Zodiac (film)
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''Zodiac'' is a 2007 American
mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
directed by
David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...
from a screenplay by
James Vanderbilt James Platten Vanderbilt (born November 17, 1975) is an American filmmaker best known for the films ''Zodiac'' (2007), ''White House Down'' (2013), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012), ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014), '' Independence Day: Resur ...
, based on the non-fiction books by
Robert Graysmith Robert Graysmith (born Robert Gray Smith; September 17, 1942) is an American true crime author and former cartoonist. He is known for his work on the Zodiac killer case. Career Graysmith worked as a political cartoonist for the ''San Francisc ...
, ''
Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
'' and ''Zodiac Unmasked'', which were published in 1986 and 2002, respectively. The film stars
Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...
,
Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
, and
Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...
with Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox,
Elias Koteas Elias Koteas (; el, Ηλίας Κοτέας; born March 11, 1961) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Alvin "Al" Olinsky in the ''Chicago'' franchise, as well as appearing in lead and supporting roles in numerous films. He won the Cana ...
,
Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film '' The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', '' Terriers'', and, as Detecti ...
,
John Carroll Lynch John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom '' The Drew Carey ...
, Chloë Sevigny, Philip Baker Hall and Dermot Mulroney in supporting roles. The film tells the story of the
manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...
for the
Zodiac Killer The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The case has been described as the most famous unsolved murder case in American history. It became a fixture of popular c ...
, a
serial murderer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
who terrorized the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
during the late 1960s and early 1970s, taunting police with letters, bloodstained clothing, and
cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...
s mailed to newspapers. The case remains one of the United States' most infamous unsolved crimes. Fincher, Vanderbilt, and producer Bradley J. Fischer spent 18 months conducting their own investigation and research into the Zodiac murders. Fincher employed the digital
Thomson Viper FilmStream Camera The Thomson Viper FilmStream Camera is a digital movie camera produced by Thomson Multimedia (now Technicolor SA). Introduced in the early 2000s as makers of feature films were turning to digital cinematography, the Viper influenced subsequent HD, ...
to photograph most of the film, with traditional high-speed film cameras used for slow-motion murder sequences. ''Zodiac'' was released by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
in North America and
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...
in international markets on March 2, 2007, and received largely positive reviews, with praise for its writing, directing, acting, and historical accuracy. The film was nominated for several awards, including the Saturn Award for Best Action, Adventure or Thriller Film. It grossed over $84.7 million worldwide on a production budget of $65 million. In a 2016 critics' poll conducted by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, ''Zodiac'' was voted the 12th greatest film of the 21st century.


Plot

On July 4, 1969, an unknown man attacks Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau with a handgun at a
lovers' lane A lovers' lane is a secluded area where people kiss, make out, or engage in sexual activity. These areas range from parking lots in secluded rural areas to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other features. "Lovers' lanes" are typ ...
in
Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...
. Only Mike survives. One month later, the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' receives
encrypted In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decip ...
letters written by the killer calling himself "
Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
," who threatens to kill a dozen people unless his coded message containing his identity is published. Political
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
Robert Graysmith Robert Graysmith (born Robert Gray Smith; September 17, 1942) is an American true crime author and former cartoonist. He is known for his work on the Zodiac killer case. Career Graysmith worked as a political cartoonist for the ''San Francisc ...
, who correctly guesses that his identity is not in the message, is not taken seriously by crime reporter
Paul Avery Paul Avery (born Paul Stuart Depew II) (April 2, 1934December 10, 2000) was an American journalist, best known for his reporting on the Northern California serial killer known as the Zodiac, and later for his work on the Patty Hearst kidnapping a ...
or the editors and is excluded from the initial details about the killings. When the newspaper publishes the letters, a married couple deciphers one. In September, the killer stabs law student Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at
