David Fincher is well-known for his meticulous approach to filmmaking, which has proven to be one that works based on his stellar track record for delivering critical, commercial, and awards season success stories. That being said, given his reputation, you can only imagine how frustrated the director would have been trying to drag Panic Room across the finish line.
Just days after the start of filming, cinematographer Darius Khondii was fired from the production after arguments and disagreements with fellow crew members, before things went from bad to worse when star Nicole Kidman was sidelined with a serious injury two weeks into shooting.
Fincher was open to shutting Panic Room down until the actress recovered, but with a Writers Guild strike looming in the background, the studio pressured him to re-cast the role as quickly as possible due to a potential $10 million tab for hitting the pause button. With little time to secure a replacement, the Seven architect settled on Jodie Foster, who only had a week to prepare before starting work.
Foster then discovered she was pregnant shortly after that, forcing Panic Room into wardrobe and sequencing changes, while alterations additionally had to be made to the action beats and stunt work so as not to put the two-time Oscar winner in harm’s way. In the end, the nightmare proved to be worth it, with the end result winning rave reviews and scooping close to $200 million at the box office.
More than 20 years on, and Panic Room remains a nail-biting exercise in masterful tension-building, so much so that it’s continuing to draw in new crowds on streaming to this day. Per FlixPatrol, Google Play Movies subscribers have hunkered down with the home invasion favorite in their numbers, and it’s a testament to the film that you can’t even tell how shaky things had gotten behind the scenes.
Published: Mar 9, 2023 02:54 am