While Hollywood has always seemed a little unsure of David Fincher – loving his movies but uncertain of his cash-generating power (remember Fight Club flopped massively on its first release – since The Social Network he’s pretty much had the studio world at his feet, having managed the rare feat of creating a critically lauded, Oscar-loved, contemporary movie, that also made bucketloads of cash.
Partly due to Social Network’s buzz, Fincher was able to sign a deal with Media Rights Capital last year, to cover development and funding of a couple of films. Now it seems he may have found one of movie he wants to make under that arrangement, as he has optioned the 2009 Jason Starr novel Panic Attack, and set screenwriter Ted Griffin (Ocean’s Eleven, Terriers) to adapt.
Unsurprisingly, Panic Attack is not a sequel to Fincher’s Panic Room, but instead follows a New York City psychiatrist who shoots and kills a home intruder. The event leads to a slew of media attention, and also causes the victim’s accomplice to start gunning for the shrink.
Vulture, who reported the deal, spoke to novelist Jason Starr, who said this about his book, “The thing about Panic Attack is that there’s a really compelling antihero in this guy Johnny Long [the revenge-minded cohort stalking the psychiatrist and his family]. He’s a very clever, Ripley-esque psychopath.” However Starr knew little else about the deal, such as the projected timeline.
The real question though is when and if Fincher actually has time to direct. He’s still working on Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, may helm the second and possibly third flicks of that franchise, and is developing a massive Cleopatra bioipic, with Angelina Jolie slated to star.