David Fincher Thinks a 'Dragon Tattoo' Sequel Could Still Happen

David Fincher is busy right now making the press rounds for Gone Girl, a film many are expecting to be a major box office hit and possible awards player. It would be a good way to bounce back from his last adaptation of a global best-seller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The R-rated thriller took in a disappointing $230M worldwide, way below Sony's expectations, and movement on a sequel has varied between slow-moving and non-existent. Fincher has also been shaky on whether or not he would return, but recent comments made to a Swedish outlet (via FilmDivider) suggest he still thinks The Girl Who Played with Fire could happen. Here's the apparent translation...

Fincher: "I think because it [Sony] already has spent millions of dollars on the rights and the script so it will result in something. The script that we now have a huge potential, I can reveal as much as it is extremely different from the book."

So basically Sony has already thrown a lot of money at it and they can't let it go to waste. We saw some movement last year when Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven) was brought on to rewrite the script but there's been nothing heard about it since. There's also the issue of Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara's schedules. A rumor had surfaced some time back that Craig's character could be written out entirely, while Fincher famously fought with Sony over Mara's casting. She's pretty busy these days, and one has to wonder if she would even want to come back. For that matter, Fincher has been reluctant to work with Sony again after the previous ordeal.

It's probably a good idea to consider all of these factors, plus the questionable translation, before deciding if it's worth getting excited over.

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David Fincher to Direct Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs Biopic

Remember when The Social Network seemed like a really far-fetched idea? Because, really, who in the world would want to see a movie about Facebook? Well, turns out a lot of people did, and a lot of people loved it, mostly due to the rapid-fire script by Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher's cool direction, with no small nod to Jesse Eisenberg in the lead role. And now Sorkin and Fincher are going teaming up again for the story of another big brain who revolutionized technology as we know it.

Fincher has come aboard to helm the untitled Steve Jobs biopic that Sorkin will adapt based on Walter Isaacson's book. Unlike the Ashton Kutcher-led Jobs (which he was pretty damn good in, btw), this film won't be a traditional biopic, with Sorkin revealing some time ago that it will be broken up into three 30-minute "real time" segments capturing major Apple product launches. To help make this happen, Apple co-found Steve Wozniak is consulting on the project.

So how will Fincher fit all of this into his busy schedule? Well, it helps that there won't be any sequels to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. THR seems confident there will be no follow-ups as originally intended. Fincher has only just finished wrapping on Gone Girl, and will work with Gillian Flynn again on the HBO series, Utopia. His involvement in Netflix's House of Cards will remain as an exec-producer going into season three. 

Now the search begins to find someone who can embody Jobs' brilliance, charisma, and stand-offish demeanor. 

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Could Daniel Craig be written out of future 'Dragon Tattoo' sequels?

Sony didn't do quite as well as they hoped on David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It still managed about $230M, although they were angling for $300M. Partially due to that rather wide gap we've seen them take a measured approach to any sequels, with the most recent update saying 2014 might be just the right time. Fincher will apparently return, and the same goes for Rooney Mara who will have even more to do as the stories shift to Lisbeth Salander's past. But what about Daniel Craig? Well, that's not quite so certain anymore.

THR says Craig is seeking a pay raise, which Sony obviously doesn't want to do since these are expensive enough and aren't all that lucrative. If push comes to shove, the possibility has been put out there of them taking the nuclear option and writing his character, Mikael Blomkvist, out of the films completely. Steve Zaillian has already written the script for The Girl Who Played with Fire, which obviously includes Blomkvist, so he'd have to be commissioned to draft another one. That would be pricey in and of itself, not to mention the damage done to the franchise without Craig's starpower. Plus, Zaillian's got enough on his plate putting together HBO's Criminal Justice with James Gandolfini. It just doesn't seem like a viable option.

This is all probably just some negotiating tactic, anyway, and nothing will come of it. At this point I'm not completely convinced we'll see a 'Dragon Tattoo' sequel. Fincher will be busy for awhile developing House of Cards' second season, while he's also got the recently announced Gone Girl and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea percolating. Craig has that whole James Bond thing to fall back on, too, with the next one likely to begin production later this year.

