Mindhunter, David Fincher and More – / Movie

Bill Tench seems to have the world weighing on his shoulders during the second season of Hunter of spirit. Intuition, looks of worry and distress, you can feel the restraint F.B.I. The agent arrives so close to breaking down, especially during a breathtaking scene in which he confronts and not questions Charles Manson. The character is always fascinating to watch, as is the rest of Hunter of spirit.

Season two marks another of the many collaborations between the actor Holt McCallany and director David Fincher, which is a relationship that goes back to Alien 3. In person, McCallany is as captivating as he is on the screen. He has such a good voice, so after hitting each of his words in our interview with him, I left. Hunter of spirit Junket thought, "No wonder David Fincher loves to film this guy." Today, he is perhaps the closest to the old school actors, for example Burt Lancaster, sharing a similar combination of authority and vulnerability. McCallany looks like a 1950s movie star, making it even more perfect for Bill Tench.

I only saw a handful of episodes before talking to the actor, so no questions on the stage with Charles Manson, but he told us about the sequence Son of Sam, his long collaboration with David Fincher and Bill Tench's worldview.

Now, whenever someone asks me my favorite show right now, I say Hunter of spirit.

Oh thank you, man. I appreciate that. Well, what do you know? All the credit goes to a guy named David Fincher. It was truly an incredibly lucky experience for me and Jonathan for all of us because it just requires a level of excellence from each department, which really motivates you to go to work in the morning because you know that you work with only one. great directors of his generation. And it's not really better than that on TV.

Obviously, you worked with them on Alien 3.

I did it.

This is not the best of circumstances for him, but can you see a lot of similarities between the guy that he is now, the filmmaker that he is now, compared to that time ?

This is an excellent question. People have asked me this before and honestly, it's the same guy. He has the same personality, the same bright intelligence, the same sense of black humor. The difference is that he is now extremely accomplished. And when I met David for the first time Alien 3it was his first film and I did not know that people understood who would become David Fincher.

For season one, you worked 10 months in a row, six days a week. Did you have a similar schedule for season two?

It was a difficult schedule. We often work a six-day week, you're right, because we have to do it, sometimes we have to take different shots. And so it's been long hours. My days start very early, but even on holidays, you have a lot of preparation to do. And the reason is that it's really a talk show. So many scenes are long and complicated. Some of the interviews may be 10 or more pages long. And David likes to film them from beginning to end. And then, he likes to do a lot of setups and many shots in each setup. So, it requires a high level of concentration.

It is also a director who likes, he prefers once something is in rehearsal … And then, during the rehearsal, actors are allowed to present ideas, whatever they are. He may not accept them, but you still have the right to present them. But once something is settled, then that's what it is. So he does not want you to do anything completely different in take 30 than you do not take three. It's the same performance and it will give you small adjustments between shots and you massage it kind and it keeps getting better and better.

But yes, it's a very difficult way to work. But I find it very exciting and frankly, when I work with other directors who have a much more common style, I'm still afraid you have not had enough coverage. You have not made enough catches. You will enter the editing room and you will miss something you really want and it is because you have not spent the time. Sure Hunter of spiritwe spend the time.

In a comment, David Fincher once said: "You carry all these actors in one position, you have all these cameras, why stop? Why not get as much as you can? "People talk about all the catches that he does, but it's so logical.

It's absolutely correct. The expensive part does not make another catch. The most expensive part brought us all here. You know what I mean? Put the train on the rails. Now that we are driving, let him go. So, no, it's a real privilege and you do not need to talk to me to know that this guy is one of the most outstanding directors of American cinema. You can ask anyone and they will tell you all. In the last two years, I have had the privilege of working with him very closely. It's a real transformation experience in my career.

He can even make a scene with Bill having a barbecue during a barbecue full of tension. The way it cuts, the heat intensifying, you just feel the tension rising in the man. How much does David Fincher tell you about the psychology of his blows?

Well, I try to learn a lot from David looking at him as he prepares a shot, trying to identify the things that matter to him and trying to absorb as much as possible, in case I could someday try something myself. We never know. But even if I try to look closely, I'm always surprised to see the final product because it may be a simple thing, as every time Bill shakes hands with someone, you see a little… [reaches out his hand for a loud handshake] There is a small sound effect. You know what I mean? Which is a tiny detail, but that is supposed to indicate that Bill is a powerful presence. You know what I mean? And that his handshake is a firm handshake. And it's a very small thing that you add in post, but when I see it, I notice it says, "This is one of David's little tricks." It's the attention to detail that distinguishes it from the 99% of the directors in the world.

How specific is gesture and movement of the hand? The way he photographs, body language seems to strongly influence the way he moves the camera and cuts.

Yeah. No, let me tell you this, David will sometimes give very specific directions and this can include absolutely the position of your head, the moment you choose to look away, the way you pull a puff of cigarette. . It's very easy to trust someone like David Fincher, because there's one thing you can be absolutely sure about: when David Fincher gets on the set, you're no longer the smartest guy from the room, if you were before.

[Laughs] I heard that from a lot of people.

Right? And it's also exciting to work for David because he's actually, I think, a lot more collaborative than people could imagine. Yes, he is meticulous, precise and attentive to detail. But he has this mantra that you often hear him say, "The best idea wins." And I am an actor who likes to come up with a lot of ideas. Does not that mean he's going to kiss them all, but I'm going to introduce something. "I would like to do that. And he will say, "Yeah, we can try." Or he'll say, "No, it will not work for that reason," or whatever. And, but you never feel like they're feeling, you're just there to hit the mark and tell the line. He wants you to be engaged.

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