Lake Berryessa Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California. This reservoir in the Vaca Mountains was formed following the construction of the Monticello Dam on Putah Creek in the 1950s. Since the early 1960s, this reservoir has provided wate ...
in
Napa County Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. Napa County was one of the original c ...
; Cecelia dies two days later. At the office, Avery makes fun of Graysmith before they discuss the coded letters. Graysmith interprets the letter, which Avery finds helpful, and he begins sharing information. One of Graysmith's insights about the letters is that Zodiac's reference to man as "the most dangerous animal of them all" is a reference to the film ''
The Most Dangerous Game "The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell, first published in ''Collier's'' on January 19, 1924, with illustrations by Wilmot Emerton Heitland. The story features a big-game hunter ...
'', which features the villainous Count Zaroff, a man who hunts live human prey. Two weeks later, San Francisco taxicab driver Paul Stine is shot and killed in the city's
Presidio Heights San Francisco, in the US state of California, has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. While there is considerable fluidity among the sources, one guidebook identifies five m ...
district. The Zodiac killer mails pieces of Stine's bloodstained shirt to the ''Chronicle'' along with a taunting letter. San Francisco police inspectors
Dave Toschi David Ramon Toschi (; July 11, 1931 – January 6, 2018) was an American law enforcement officer widely known for his efforts in the San Francisco Police Department as an inspector in the Zodiac Killer case. His personal style was the model for ...
and his partner Bill Armstrong are assigned to the case by Captain Marty Lee and work closely with Vallejo's Jack Mulanax and Captain Ken Narlow in Napa. Someone claiming to be Zodiac continues to send taunting letters and speaks on the phone with lawyer
Melvin Belli Melvin Mouron Belli (July 29, 1907 – July 9, 1996) was a prominent United States lawyer, writer, and actor known as "The King of Torts" and by insurance companies as "Melvin Bellicose". He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gab ...
on a television talk show hosted by
Jim Dunbar Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...
. In 1971, Detectives Toschi, Armstrong, and Mulanax question Arthur Leigh Allen, a suspect in the Vallejo case. They notice that he wears a Zodiac wristwatch, with the same logo used by the killer, and Toschi heavily suspects him. However, a handwriting expert insists that Allen did not write the Zodiac letters, even though Allen is said to be
ambidextrous Ambidexterity is the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. When referring to objects, the term indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. When referring to humans, it indicates that ...
. Avery receives a letter threatening his life; becoming paranoid, he turns to drugs and alcohol. He shares information with the
Riverside Police Department The Riverside Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of Riverside, California. History The Riverside Police Department was founded in 1896 and has grown from a small frontier town police force to a large metro ...
that the killer might have been active before the initial killings, angering Toschi and Armstrong. The case's notoriety weighs on Toschi, who cannot sit through a Hollywood film, ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...
'', loosely based on the Zodiac case. By 1978, Avery has moved to the ''
Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
''. Graysmith persistently contacts Toschi about the Zodiac murders and eventually impresses him with his knowledge of the case. While Toschi cannot directly give Graysmith access to the evidence, he provides names in other police departments where Zodiac murders occurred. Armstrong transfers from the San Francisco Police homicide division, and Toschi is demoted for supposedly forging a Zodiac letter. Graysmith continues his own investigation, profiled in the ''Chronicle'', and gives a television interview about the book he is writing about the case. He begins receiving phone calls with heavy breathing. As his obsession deepens, Graysmith loses his job, and his wife Melanie leaves him, taking their children. Graysmith learns that Allen lived close to Ferrin and probably knew her and that his birthday matches the one Zodiac gave when he spoke to one of Melvin Belli's maids. While
circumstantial evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need ...
seems to indicate his guilt, the physical evidence, such as
fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...
s and handwriting samples, do not implicate him. In 1983, Graysmith tracks Allen to a Vallejo Ace Hardware store, where he is employed as a sales clerk; they stare at each other before Graysmith leaves. Eight years later, after Graysmith's book, ''Zodiac'', has become a bestseller, Mike Mageau identifies Allen from a
police mugshot A mug shot or mugshot (an informal term for police photograph or booking photograph) is a Portrait photography, photographic portrait of a person from the shoulders up, typically taken after a person is arrested. The original purpose of the mug s ...
. A textual epilogue indicates that Allen died before police could question him and that the case remains open.