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'The Girl who Played with Fire' moved to 2014....maybe

Deep breath, Lisbeth Salander fans! You'll be getting your sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo after all, it'll just be a little later than you'd hoped. Like a year later. There had been some question whether or not Sony would invest in The Girl who Played with Fire after the first film did just a hair over $100M domestically, but a substantial haul in the foreign market sealed the deal, and Steve Zaillian was hired to get crackin' on a script. Earlier this year, Sony had everything mapped out for production to begin in a year, which would have had the film hitting theaters near the end of 2013, but now that's no longer the case.

Instead, the film will open in 2014, and even that's kind of a soft target date. It could be later than that if Zaillian's script needs work, or if the busy Daniel Craig and  Rooney Mara have other things going on. Both are locked up for all three movies, so one way or another they'll be a part of any follow-ups. The big question is whether or not David Fincher will return as director. He's not confirmed for anything right now, although he remains Sony's top choice. Personally, my interest in the entire franchise plummets without him.

While Sony has given us constant assurances that The Girl who Played with Fire would happen, I guess it's good to hear it one more time. [EW]

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Sony goes forward with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sequels; Fincher not confirmed

Another day, another re-re-re-confirmation of Sony's plans to move ahead on sequels to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It seems like these are a constant, and I'm starting to think these stories spring from folks who desperately just want to see the flicks made. But the latest report comes from Deadine, who note that Sony is pushing ahead with The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, despite lackluster box office on David Fincher's film.


'Tattoo' hasn't been the wildfire success some thought it would be, earning only $76M in America up to this point. It has held fairly well over the last couple of weeks, and there's an outside shot it could crack $100 domestic. The biggest question to me has always been the foreign market, where the Swedish films were very popular and only released a couple of years ago. So far, the global returns have been slow, totally $29M. Sony has it in their heads that the film will make around $300M worldwide, and that is more than enough to justify making more. I think they're a little screwed up on that number, but we shall see.

If this is going to work, and Sony is to properly capitalize on 'Tattoo's possible Oscar buzz, then they need to act fast. The plan is to get the ball rolling by the end of the year or possibly in early 2013, and as has been speculated in the past, the sequels will likely be shot back-to-back. Steve Zaillian has been hard at work on the scripts for awhile now.

Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara are contractually bound to return, and I imagine just how fast these flicks move will depend on how busy Craig is.  The only mystery now is David Fincher, who is not locked by any stretch, and may be too busy with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which is going to have an extensive pre and post-production window due to the heavy CGI. Sony is also likely to take a second look at the release date, since the thought is that they may have overstepped by releasing such an uncomfortable, dark story right in the middle of Christmas season. Y'think?

Hopefully this will put to bed all this sequel talk. Just expect them to happen, but don't be surprised if Fincher isn't a part of them. The Millennium Trilogy has a consistently dark tone and atmosphere, so it would behoove Sony to find someone similar to Fincher to direct them. Anybody have any ideas on who that could be?

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The full 8-minute trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

A couple of months ago we were treated to an intense 8-minute trailer, really a preview, of David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. After so much time had passed I naturally assumed this would be one of the few things that never found it's way online. In fact, I just mentioned that to my colleague, Jen Chaney, that we likely never would. Happy to be proved wrong, that trailer is now available online,and it serves as the perfect primer to Fincher's gloomy crime thriller...




I'll be honest, a lot of the complaints I had with the Swedish adaptations are still prevalent in Fincher's version. When you strip away some of the ugly violence and masochism, it's very much a standard crime procedural. Fincher's beautiful cinematography is a definite upgrade, and Daniel Craig is a marked improvement over Michael Nyqvist. As for Rooney Mara? She's no Noomi Rapace, I'll leave it at that. And I'm betting there's going to be some uproar over the changes Fincher and screenwriter Steve Zaillian have made to Lisbeth's character, the nature of her relationship to Mykael Blomqvist, and the story's conclusion.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will darken your holiday December 21st! And if you're interested, you can pre-order the amazing soundtrack right now by going here.

