.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:38:13 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Intern: 1 line contrast ×1

  1. contrast (contrast): The Intern → Gone Girl. Gone Girl is Fincher's gender movie; the speaker thinks The Intern could be funny too.
    “I mean, like David Fincher does like a gender movie, I guess, is gone girl, but the intern could be funny too”
    The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 1:14:48 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)

The War of the Roses: 1 line lineage ×1

  1. lineage (lineage): The War of the Roses → Gone Girl. Roses is described as a prequel to Gone Girl; it could have pivoted to Turner killing Douglas and going on the run.
    “This movie's kind of a prequel to Gone Girl.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The War of the Roses’ With Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, and Amanda Dobbins · 1:37:30 · Craig Horlbeck (0.50 sure it was them)

The Way Back: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (shared detail): Gone Girl → The Way Back. Natty Ice appears in Gone Girl and is also Affleck's beer in The Way Back.
    “I feel like Natty Ice is also his beer in the way back.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:37:02 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Zodiac: 1 line unmapped ×1

  1. unmapped (Fincher's peak run): Zodiac → Gone Girl. The speaker calls Fincher's run from Zodiac to Gone Girl the peak of his career.
    “Yeah, I guess his run from zodiac to gone girl. I do think is the peak of his career.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:06:46 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

Where it came up

What was said about it, by kind

career (1)

  1. career (announced next project): Gone Girl → Strangers on a Train (unmade Fincher/Flynn project). Fincher and Flynn almost at once announced a Strangers on a Train that never happened.
    “they almost immediately announced after this, the strangers on a train that doesn't happen.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:38:13 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

contrast (3)

  1. contrast (contrast): The Intern → Gone Girl. Gone Girl is Fincher's gender movie; the speaker thinks The Intern could be funny too.
    “I mean, like David Fincher does like a gender movie, I guess, is gone girl, but the intern could be funny too”
    The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 1:14:48 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)
  2. contrast (persona contrast): Mad Men → Gone Girl. The speaker argues Hamm's Don Draper unknowability would sit on the surface where Affleck's reads as real doubt.
    “Ham would be affecting a thing that just exists on the surface of Affleck.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:33:59 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. contrast (contrast): Gone Girl → Promising Young Woman. Gone Girl's cool-girl monologue is praised as clear; Promising Young Woman is said to lack a clear worldview.
    “But I think that is a movie that, like, on a pretty fundamental level, does not really have a clarity in what it is saying or what its worldview is.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:57:21 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

craft (1)

  1. craft (visual comparison): Panic Room → Gone Girl. A host says Panic Room's antiseptic, fluorescent look anticipates Gone Girl.
    “Like, not eight, but like, it looks like Gone Girl.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Panic Room with Eva Anderson (Ad-Free) · 1:30:27 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

industry (4)

  1. industry (box office): The Killer → Gone Girl. Pitched as a conventional hitman movie it might do commercially though not $500 million like Gone Girl.
    “It might not be a $500 million movie like Gone Girl, but it's pretty commercial.”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:57:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. industry (marketing tie-in): Gone Girl → Dark Places. Dark Places was sold off Gone Girl, with the Gone Girl one-sheet on its poster; a business pairing, not a creative claim.
    “Dark Places came out a year after Gone Girl and had like Gone Girl on the poster.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:32:49 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. industry (Oscar treatment): The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo → Gone Girl. Dragon Tattoo got the same dismissal as a stylist's pulp job, with more nominations.
    “He is, he is, but Dragon Tattoo kind of got the same treatment.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:47:44 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. industry (opening-weekend rival): Gone Girl → Annabelle. Gone Girl and Annabelle opened to almost the same money.
    “Two movies opening to the same amount of money, essentially.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:50:30 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

lineage (6)

