So Special You Didn't Even Know They Were There

Here's a pretty cool video that shows the special effects that went into making Zodiac. (A couple of the scenes are violent, since we're talking about a serial killer movie, so consider this a "Not Safe For Work" warning.)



It's certainly some impressive work by Digital Domain. But my question, after looking at these scenes (and it's probably an obvious one), is "Wouldn't it just have been easier to find a location and shoot there?"

I'm guessing that David Fincher wanted to create a consistent look - especially with the skylines and backgrounds - and some of the housing and architecture that existed in late-1960s San Francisco, so going through this process make sense. Plus, judging from Fight Club and Panic Room, Fincher has consistently used special effects where you might not notice them or think they were necessary.

I imagine this stuff would be part of a 2-disc "special edition" Zodiac DVD. I'd definitely been interested in that, even though it wasn't quite the movie I expected.

(via The Movie Blog)