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Peek inside the mind of Lisbeth Salander in new The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo poster

The latest, and I think the best poster for David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragaon Tattoo gives a glimpse into what's lurking inside the brain of Lisbeth Salander(Rooney Mara). And what we find is...Daniel Craig? Actually Mikael Blomkvist, the journalist she gets swept up into a decades old murder mystery with.

Sony has done a hell of a job ramping up the marketing for the film, especially the new tagline: "What is hidden in snow, comes forth with the thaw". It ties in nicely with the new viral site all the hardcore film geeks have been slaving over the last few days.

The  "Feel Bad" film of the year will darken your holiday season this December 21st.

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Lisbeth Salander makes snow angels in new 'Dragon Tattoo' pics

I just watched the original Swedish film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for a second time over the weekend, and I continue to agree with myself that it's a slow moving bore of a film, propped up by Noomi Rapace's scene stealing performance as Lisbeth Salander. The movie suffers everytime she's not on screen. With David Fincher's version coming up in just a couple months, the question now turns to whether or not he can appease fans of the story's methodical approach while injecting enough energy to keep people like me from dozing off.

Based on the footage I've seen, my fears have erased for the most part, but I still have doubts about Rooney Mara's portrayal of Lisbeth. Rapace's version had a powerful sensuality beneath all the piercings and tattoos that I'm not sensing out of Mara's. We'll see how it plays out when December 21st rolls around. For now, you can feast on these new images courtesy of the French website Le Monde....

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More images of Rooney Mara from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Fincher reveals changes from the book

I love the polarized responses folks had to the first images of Rooney Mara transformed into Lisbeth Salander for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. You either love it like a lot of people do, or you outright hate it. I think a lot of the vitriol comes from the fact that Noomi Rapace was so convincing, and it's barely been any time between the Swedish versions and David Fincher's remakes. Me, I'm less concerned by how she looks than I am with how Mara portrays the character. Although Lisbeth Salander is mostly mono-syllabic throughout a lot of the film, she has a certain energy and charisma to her every actress won't be able to match. Anyone can be made to look like a Goth chick.

See? Anyway, we've got a few new photos of Mara from the W Magazine shoot that have already caused
further gnashing of teeth and rending of garments. Those shots can be seen below, but if you actually read the interview, it states pretty bluntly states that the film is going to be very different from the Stieg Larsson novel...

"The script, which captures the novel's bleak tone (its original Swedish title was Men Who Hate Women), was written by Academy Award winner Steven Zaillian, who wrote Schindler's List, and it departs rather dramatically from the book. Blomkvist is less promiscuous, Salander is more aggressive, and, most notably, the ending-the resolution of the drama-has been completely changed. This may be sacrilege to some, but Zaillian has improved on Larsson-the script's ending is more interesting."

Ok, now I haven't read the books, but I've seen all three movies, which I liked but didn't love. One of my complaints was that they dragged on lacked momentum at times. However, the characters were not the problem. The fact that Blomkvist isn't a perfect guy is part of what made him interesting, and Lisbeth definitely does not need to be altered in any way. Color me worried.  So before people get all up in arms over a few photos, how about taking a moment and getting riled up about what might be happening to the story. With that said, check out the rest of the photos below.

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1st good look at Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'

The biggest questions I've had about David Fincher's upcoming remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have surrounded whether or not the level of violence(particularly against women) would be maintained, and of course how Rooney Mara would look as everybody's favorite enigmatic hacker, Lisbeth Salander.  We've seen a couple of shots of her on set, but they didn't provide much of a look at what must've been a pretty thorough transformation. Well that's over now, because Mara, who recently co-starred in The Social Network, posed as Lisbeth for the current issue of W Magazine. Check out a couple of photos below, and then head over to their website to read the accompanying story, which mostly follows Fincher's filmmaking career.

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Plummer joins The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Max Von Sydow out?

David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo just made a lateral move adding veteran actor Christopher Plummer to the cast. He'll be playing Henrik Vanger, the man who hires disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist to investigate the disappearance of his niece. If you'll recall, Max Von Sydow was previously attached to this role, but THR makes no mention whether or not he's even involved any longer.

Chances are that he isn't. Plummer and Von Sydow are both great actors, but similar in my opinion. And I can't think of any other role in the story that could suit either of them. Von Sydow is too old to play any of the younger Vangers. The only assumption I can draw is that final talks fell through. Then again I could be wrong.

