Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn admitted she had some worries about handing over her best-seller to be adapted into a movie by David Fincher and has revealed she was adamant any big screen adaptation had to maintain the heart of the story.
Starring Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, who is accused of murdering his wife Amy, played by Rosamund Pike, the book has become an instant classic and fans have had trepidation about any big screen version. Flynn did too and speaking to Entertainment Weekly, admitted it took a lot to let go of the story.
"The entire time when it was about to be purchased for a film, I was like, 'Only I can adapt it. It has to be me. It has to be me. It has to be me," said Flynn. "And then they were like, 'It's you.' And I was like, 'No, no! That seems like a little too much to take on.' But once I started getting into it, I realised the important thing was to not be slavishly devoted to every plot line but to make sure that it ultimately felt like the book. I was very concerned with the tone and keeping the kind of dark heart of it."
Rosamund Pike has been much praised for the role and even Oscar tipped, but meeting her initially director David Fincher admitted it was hard to work her out. "Rosamund was someone that I had seen in four or five different movies over 10 years, and I never got a bead on her," he explained,
"I never got a sense of who she was. And I pride myself on being able to watch actors and sort of know instinctively what their utility belt is, and I don't have that with Rosamund. I didn't know what she was building off of. There was an opacity there and it was interesting."
Affleck in Gone Girl
With rave reviews, it's actually got a 100% on rotten tomatoes, the casting was clearly spot on, but what was it like working with acclaimed director Fincher? Ben Affleck claimed, as a director himself, he learned a lot from the filmmaker.
"It was great to work with David and I learned a great deal from him," he said of the Seven and Fight Club director, "David's also, despite his reputation, a very funny and nice guy. Not just a demon."
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