Cast

*
Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...
as
Robert Graysmith Robert Graysmith (born Robert Gray Smith; September 17, 1942) is an American true crime author and former cartoonist. He is known for his work on the Zodiac killer case. Career Graysmith worked as a political cartoonist for the ''San Francisc ...
*
Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
as Inspector
Dave Toschi David Ramon Toschi (; July 11, 1931 – January 6, 2018) was an American law enforcement officer widely known for his efforts in the San Francisco Police Department as an inspector in the Zodiac Killer case. His personal style was the model for ...
*
Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...
as
Paul Avery Paul Avery (born Paul Stuart Depew II) (April 2, 1934December 10, 2000) was an American journalist, best known for his reporting on the Northern California serial killer known as the Zodiac, and later for his work on the Patty Hearst kidnapping a ...
* Anthony Edwards as Inspector Bill Armstrong * Brian Cox as
Melvin Belli Melvin Mouron Belli (July 29, 1907 – July 9, 1996) was a prominent United States lawyer, writer, and actor known as "The King of Torts" and by insurance companies as "Melvin Bellicose". He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gab ...
*
Elias Koteas Elias Koteas (; el, Ηλίας Κοτέας; born March 11, 1961) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Alvin "Al" Olinsky in the ''Chicago'' franchise, as well as appearing in lead and supporting roles in numerous films. He won the Cana ...
as Sergeant Jack Mulanax *
Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film '' The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', '' Terriers'', and, as Detecti ...
as Captain Ken Narlow *
John Carroll Lynch John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom '' The Drew Carey ...
as
Arthur Leigh Allen The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The case has been described as the most famous unsolved murder case in American history. It became a fixture of popular c ...
* Dermot Mulroney as Captain Marty Lee * Chloë Sevigny as Melanie Graysmith *
John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the a ...
as Charles Thieriot * Philip Baker Hall as Sherwood Morrill *
June Diane Raphael June Diane Raphael ( ; born January 4, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has starred in TV comedy programs ''Burning Love'', Adult Swim's '' NTSF:SD:SUV::'', and ''Grace and Frankie''. Notable film work includes support ...
as Carol Toschi * Ciara Moriarty as Darlene Ferrin *
Adam Goldberg Adam Charles Goldberg (born October 25, 1970) is an American character actor, filmmaker, musician, and photographer. Known for his supporting roles in film and television, Goldberg has appeared in films such as '' Dazed and Confused'', ''Saving ...
as Duffy Jennings *
Tom Verica Tom Verica (born May 13, 1964) is an American actor, director, and producer, best known for his role as Sam Keating in the ABC drama ''How to Get Away with Murder'' (2014-2020). He also played Jack Pryor in the NBC critically acclaimed drama ''Am ...
as
Jim Dunbar Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...
*
Lee Norris Lee Michael Norris (born September 25, 1981) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Stuart Minkus on ''Boy Meets World'' and its spin-off '' Girl Meets World'', as well as Marvin "Mouth" McFadden on ''One Tree Hill One Tree Hill ma ...
as Mike Mageau **
Jimmi Simpson Jimmi Simpson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his work on television, which includes recurring roles as Liam McPoyle on ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–2013), Lyle the Intern on ''The Late Show ...
as Older Mike Mageau *
Zach Grenier Zach Grenier is an American character actor of film, television and stage. He is best known for his roles in films such as '' Fight Club'', ''Tommy Boy'', and '' Twister'' and for his roles in television such as David Lee in '' The Good Wife'' a ...
as Mel Nicolai *
Joel Bissonnette Joel Bissonnette is a Canadian-American actor. Early life and education Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Bissonnette was raised in Montreal, Quebec. He is a graduate of the Dawson College Theatre Program in Montreal. Career Bissonnette is best ...
as Inspector Kracke *
James LeGros James Le Gros () (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in '' Living in Oblivion''. Career James Le Gros appeared as Rick in Gus Van Sant's 1989 ...
as Detective George Bawart *
John Getz John William Getz (born October 15, 1946) is an American character actor. After starting his acting career on stage, he has appeared in numerous television series and films. Personal life Getz, one of four children, was born in Davenport, Iowa, ...
as Templeton Peck * John Mahon as Captain Gillette *
Matt Winston Matthew Winston is an American actor. He is the son of special effects artist Stan Winston. Career Winston's television appearances include the HBO dramas '' Six Feet Under'' and '' John from Cincinnati'', and as Crewman Daniels in '' Star T ...
as John Allen *
Jules Bruff Jules Bruff is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for her portrayal of Catherine Allen in David Fincher's 2007 film ''Zodiac''. Jules co-wrote, produced and starred in ''Part Time Fabulous'' in 2011. Jules won Best Actress at the M ...
as Catherine Allen * John Ennis as Terry Pascoe * Patrick Scott Lewis as Bryan Hartnell *
Pell James Pell James (born April 30, 1977) is an American actress. Life and career James was born in Virginia. In the early 2000s, she appeared in an episode of ''Law & Order'' and an episode of '' Law & Order:SVU''. In 2005, she portrayed Brier in ''Undi ...
as Cecilia Shepard *
Charles Fleischer Charles Fleischer (born August 27, 1950) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, musician, and writer, best known for appearing in films such as ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'', ''The Polar Express'', '' Rango'', '' C ...
as Bob Vaughn *
Clea DuVall Clea Helen D'Etienne DuVall (born September 25, 1977) is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. She is known for her appearances in the films ''The Faculty'' (1998), '' She's All That''; '' But I'm a Cheerleader''; ''Girl, Interrup ...
as Linda del Buono * Zachary Sauers as Aaron Graysmith * Micah Sauers as David Graysmith *
Paul Schulze Paul Schulze (born June 12, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in ''The Sopranos'', ''Nurse Jackie'', '' 24'' (2002–2004), and '' The Punisher'' (2017), and his films roles in ''Panic Room'' (2002), and ''Rambo'' (2008). C ...
as Sandy Panzarella * John Hemphill as Donald Cheney * Ed Setrakian as Al Hyman * Richmond Arquette as Zodiac 1 / Zodiac 2 * Bob Stephenson as Zodiac 3 * John Lacy as Zodiac 4 * Ione Skye as Kathleen Johns (uncredited)