  1. lineage (lineage): The War of the Roses → Gone Girl. Roses is described as a prequel to Gone Girl; it could have pivoted to Turner killing Douglas and going on the run.
    “This movie's kind of a prequel to Gone Girl.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The War of the Roses’ With Bill Simmons, Mallory Rubin, and Amanda Dobbins · 1:37:30 · Craig Horlbeck (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (genre lineage): The Killer → Gone Girl. It is the closest Fincher has come to a pure thriller since Gone Girl, maybe Dragon Tattoo.
    “he hasn't made a movie quite like this, I guess, since Gone Girl, but even, I mean, you could maybe even going back further to Dragon Tattoo is maybe a little closer to this kind of a pure thriller.”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 0:17:53 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. lineage (originated the project): Reese Witherspoon → Gone Girl. Witherspoon took the book and had the idea of bringing Fincher on board.
    “takes this book, has the smart idea, bring Fincher on board.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:20:39 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. lineage (adaptation): Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn novel) → Gone Girl. The film adapts Flynn's novel, and the first-person diary trickery was the open question about how it would work on screen.
    “Because it is such like a little fun piece of 1st person narration trickery.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:34:23 · Esther Zuckerman (0.70 sure it was them)
  5. lineage (adaptation model): A Simple Plan → Gone Girl. Flynn used A Simple Plan as her model for adapting her own novel, then worried she could not match it.
    “And she said, so I tried to use that as a model and then I freaked myself out because I was like, well, this is too good. I won't do this well.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:36:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  6. lineage (adaptation advice): Steve Kloves → Gone Girl. Flynn asked Kloves how he handled the Harry Potter adaptations; the speaker does not say it shaped the script.
    “She goes to Steve Cloves and is like, how did you adapt the Harry Potter books?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:39:03 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

people (4)

  1. people (casting approach): The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo → Gone Girl. The speaker thinks Fincher's exhaustive casting search on Dragon Tattoo informed how he cast Amy with someone new to the audience.
    “that exhaustive casting search, which I do think informs the way he approaches Amy going into this movie as well”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:55:22 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. people (led to casting): Gone Girl → Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While making Gone Girl, Affleck reportedly joked to his agent that he needed a heroic-chin movie after the evil-chin one.
    “the joke was the chin things in the script, he calls up his agent, while making Gone Girl, and says, like, I'm doing the evil chin movie now, you got to find me a heroic chin movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:06:28 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. people (led to casting): Alex Cross → Gone Girl. Perry's turn in Alex Cross is given as the reason Fincher cast him as Tanner Bolt.
    “Well, that's why Fisher cast him in this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:09:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. people (casting): Reese Witherspoon → Gone Girl. Fincher also passed on Witherspoon for Gone Girl, as he had for Fight Club.
    “And then, of course, he fucks her out of gone girl as well.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Fight Club with Alex Ross Perry (Ad-Free) · 1:42:41 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

theme (2)

  1. theme (character type (Tanner Bolt)): Glengarry Glen Ross → Gone Girl. Fincher reportedly said the book's Tanner Bolt reads like Baldwin in Glengarry and would have turned the audience against him.
    “The way it reads on paper is you imagine him being more of a like Baldwin and Glengarry Glenn Bross.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:12:35 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. theme (character type (Desi)): Lolita → Gone Girl. On the commentary Fincher says he wanted a Claire Quilty type for Desi and found it in Neil Patrick Harris.
    “Fincher said he wanted a Claire quilty type and he's like, what's a modern Claire quilty type?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:18:15 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

unmapped (8)

