David Fincher will receive the French Film Academy’s highest award, the César d’honneur for lifetime achievement, at February’s César Awards, the French equivalent of the Oscars.
The French Academy praised the director of “Se7en,” “Fight Club,” “Gone Girl” and “The Social Network” as “one of those rare directors whose entire filmography has become iconic over the years.”
“An outstanding technician, a true visionary, his cinema is hypnotic, cerebral, a source of inspiration for countless artists,” the Academy said in the press release announcing the honor.
“He surprised us with “Se7en”, kept us on the edge with “The Game” and surprised us again with “Fight Club”. With “Zodiac”, “The Social Network”, “Gone Girl”, which is his biggest film success to date, or with “Mank”, he breaks the usual codes and gets excellent international reviews,” the statement continues.
Fincher began his career in the industry when he was 18 working for Korty Films in Mill Valley, California, and did a stint on George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic before moving on to direct TV commercials and music videos. His video work includes Madonna, Sting, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, and Aerosmith, among many others. He won two Grammy Awards for Best Music Video, for The Stones’ 1995 “Love is Strong” and Justin Timberlake’s 2014 “Suit & Tie.”
He has a plethora of award-winning movies, including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Earlier this year, Fincher spoke about Chinese censorship of “Fight Club,” after the film’s original ending was restored on Chinese streaming service Tencent Video, which had previously replaced the final moments with a title card. which described a completely different ending.
Closely associated with Netflix, Fincher has also received accolades and multiple Emmy Awards for groundbreaking series like “House of Cards,” “Mindhunter” and “Love, Death & Robots.” Last year, he executive produced “Voir,” a series of visual essays celebrating film, for the streaming service.
Several of his movies have also been made for Netflix, including 2020’s “Mank” and the upcoming “The Killer,” starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Fassbender.
The nominees for the 48th César Awards will be announced on January 25. Fincher will be honored at the 48th Cesars in Paris on February 24. The show will be broadcast live on the French pay-TV network Canal+.
Australian actress Cate Blanchett received the César d’honneur earlier this year. French actor Jean-Pierre Bacri was the 2021 honoree. Robert Redford was the last American to receive the honor, in 2019.