The cast is shaping up quite nicely, though. Alongside Plummer will be Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara(The Social Network), Stellan Skarsgard(Breaking the Waves), and Robin Wright.

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Von Sydow to drive The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

David Fincher is looking towards Max Von Sydow to be the catalyst in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In a bit of shrewd casting, he'll be playing Henrik Vanger, the man who hires shamed journalist Mikael Blomkvist(Daniel Craig) into investigating the 40 year old disappearance of his niece.

It's been a big year for the 81 year old Von Sydow. He's already co-starred opposite both Leondardo Dicaprio and Russell Crowe in Shutter Island and Robin Hood, respectively.

He'll be joining Craig, and the recently named Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. Stellan Skarsgard and Robin Wright Penn are still in talks to join the cast as well.

It doesn't matter what he does, he'll always just be Ming the Merciless to me.

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Natalie Portman back in the running for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The chase to play the role of Lisbeth Salander has taken many turns over the last few months, and the road only seems to be getting twistier. Or maybe it's doubling back on itself, finally? Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Sony is once again looking at Natalie Portman to take on the sought after role. She was one of the first actresses discussed soon after David Fincher signed on to direct, with him even offering her the role flat out. She turned it down at the time, and testing of other actresses began.

Maybe they didn't like the compatability during screen tests between the contenders and Daniel Craig. Those contenders are still said to include Ellen Page(Inception), Mia Wasikowska(Alice in Wonderland), Emily Browning(The Uninvited), Katie Jarvis(Fish Tank), and others.  Nothing has been said as to whether or not Portman is interested in the role again. This could all just be Sony thinking about redoubling their efforts to sign her.

I like the idea of Portman for many of the same reasons I dug the idea of Carey Mulligan. It would be a massive transformation into the goth look Lisbeth sports, and I want to see how that plays out. It's the type of role that is going to require a ton of commitment, as Fincher wants his actors to use Swedish accents. That could turn out to be a problem.  Lisbeth's character in particular goes through some very traumatic experiences. The type that a lot of actresses shy away from. I don't think Portman is the type to get scared away very easily, though.

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Daniel Craig signs on to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Quickly...

After months of speculation, Daniel Craig has officially signed on to David Fincher's American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Negotiations had been taking place since June.  Craig will be tackling the role of disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, who is hired to solve a decades old missing person's case. He forms an intense relationship with eccentric computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander.

The role of Salander has been the subject of many rumors and speculation. A highly coveted role that could be a breakthrough, a number of actresses have thrown their names into the hat. Carey Mulligan(A) recently dropped out of contention. The names still on the shortlist are: Lea Seydoux(Robin Hood), Sophia Lowe(Road Kill), Emily Browning(Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events), Sarah Snook, and Rooney Mara.n Education

Shooting is set to begin once Craig completes filming of Jon Favreau's high concept Western, Cowboys and Aliens.

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David Fincher to Direct THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

A couple of weeks ago I got a chance to catch up with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and found it to be somewhat conventional mystery, but featuring the most compelling character I've seen all year. I knew even then that an American remake was in the works and that David Fincher(Zodiac, Fight Club) was rumored to be attached. Well it looks like he's finally signed his name on the dotted line, and that it will be his next project.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a worldwide best selling novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson. The story involves a 40 year old cold case about missing girl of a wealthy family. Her uncle hires a disgraced magazine publisher, Mikael Blomkvist to solve the mystery, but it's not until he's joined by the rebellious Lisbeth Salander that the pieces start to fall into place.

According to The Playlist, Carey Mulligan(An Education) is on the studio's want list for the role of the dynamic Lisbeth, but there's been no movement in that regard as of yet. It's possible that Fincher would prefer an unknown in the role, and it's likely he'll get what he wants, since it'd be far more efffective to have a recognizable male actor in the role of Mikael.

I'm a huge fan of Carey Mulligan, but I don't see her in the role, which requires a lot of action and frankly...quite a bit of violent sexual abuse. It's too bad they can't get Noomi Rapace, who played Lisbeth in the Swedish version, to reprise the role.

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