Production


Development

Robert Graysmith Robert Graysmith (born Robert Gray Smith; September 17, 1942) is an American true crime author and former cartoonist. He is known for his work on the Zodiac killer case. Career Graysmith worked as a political cartoonist for the ''San Francisc ...
first sold the film rights to his true crime book ''
Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
'' to
Shane Salerno Shane Salerno (born November 27, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer, and Chief Creative Officer of The Story Factory. His writing credits include the films '' Avatar: The Way of Water'', ''Armageddon'', '' Savages,'' '' Shaft'', and the ...
, who he had built up a close relationship with. Salerno managed to make a deal with Ricardo Mestres of
Great Oaks Entertainment John Wilden Hughes Jr. (February 18, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American filmmaker. Hughes began his career in 1970 as an author of humorous essays and stories for the '' National Lampoon'' magazine. He went on to Hollywood to write, produc ...
to co-produce and write the film for
Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...
. According to
Stuart Hazeldine Stuart Hazeldine (born 10 June 1971 in Surrey, England) is a British screenwriter, film producer and director. He is best known for his 2009 psychological thriller ''Exam'', for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Deb ...
, who was pitched to rewrite, the script would've been about the Zodiac killer resurfacing in Los Angeles.
James Vanderbilt James Platten Vanderbilt (born November 17, 1975) is an American filmmaker best known for the films ''Zodiac'' (2007), ''White House Down'' (2013), ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012), ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014), '' Independence Day: Resur ...
had read
Robert Graysmith Robert Graysmith (born Robert Gray Smith; September 17, 1942) is an American true crime author and former cartoonist. He is known for his work on the Zodiac killer case. Career Graysmith worked as a political cartoonist for the ''San Francisc ...
's book ''
Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
'' while in high school. Years later, after becoming a
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
, he got the opportunity to meet Graysmith, and became fascinated by the
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
surrounding the Zodiac killer. He decided to try to translate the story into a script. Vanderbilt had endured bad experiences in the past in which the endings of his scripts had been changed, and wanted to have more control over the material this time. He pitched his adaptation of ''Zodiac'' to
Mike Medavoy Morris Mike Medavoy (born January 21, 1941) is an American film producer and business executive. He is the co-founder of Orion Pictures (1978), former chairman of TriStar Pictures, former head of production for United Artists (1974–1978), and t ...
and Bradley J. Fischer from
Phoenix Pictures Phoenix Pictures is an American film production company that has produced films since the late 1990s with features including '' Black Swan'' (2010), '' Shutter Island'' (2010), ''The People vs. Larry Flynt'' (1996), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), ...
, agreeing to write a
spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...
if he could have more creative control over it. Graysmith met Fischer and Vanderbilt at the premiere of
Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...
's film ''
Auto Focus ''Auto Focus'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Paul Schrader and starring Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe. The screenplay by Michael Gerbosi is based on Robert Graysmith's book ''The Murder of Bob Crane'' (1993). ''Auto Focus ...
,'' based on Graysmith's 1991 book about the life and death of actor
Bob Crane Robert Edward Crane (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American actor, drummer, radio personality, and disc jockey known for starring in the CBS situation comedy '' Hogan's Heroes''. Crane was a drummer from age 11, and he began his en ...
. A deal was made and they optioned the rights to ''Zodiac'' and ''Zodiac Unmasked'' when they became available after languishing at another studio for nearly a decade.
David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...
was their first choice to direct based on his work on ''
Seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
''. Originally, he was going to direct an adaptation of
James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, ...
's novel ''
The Black Dahlia Elizabeth Short (July 29, 1924 – January 14–15, 1947), known posthumously as the Black Dahlia, was an American woman found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on January 15, 1947. Her case became highly publicized ow ...
'' (later filmed by
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...
), and envisioned a five-hour, $80 million mini-series with film stars. When that failed to materialize, Fincher left that project and moved on to ''Zodiac''. For the young Fincher, he was drawn to the Zodiac story because he spent much of his childhood in San Anselmo in
Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...
during the initial murders; he thought the killer "was the ultimate boogeyman". The director was also drawn to the unresolved ending of Vanderbilt's screenplay because it felt true to real life, as cases are not always solved. Fincher felt his job was to dispel the enduring mythic stature of the case by clearly defining what was fact and what was fiction. He told Vanderbilt that he wanted the screenplay rewritten with research done from the original police reports. Fincher found that there was much speculation and
hearsay Hearsay evidence, in a legal forum, is testimony from an under-oath witness who is reciting an out-of-court statement, the content of which is being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is inadmis ...
and, therefore, wanted to interview people who were directly involved in the case in-person to see if their stories were believable. He did this because he felt a burden of responsibility in making a film that convicted someone posthumously. Fincher, Fischer and Vanderbilt spent months interviewing witnesses, family members of suspects, retired and current investigators, the two surviving victims, and the mayors of San Francisco and Vallejo. Fincher said, "Even when we did our own interviews, we would talk to two people. One would confirm some aspects of it and another would deny it. Plus, so much time had passed, memories are affected and the different telling of the stories would change perception. So when there was any doubt we always went with the police reports." During the course of their research, Fincher and Fischer hired Gerald McMenamin, a
forensic linguistics Forensic linguistics, legal linguistics, or language and the law, is the application of linguistic knowledge, methods, and insights to the forensic context of law, language, crime investigation, trial, and judicial procedure. It is a branch of ap ...
expert and professor of linguistics at California State University Fresno, to analyze the Zodiac's letters. Unlike document examiners in the 1970s, he focused on the language of the Zodiac and how he formed his sentences in terms of structure and spelling.Fincher and Fischer approached
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
to finance the film but talks fell through because the studio wanted the running time fixed at two hours and fifteen minutes.
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
agreed to share the production costs and were more flexible about the running time. The executives were concerned about the large amount of dialogue, lack of action scenes, and inconclusive ending. When Dave Toschi met Fincher, Fischer and Vanderbilt, Fincher told him that he was not going to make another ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...
'' (which is loosely based on the Zodiac case). Toschi was impressed with their knowledge of the case and realized that he had learned from them. Toschi watched ''Zodiac'' several times and said "I thought Ruffalo did a good job," but also that the film reminded him of old frustrations that the case was never closed. The Zodiac's surviving victims, Mike Mageau and Bryan Hartnell, were consultants on the film.
Alan J. Pakula Alan Jay Pakula (; April 7, 1928 – November 19, 1998) was an American film director, writer and producer. He was nominated for three Academy Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture for ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Moc ...
's film ''
All the President's Men ''All the President's Men'' is a 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two of the journalists who investigated the June 1972 break-in at the Watergate Office Building and the resultant political scandal for ''The Washingto ...
'' was the template for ''Zodiac'' as Fincher felt that it was also "the story of a reporter determined to get the story at any cost and one who was new to being an investigative reporter. It was all about his obsession to know the truth." Like in that film, he did not want to spend time telling the back story of any of the characters, focusing, instead, on what they did in regards to the case." Vanderbilt was drawn to the notion that Graysmith went from a cartoonist to one of the most significant investigators of the case. He pitched the story as: "What if
Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the '' Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau is also the creator and executive producer of the Amazon Studios political comedy series ''Alpha House'' ...
woke up one morning and tried to solve the
Son of Sam David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco, June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer who pleaded guilty to eight shootings that began in New York City on July 29, 1976. Berkowitz ...
"? As he worked on the script, he became friends with Graysmith. The filmmakers secured the cooperation of the Vallejo Police Department (one of the key investigators at the time) because they hoped that the film would inspire someone to come forward with information that might help solve the cold case.


