Keanu Reeves discusses the one director he has yet to work with. Reeves has a long history of working with great filmmakers. He collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola on 1992’s Dracula, Kathryn Bigelow on Point Break, and Gus Van Sant on My Own Private Idaho early in his career. Over his career, Reeves has collaborated with Ana Lily Amirpour, Richard Linklater, the Wachowskis, David Ayer, and Francis Lawrence. Yet, Reeves hopes to collaborate with yet another acclaimed filmmaker.
Reeves was asked about actors or directors he would still like to work with during a Reddit AMA. “Let’s go with David Fincher today,” he said. Reeves has never worked with Fincher but admires his work, picking him out of a large field of creatives as the one filmmaker he would still like to collaborate with someday.
But could they work together?
Fincher has a great career making pictures that appeal to both critics and viewers, even when they are melancholy. He rose to prominence with 1995’s Se7en, a violent film about investigators on the trail of a serial murderer. Fincher went on to direct Fight Club, Zodiac, and The Social Network, cementing his reputation as one of Hollywood’s top directors.
Fincher was also noted for his meticulous temperament, frequently recording significantly more takes of a scene than other directors, with rumors claiming that he may have done over 100 takes. It’s a method used by many directors, notably Stanley Kubrick, whose style the Wachowskis were influenced by. Reeves endured a similar shooting approach while working on The Matrix franchise with the Wachowskis, frequently taking hundreds of takes, which appeared to prepare him for Ficnher’s style.
Apart from Reeves’ ability to handle Fincher’s filmmaking technique, the two frequently gravitate toward similar topics in their work. Fincher frequently explores the themes of alienation, feminism, toxic masculinity, and dehumanization in his films. While Reeves’ filmography is diverse, he has explored these themes in films such as The Matrix, Thumbsucker, A Scanner Darkly, To the Bone, and Knock Knock, among others. While Keanu Reeves and David Fincher have yet to collaborate, the two may be a good fit for the right project.