Paramount and Warner Bros. have signed David Fincher ("Se7en", "Fight Club") to direct a pair of tentpoles - "Zodiac," starring Mark Ruffalo, and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett - back-to-back reports Variety.
Fincher is in pre-production on "Zodiac," which also stars Robert Downey Jr, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anthony Edwards. Production is slated to start in September with Jamie Vanderbilt adapting from Robert Graysmith's "Zodiac" and 2002 sequel "Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed." Shooting will take place in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Warner is taking the lead on producing "Zodiac".
Both studios are aiming for Fincher to start lensing "Benjamin Button" in October 2006. Fitzgerald's story "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" centers on a man who, at age 50, begins aging backward and the complications that ensue when he falls in love with a woman of 30. The story's been set in New Orleans, allowing the studios to take advantage of Louisiana's production incentives. Paramount is taking the lead on producing "Button".
In both cases Paramount will handle domestic distribution, Warners will handle international territories.
Thanks to 'Gemini'