Casting

One of Fincher's earliest conversations on the film's casting was with
Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
. She talked about actors she had enjoyed working with; they were Gyllenhaal (''
The Good Girl ''The Good Girl'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Miguel Arteta from a script by Mike White. The film stars Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal and John C. Reilly. ''The Good Girl'' premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, ...
'') and Mark Ruffalo (''
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''). While researching the film, Fincher considered
Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...
to play
Robert Graysmith Robert Graysmith (born Robert Gray Smith; September 17, 1942) is an American true crime author and former cartoonist. He is known for his work on the Zodiac killer case. Career Graysmith worked as a political cartoonist for the ''San Francisc ...
. According to the director, "I really liked him in ''
Donnie Darko ''Donnie Darko'' is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and produced by Flower Films. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katha ...
'' and I thought, 'He's an interesting double-sided coin. He can do that naive thing but he can also do possessed.'" In preparation for his role Gyllenhaal met Graysmith, and videotaped him to study his mannerisms and behavior. Initially,
Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
was not interested in the project but Fincher wanted him to play David Toschi. He met with the actor and told him that he was rewriting the screenplay. "I loved what he was saying and loved where he was going with it", the actor remembers. For research, he read every report on the case and read all the books on the subject. Ruffalo met Toschi and found out that he had "perfect recall of the details and what happened when, where, who was there, what he was wearing. He always knew what he was wearing. I think it is seared into who he is and it was a big deal for him." Fincher thought of Anthony Edwards for the role of Inspector William Armstrong, saying "I knew I needed the most decent person I could find, because he would be the balance of the movie. In a weird way, this movie wouldn't exist without Bill Armstrong. Everything we know about the Zodiac case, we know because of his notes. So in casting the part, I wanted to get someone who is totally reliable." Originally,
Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...
was to play
Melvin Belli Melvin Mouron Belli (July 29, 1907 – July 9, 1996) was a prominent United States lawyer, writer, and actor known as "The King of Torts" and by insurance companies as "Melvin Bellicose". He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gab ...
but "he went to a lot of trouble, they had appliances, but just physically it wasn't going to work, he just didn't have the girth", Graysmith said. Brian Cox was cast instead.
Lee Norris Lee Michael Norris (born September 25, 1981) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Stuart Minkus on ''Boy Meets World'' and its spin-off '' Girl Meets World'', as well as Marvin "Mouth" McFadden on ''One Tree Hill One Tree Hill ma ...
played the 1969 Mike Mageau, and
Jimmi Simpson Jimmi Simpson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his work on television, which includes recurring roles as Liam McPoyle on ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–2013), Lyle the Intern on ''The Late Show ...
played the character's older version.


