David Fincher Responds to ‘Zodiac’ Critics: ‘This is the Book We Bought’

2007 film by David Fincher Zodiac was critically acclaimed, boasting a 90% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but there were still a few people who were disappointed by the film’s lack of resolution.

With the many theories surrounding the identity of the Zodiac killer, some viewers might have wished for a more definitive ending or dealing with the still unsolved mystery that has gripped people for decades.

Speaking at a recent Tribeca Festival panel with Steven Soderbergh, Fincher recalled: ‘There was so much criticism after Zodiac came out on people saying, ‘Why didn’t you go down this rabbit hole? Why did you only go down Graysmith’s rabbit hole?’”

“This is the book we bought,” she said, interrupting her own line of questioning. “We didn’t buy everyone’s book on the Zodiac.”

In fact, Fincher’s film is based on the books by Robert Graysmith, the newspaper cartoonist played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who becomes increasingly obsessed with the identity of the Zodiac killer. The film, written by James Vanderbilt, also stars Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chloë Sevigny, John Carroll Lynch and Anthony Edwards.

Fincher made his comments in response to a question from fans about doing projects involving real people, including those who are still alive, such as the subjects of his Facebook origins film. The social networkand the inspirations behind hers Mindhunter series.

“You have a responsibility to make sure you say what you want to say because chances are they can get you into an airport,” Fincher said, speaking broadly. “So you want to be aware and be smart about it. Making movies about stuff that gets ripped from the headlines is a slippery slope. I think it’s important to be responsible and likewise, you also have to entertain the audience.”