Brad Pitt Celebrates David Fincher’s César Award

David Fincher is probably hoping this video doesn’t go viral but I hate to be the bearer of bad news, if Brad Pitt shows up your video is going to get almost 500K views on Youtube in five days, which is exactly what has happened. The best comment is this, “Brad Pitt trying his hardest to be funny, but the crowd is too in awe of Him being here at this show.”

Ah, the French beat the Americans in awarding one of the greatest living directors, David Fincher, with a Lifetime Achievement Award, the only thing that would top it would be an Honorary Oscar. But of course, Fincher is not slowing down and is really just hitting his stride as a director, despite the diehard Fight Club fans who wish Dylan had never gone electric.

This is a wonderful tribute, even if it should have been given by the Academy long, long ago. Fight Club, Seven, and Zodiac should all have been nominated, Benjamin Button should have beaten Slumdog Millionaire, The Social Network should have beaten The King’s Speech, Mank should have beaten Nomadland (I said what I said), and Gone Girl should have been nominated as it is, of course, the only film from 2014 that remains culturally relevant. It takes audiences time to catch up with Fincher’s films, repeated viewings to untangle them – but if you have a curious mind there is nobody who makes films that scratch that itch quite the same way.

The Oscars are this year and every year about a moment in time when a crowd caught a wave. That sentiment usually fades away and you’re left with the film itself. Some of these movies (Casablanca) will always be great. Some won’t. Film awards are a tricky thing. But it took the French to appreciate the artistry of Hitchcock and apparently now, it has taken the French to appreciate the genius of David Fincher.

What I love about this clip is that you can see Fincher is leaning forward and offering support for Brad Pitt, not really bathing in his own greatness.

It’s wonderful: