0:53 here's one thing you never hear after
0:56 viewing a David Fincher film
0:57 that was fun we should have brought the kids
0:59 kids no
1:05 yes I played a part in three of David
1:06 Fincher films
1:09 hi my name is Brad Pitt and I'm a survivor
1:12 survivor
1:13 here's some things you might hear on a
1:15 David Fincher set
1:17 let's shoot this please before we all
1:19 lose interest in living
1:21 okay we have the out of focus version
1:23 let's try one that's in focus
1:25 if you pan to the right and see that in
1:26 your frame again you have my permission
1:29 to take your own life
1:31 and a personal fave I want you guys to
1:33 enjoy yourselves but that's what
1:38 no one says making Adventure film is
1:41 easy all will tell you it's worth it
1:44 some say he's a perfectionist that is
1:46 true very true
1:48 it's rumored he once shot 90 takes on a
1:50 single setup this is entirely false it's
1:54 inaccurate it's not true it was 92.
1:56 it said a studio exec approached him
1:58 after a screening saying
2:01 David I am not comfortable with this cut
2:03 David's response was you have my sympathy
2:04 sympathy
2:08 that's true that's true reportedly while
2:09 filming the birth of his daughter he
2:11 asked the doctor if he could try that
2:13 one again
2:17 that's unsubstantiated I'm not sure uh
2:19 uh
2:22 if you can tell by now I love the band
2:24 with all my heart and I'm pleased I
2:25 could Ambush him here today and be a
2:27 part of honoring one of our greatest storytellers
2:28 storytellers
2:30 and congrats on even getting him here
2:32 for this a man who's more prone to avoid
2:34 the spotlight
2:36 for David it's imagining it's the
2:39 imagining of the idea when he's happiest
2:41 The Innovation the psychology of the
2:43 thing what he can unearth by the time he
2:45 starts shooting he'll tell you this is
2:47 the moment he begins falling short of
2:48 his aspirations
2:52 and the so the agony begins
2:54 other directors often try to emulate him
2:57 but invariably fail because they think
2:58 it's just about the imagery
3:00 but if it was just about the imagery we
3:02 wouldn't keep returning to his work and
3:04 honoring him tonight
3:09 for him everything batters at all time
3:11 beginning with the story the character
3:13 and a thousand other things that had to
3:14 go right for a single frame to make it
3:16 into his film
3:17 if it's one degree off it might as well
3:20 be 180 degrees off there is no almost
3:23 there is no nearly there is no close enough
3:24 enough
3:26 his idea of professionalism is most
3:29 others idea of obsession
3:31 working with him you will know what
3:33 Excellence feels like and as he says if
3:36 we are not out juggling chainsaws we're
3:38 doing ourselves a disservice
3:40 because films speak for themselves so
3:44 here's a few Fincher fun facts uh he was
3:45 part with his first series House of
3:48 Cards uh he was one of the decision
3:50 makers to decide to release the whole
3:52 season at once changing the way we view
3:55 uh our series
3:58 aka the binge watching that skip intro
4:00 button at the first at all streamers
4:03 have adopted also Fincher and you know
4:04 that rotisserie card you'll see when
4:06 actors are tumbling around inside a
4:08 flipping card
4:10 yep Venture two
4:12 now my Hollywood loves to use the word
4:15 genius but often misunderstands are
4:16 actual geniuses
4:19 we who have been so fortunate to ride in
4:22 his slipstream will tell you he's warm a
4:23 big softy
4:25 that is incredibly articulate and
4:28 rigorously honest and takes great care
4:29 when explaining his vision
4:31 we will try to describe the Pearl's
4:33 wisdom that fall from his mouth but
4:35 we'll fall short
4:37 will tell you that he's hardest on himself
4:38 himself
4:40 and even though he's the smartest guy in
4:42 the room he's self-deprecating and the
4:44 funniest we've ever met
4:47 he's loyal to the Bone and in turn we
4:50 happily crawl through glass for him and
4:52 ask him for another take
4:54 these are just a few of the things we
4:57 might say about this man who means so
4:59 much to us
5:02 my life was forever changed one day in
5:04 94 when I sat down for a coffee with
5:05 David Fincher
5:07 I don't know if any of what we do
5:10 matters in the end what I do know that
5:13 matters is the people we hitch ourselves to
5:14 to
5:16 and the indelible Mark they leave upon
5:18 our very being
5:20 I was reading a passage recently where a
5:21 character was asking which is more
5:25 important the journey or the destination
5:29 and the other replied it's the company
5:31 and I couldn't agree more [Applause]
6:16 thank you for your wonderful invitation and
6:19 and
6:20 I must say
6:23 it took me by surprise because the films
6:26 I make tend to be a little prickly
6:29 um and any discussion that begins with
6:32 your body of work can't help but conjure
6:34 images of hospice
6:37 so I deliberated with close friends who
6:40 all came to the same conclusion when
6:42 people who care deeply about the quality
6:46 of art literature photography fashion
6:51 architecture food wine and Cinema ask
6:55 you to come celebrate you go
6:57 I stand Here representing literally
6:59 thousands of people's hard work
7:02 all done while I sat nearby watching TV
7:04 so I must now thank them deeply for the honor
7:05 honor
7:07 and I salute the culture of French
7:10 Cinema the craft and the criticism
7:12 I salute your commitment to a cinema
7:16 that reflects who we are at our smallest
7:18 and simplest and not just our
7:21 aspirational heroics once we have our
7:23 tights on
7:26 the art of painting is thousands of
7:28 years old and Cinema just over a hundred
7:30 we're only beginning to scratch the
7:33 surface of its potential I hope to see
7:35 you again sometime in its even more
7:37 glorious future
7:39 and lastly I want to acknowledge my wife
7:42 and daughter who are my beacon when I'm
7:44 lost in the brambles of creative
7:46 self-recrimination and only their
7:48 kindness brings me home