  1. unmapped (emotional through-line): The Killer → Gone Girl. Amazing Amy's coping with childhood exploitation is another Fincher story of someone never letting the facade break.
    “Gone Girl is the same way, you know, like everything that Amazing Amy is going through is like her coping with”
    The Big Picture · ‘The Killer’ Is Cold-Blooded Genius. And Something More · 1:09:32 · Sean Fennessey (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (Hitchcock blonde): Alfred Hitchcock → Gone Girl. Fincher says he read the book and felt Amy had to be a Hitchcock blonde, which is not Witherspoon's type.
    “I read this and I immediately felt in need to be a Hitchcock blonde, which is just not who Reese is as a type.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:40:31 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. unmapped (lesson learned): Runner Runner → Gone Girl. Affleck reportedly said Runner Runner was a mistake and he should only work with top-tier directors; the speaker does not tie it to Gone Girl by name.
    “this was a mistake. I need to only work with like really top tier directors”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:05:14 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. unmapped (shared detail): Gone Girl → The Way Back. Natty Ice appears in Gone Girl and is also Affleck's beer in The Way Back.
    “I feel like Natty Ice is also his beer in the way back.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:37:02 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  5. unmapped (unreliable voiceover): Fight Club → Gone Girl. Fight Club, Gone Girl and The Killer share voiceover that turns out to be lying.
    “But like, Fight Club, Gone, Girl, and the killer are all very unreliable voice.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:06:31 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  6. unmapped (unreliable voiceover): The Killer → Gone Girl. Fight Club, Gone Girl and The Killer share voiceover that turns out to be lying.
    “But like, Fight Club, Gone, Girl, and the killer are all very unreliable voice.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:06:31 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  7. unmapped (nod to a friend): Steven Soderbergh → Gone Girl. Fincher put Soderbergh's Singani 63 in the film as a nod to his buddy and let him pick the scene.
    “Fincher wanted to put it in the movie, as a nod to his buddy, Sudi, and said, uh, you can pick the scene where you want it applied.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:25:53 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  8. unmapped (Fincher's peak run): Zodiac → Gone Girl. The speaker calls Fincher's run from Zodiac to Gone Girl the peak of his career.
    “Yeah, I guess his run from zodiac to gone girl. I do think is the peak of his career.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Social Network (Ad-Free) · 0:06:46 · unknown (0.35 sure it was them)

what-if (4)

  1. what-if (what-if): Gone Girl → Nancy Meyers. Meyers directing Gone Girl could nail Amy but might soft-pedal her viciousness.
    “the Nancy Myers movie I want to see is Gone Girl”
    The Big Picture · 300th Episode Ask-Us-Anything Mailbag Spectacular · 1:12:33 · Amanda Dobbins (0.60 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (what-if casting): Reese Witherspoon → Gone Girl. Fincher told Witherspoon at once that she would not star; the speakers debate whether she would have worked as Amy.
    “Fincher immediately says, by the way, you're not starting in this.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:20:42 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  3. what-if (what-if casting): Jon Hamm → Gone Girl. Hamm was considered for Nick Dunne but his Mad Men schedule blocked it.
    “John Hamm is considered for the role of Nick Dunn.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:51:40 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. what-if (what-if): Gone Girl → Alex Cross. If Gone Girl had come first, a better Alex Cross franchise might have been built around Perry.
    “If Gone Girl had come first. And then he was like, I want to take on Alex Cross.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:10:07 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Fun items about it

  1. fun, about Gone Girl: The much-debated nudity: a one-hour-in glimpse of Affleck that the framing does not point at, which some theater crowds and projections missed.
    “He does not construct that frame to draw your attention to the dick.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:04:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Gone Girl: Esther's boyfriend's ex saw it with him in 2014 and told him afterward she would like to 'gone girl' him.
    “I would like to gone girl you, basically.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 0:09:57 · Esther Zuckerman (0.70 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Gone Girl: Fincher attended the opening-weekend Lincoln Square screening and afterward trimmed a few seconds from scenes that ran long.
    “I remember later hearing that Fincher was at that screening.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:12:16 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Gone Girl: On the commentary, Fincher's first remark is that Rosamund Pike wears a wig in nearly every scene, so almost every shot needed a digital wig-line removal, including the opening shot of the back of her head.
    “basically every scene Rosemond Pike is wearing a wig in this movie and wig technology has not really advanced in the last 100 years.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:15:28 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about Gone Girl: The Blu-ray includes a real Amazing Amy kids' book written to mirror the movie, which the speakers find arch and not child-friendly.
    “It's arch and it's very much like they wrote an amazing Amy that mirrors the movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:30:14 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  6. fun, about Gone Girl: Fincher's hardest job was getting Fox to market only the first 45 minutes; the only later image allowed in the trailer was the imagined shot of Amy's body underwater.
    “going to Fox and being like, the marketing of this film in every way has to be centered only around the 1st 45 minutes.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 1:50:38 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  7. fun, about Gone Girl: The producer's verdict: a quintessential beach-house rental movie, the DVD everybody is glad to find on the shelf.
    “I think this is a great beach house movie.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Gone Girl with Esther Zuckerman (Ad-Free) · 2:59:12 · Ben Hosley (0.80 sure it was them)

Who the speakers said made it

As said on the shows, not checked against the real credits.