Principal photography

Fincher decided to use the digital
Thomson Viper FilmStream Camera The Thomson Viper FilmStream Camera is a digital movie camera produced by Thomson Multimedia (now Technicolor SA). Introduced in the early 2000s as makers of feature films were turning to digital cinematography, the Viper influenced subsequent HD, ...
to shoot the film. He had previously used the Thomson Viper over the past three years on commercials for
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
,
Hewlett Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
,
Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Febr ...
and
Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
, which allowed him to get used to and experiment with the equipment. He was able to use inexpensive desktop software like
Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro is a series of non-linear editing, non-linear video editing software programs first developed by Macromedia, Macromedia Inc. and later Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro 10.6.4, runs on Macintosh, Mac computers power ...
to edit ''Zodiac''. Fincher remarked in an interview, "
Dailies In filmmaking, dailies are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. The term comes from when movies were all shot on film because usually at the end of each day, the footage was developed, synced to sound, and pri ...
almost always end up being disappointing, like the veil is pierced and you look at it for the first time and think, 'Oh my god, this is what I really have to work with.' But when you can see what you have as it's gathered, it can be a much less neurotic process." Contrary to belief, ''Zodiac'' was not shot entirely digitally. Traditional high-speed film cameras were used for slow-motion murder sequences. Michael Mann's ''
Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...
'', as well as his previous effort, ''
Collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...
'' (a co-production of Paramount and its current sister studio
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
, and which also starred Mark Ruffalo), were also shot with the camera but mixed in other formats. Once shot on the Viper camera, the files were converted to DVCPro HD 1080i and edited in
Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro is a series of non-linear editing, non-linear video editing software programs first developed by Macromedia, Macromedia Inc. and later Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro 10.6.4, runs on Macintosh, Mac computers power ...
. This was for editorial decisions only. During the later stages of editing the original uncompressed 1080p 4:4:4 RAW digital source footage was assembled automatically to maintain an up-to-date digital "negative" of the film. Other digital productions like ''
Superman Returns ''Superman Returns'' is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (screenwriter), Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris based on the DC Comics character Superman. I ...
'' or ''
Apocalypto ''Apocalypto'' () is a 2006 action adventure film produced, co-written, and directed by Mel Gibson. The film features a cast of Native American and Indigenous Mexican actors consisting of Rudy Youngblood, Raoul Trujillo, Mayra Sérbulo, Dalia H ...
'' recorded to the HDCAM tape format. Fincher had previously worked with director of photography Harris Savides on ''
Seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
'' (he shot the opening credits) and ''The Game (1997 film), The Game''. Savides loved the script but realized, "there was so much exposition, just people talking on the phone or having conversations. It was difficult to imagine how it could be done in a visual way." Fincher and Savides did not want to repeat the look of ''Seven''. The director's approach to ''Zodiac'' was to create a look mundane enough that audiences would accept that what they were watching was the truth. The filmmakers also did not want to glamorize the killer or tell the story through his eyes. "That would have turned the story into a first-person-shooter video game. We didn't want to make the sort of movie that serial killers would want to own," Fincher said. Savides' first experience with the Viper Filmstream camera was shooting a Motorola commercial with Fincher. From there, he used it on ''Zodiac''. Fincher wanted to make sure that the camera was more inclined towards film production so that the studio would be more comfortable about using it on a project with a large budget. To familiarize himself with the camera, he "did as many things 'wrong' as I possibly could. I went against everything I was supposed to do with the camera." Savides felt comfortable with the camera despite its certain limitations. Fincher and Savides used the photographs of William Eggleston, Stephen Shore's work from the early Seventies, and actual photos from the Zodiac police files. The two men worked hard to capture the look and feel of the period as Fincher admitted, "I suppose there could have been more Volkswagen Beetle, VW bugs but I think what we show is a pretty good representation of the time. It is not technically perfect. There are some flaws but some are intended." The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' was built in the old post office in the U.S. Post Office – Los Angeles Terminal Annex, Terminal Annex Building in downtown Los Angeles. A building on nearby Spring Street subbed for the Hall of Justice and the San Francisco Police Department. Principal photography began on September 12, 2005. The filmmakers shot for five weeks in the San Francisco Bay Area and the rest of the time in Los Angeles, bringing the film in under budget, wrapping in February 2006. The film took 115 days to shoot. Some of the cast was not happy with Fincher's exacting ways and perfectionism. Some scenes required upward of 70 takes. Gyllenhaal was frustrated by the director's methods and commented in an interview, "You get a take, 5 takes, 10 takes. Some places, 90 takes. But there is a stopping point. There's a point at which you go, 'That's what we have to work with.' But we would reshoot things. So there came a point where I would say, well, what do I do? Where's the risk?" Downey said, "I just decided, aside from several times I wanted to garrote him, that I was going to give him what he wanted. I think I'm a perfect person to work for him, because I understand gulags". Fincher responded, "If an actor is going to let the role come to them, they can't resent the fact that I'm willing to wait as long as that takes. You know, the first day of production in San Francisco we shot 56 takes of Mark and Jake – and it's the 56th take that's in the movie". Ruffalo also defended his director's methods when he said, "The way I see it is, you enter into someone else's world as an actor. You can put your expectations aside and have an experience that's new and pushes and changes you, or hold on to what you think it should be and have a stubborn, immovable journey that's filled with disappointment and anger."


Visual effects

Digital Domain handled most of the film's 200+ effects shots, including pools of blood and bloody fingerprints found at crime scenes. For the murder of Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa, blood seepage and clothing stains were added in post-production. Fincher did not want to shoot the blood with practical effects because cleaning the costumes after every take would take too long, so the murder sequences were done with Computer-generated imagery, computer-generated (CG) blood. CG was also used to recreate the San Francisco neighborhood at Washington and Cherry Streets where cab driver Paul Stine was killed. The area had changed significantly over the years and residents did not want the murder to be recreated in their neighborhood, so Fincher shot the sequence on a Chroma key, bluescreen stage. Production designer Donald Burt gave the visual effects team detailed drawings of the intersection as it was in 1969. Photographs of every possible angle of the area were shot with a high-resolution digital camera, allowing the effects crew to build computer-based Geometric modeling, geometric models of homes that were then textured with period facades. 3D scanning, 3D vintage police motorcycles, squad cars, a firetruck and street lights were added to the final shot. Several of the film's establishing shots of the 1970s-era Bay Area were created by the Marin County effects house Matte World Digital (MWD). The "helicopter shots" of the fireworks-laden sky over Vallejo, the San Francisco waterfront, and the overhead shot of the cab driving through San Francisco were CG, as was the shot looking down at traffic from the tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. A Time-lapse photography, time-lapse sequence of the construction of the Transamerica Pyramid was a hybrid of 2D and 3D matte painting, created using reference photos of the Pyramid taken from the rooftop of Francis Ford Coppola's Columbus Tower (San Francisco), Sentinel Building. MWD visual effects supervisor Craig Barron researched the Pyramid's construction for accuracy.Robertson, Barbara. (March 15, 2007
"Memories of Murder: VFX for ''Zodiac'' - Recreating 1970s San Francisco for Director David Fincher,"
StudioDaily. Retrieved on September 26, 2016.


Soundtrack

Originally, Fincher envisioned the film's soundtrack to be composed of 40 cues of vintage music spanning the nearly three decades of the Zodiac story. Fincher and music supervisor George Drakoulias searched for pop songs that reflected the era, including Three Dog Night's cover of "Easy to Be Hard". Fincher did not plan an original score for the film, but rather a tapestry of sound design, vintage songs of the period, sound bites and clips of KFRC (defunct), KFRC and "Mathews Top of the Hill Daly City" (home of a prominent hi-fi dealership of the time). He told the studio that he did not need a composer and would purchase various songs instead. They agreed, but as the film developed, sound designer Ren Klyce felt there were some scenes that could have used music. Klyce inserted music from one of his favorite soundtracks, David Shire's score for ''The Conversation.'' Klyce contacted film and sound editor Walter Murch who worked on ''The Conversation,'' and he connected Klyce with Shire. Fincher sent Shire a copy of the script and flew him in to Los Angeles for a meeting. Fincher only wanted 15–20 minutes of score and based solely on piano. Shire worked on it and incorporated textures of a Charles Ives piece called "The Unanswered Question" and ''Conversation''-based cues, he found that he had 37 minutes of original music. The orchestra Shire assembled consisted of musicians from the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet. Shire said, "There are 12 signs of the Zodiac and there is a way of using atonal and tonal music. So we used 12 tones, never repeating any of them but manipulating them". He used specific instruments to represent the characters: the trumpet for Toschi, the solo piano for Graysmith and the dissonant strings for the Zodiac killer.


Release

An early version of ''Zodiac'' ran three hours and eight minutes. It was supposed to be released in time for Academy Award consideration but Paramount felt that the film ran too long and asked Fincher to make changes. Contractually, he had final cut and once he reached a length he felt was right, the director refused to make any further cuts. To trim down the film to its official runtime, he had to cut a two-minute blackout montage of "hit songs signaling the passage of time from Joni Mitchell to Donna Summer." It was replaced with a title card that reads, "Four years later." Another cut scene that test screening audiences did not like involved "three guys talking into a speakerphone" to get a search warrant as Toschi and Armstrong talk to SFPD Capt. Marty Lee ( Dermot Mulroney) about their case against suspect Arthur Leigh Allen. Fincher said that this scene would probably be put back on the DVD. To promote ''Zodiac'', Paramount posted on light-poles in major cities original sketches of the actual Zodiac killer with the words, "In theaters March 2nd," at the bottom. The film was screened in competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2007, with Fincher and Gyllenhaal participating in a press conference afterwards. The director's cut of ''Zodiac'' was given a rare screening at the Walter Reade Theater in New York City on November 19, 2007, with Fincher being interviewed by film critic Kent Jones afterwards.


Home media

The DVD for ''Zodiac'' was released on July 24, 2007, and is available widescreen or fullscreen, presented in Anamorphic format, anamorphic widescreen, and an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track. The initial DVD version of ''Zodiac'' contained only a few special features. According to producer David Prior, Fincher agreed to release it as Prior needed more time to prepare bonus material. In its first week, rentals for the DVD earned $6.7 million. The two-disc director's cut DVD and HD DVD were released on January 8, 2008, with its UK release on Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray and DVD announced for September 29, 2008. Disc 1 contains, in addition to a longer cut of the film, audio commentary, audio commentaries by Fincher and Gyllenhaal, Downey, Fischer, Vanderbilt, and author James Ellroy. Disc 2 includes a trailer, a "Zodiac Deciphered" documentary, previsualization split-screen comparisons for the Blue Rock Springs, Lake Berryessa, and San Francisco murder sequences, and three video features: "Visual Effects of Zodiac", "This is the Zodiac Speaking", and a "His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen". Other extras originally intended for the set, including TV spots and features on "Digital Workflow", "Linguistic Analysis", "Jeopardy Surface: Geographic Profiling" (Dr. Rossmo's formula, Kim Rossmo's Geographic profiling, geographic profile of the Zodiac), and "The Psychology of Aggression: Behavioral Profiling" (Special Agent Sharon Pagaling-Hagan's behavioral profile of the Zodiac) were omitted. However, the latter three features were made available on the film's website. For Academy Awards contention, Paramount distributed the director's cut DVD to the Producers Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, instead of the official release version; the first time that the studio had done this.


Reception


Box office

Opening in 2,362 theaters on March 2, 2007, the film grossed US$13.3 million in its opening weekend, placing second and posting a per-theater average of $5,671. The film was outgrossed by fellow opener ''Wild Hogs'' and saw a decline of over 50% in its second weekend, losing out to the record-breaking ''300 (film), 300''. It grossed $33 million in North America and $51 million in the rest of the world, bringing its current total to $84 million. In an interview with ''Sight & Sound'' magazine, Fincher addressed the film's low gross at the North American box office: "Even with the box office being what it is, I still think there's an audience out there for this movie. Everyone has a different idea about marketing, but my philosophy is that if you market a movie to 16-year-old boys and don't deliver ''Saw (2004 film), Saw'' or ''
Seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...
'', they're going to be the most vociferous ones coming out of the screening saying 'This movie sucks.' And you're saying goodbye to the audience who would get it because they're going to look at the ads and say, 'I don't want to see some slasher film, slasher movie.'"


Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 261 reviews, with an average rating of 7.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A quiet, dialogue-driven thriller that delivers with scene after scene of gut-wrenching anxiety. David Fincher also spends more time illustrating nuances of his characters and recreating the mood of the 70s than he does on gory details of murder." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. ''Entertainment Weekly'' critic Owen Gleiberman awarded the film an "A" grade, hailing the film as a "procedural thriller for the information age" that "spins your head in a new way, luring you into a vortex and then deeper still." Nathan Lee in his review for ''The Village Voice'' wrote that director Fincher's "very lack of pretense, coupled with a determination to get the facts down with maximum economy and objectivity, gives ''Zodiac'' its hard, bright integrity. As a crime saga, newspaper drama, and period piece, it works just fine. As an allegory of life in the information age, it blew my mind." Todd McCarthy's review in ''Variety (magazine), Variety'' magazine praised the film's "almost unerringly accurate evocation of the workaday San Francisco of 35–40 years ago. Forget the distorted emphasis on hippies and flower-power that many such films indulge in: this is the city as it was experienced by most people who lived and worked there." David Ansen, in his review for ''Newsweek'' magazine, wrote, "''Zodiac'' is meticulously crafted – Harris Savides's state-of-the-art digital cinematography has a richness indistinguishable from film – and it runs almost two hours and 40 minutes. Still, the movie holds you in its grip from start to finish. Fincher boldly (and some may think perversely) withholds the emotional and forensic payoff we're conditioned to expect from a big studio movie." Roger Ebert gave the film a maximum of 4 stars, writing: "The film is a police procedural crossed with a newspaper movie but free of most of the cliches of either. Its most impressive accomplishment is to gather a bewildering labyrinth of facts and suspicions over a period of years and make the journey through this maze frightening and suspenseful." Ebert also praised the ensemble cast and, as a longtime columnist for ''The Chicago Sun-Times'', asserted ''Zodiac'' was "intriguing in its accuracy" in showing the operation of a major newspaper. ''Time Out (company), Time Out'' magazine wrote, "''Zodiac'' isn't a puzzle film in quite that way, instead its subject is the compulsion to solve puzzles and its coup is the creeping recognition, quite contrary to the flow of crime cinema, of how fruitless that compulsion can be." Peter Bradshaw in his review for ''The Guardian'' commended the film for its "sheer cinematic virility," and gave it four stars out of five. In his review for ''Empire (film magazine), Empire'' magazine, Kim Newman gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "You'll need patience with the film's approach, which follows its main characters by poring over details, and be prepared to put up with a couple of rote family arguments and weary cop conversations, but this gripping character study becomes more agonisingly suspenseful as it gets closer to an answer that can't be confirmed." Graham Fuller in ''Sight & Sound'' magazine wrote, "the tone is pleasingly flat and mundane, evoking the demoralising grind of police work in a pre-feminist, pre-technological era. As such, ''Zodiac'' is considerably more adult than both ''Seven'', which salivates over the macabre cat-and-mouse game it plays with the audience, and the macho brinkmanship of ''Fight Club (film), Fight Club''." Some critics expressed disappointment with the film's long running time and lack of action scenes. "The film gets mired in the inevitable red tape of police investigations," wrote Bob Longino of ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', who also felt the film "stumbles to a rather unfulfilling conclusion" and "seems to last as long as the Oscars." Andrew Sarris of ''The New York Observer'' felt that "Mr. Fincher's flair for casting is the major asset of his curiously attenuated return to the serial-killer genre. I keep saying 'curiously' with regard to Mr. Fincher, because I can't really figure out what he is up to in ''Zodiac'' – with its two-hour-and-37-minute running time for what struck me as a shaggy-dog narrative." Christy Lemire wrote in the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' that "Jake Gyllenhaal is both the central figure and the weakest link... But he's never fleshed out sufficiently to make you believe that he'd sacrifice his safety and that of his family to find the truth. We are told repeatedly that the former Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America), Eagle Scout is just a genuinely good guy but that's not enough." David Thompson of ''The Guardian'' felt that in relation to the rest of Fincher's career, ''Zodiac'' was "the worst yet, a terrible disappointment in which an ingenious and deserving all-American serial killer nearly gets lost in the meandering treatment of cops and journalists obsessed with the case." In France, ''Le Monde'' newspaper praised Fincher for having "obtained a maturity that impresses by his mastery of form," while ''Libération'' described the film as "a thriller of elegance magnificently photographed by the great Harry Savides." However, ''Le Figaro'' wrote, "No audacity, no invention, nothing but a plot which intrigues without captivating, disturbs without terrifying, interests without exciting."


Top ten lists

Only two 2007 films (''No Country for Old Men (film), No Country for Old Men'' and ''There Will Be Blood'') appeared on more critics' top ten lists than ''Zodiac''. Some of the notable top-ten list appearances are: In the British Film Institute's 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' polls of the greatest movies ever made, three critics and one director, Bong Joon-ho, named ''Zodiac'' one of their 10 favorite films. In a 2016 critics' poll conducted by the
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...
, ''Zodiac'' was ranked at 12th place in a list of the 21st century's greatest films.


Accolades


See also

* List of films based on crime books


References


Further reading


Film & Video: VFX for ''Zodiac''

''San Francisco Chronicle'' set visit


- an analysis of a scene from the film * [https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781683933267/David-Fincher's-Zodiac-Cinema-of-Investigation-and-(Mis)Interpretation ''David Fincher's ''Zodiac'': Cinema of Investigation and (Mis)Interpretation''], edited by Matthew Sorrento and David Ryan (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2022).


External links

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