The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy romantic drama film directed by David Fincher. The storyline by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse and Cate Blanchett as the love interest throughout his life. The film also stars Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas, and Tilda Swinton. Producer Ray Stark bought the film rights to do the short story in the mid-1980s with Universal Pictures backing the film, but struggled to get the project off the ground until he sold the rights to producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in the 1990s. Although it was moved to Paramount Pictures in the 1990s, the film did not enter production until after Fincher and Pitt signed on along with the rest of the cast in 2005. Principal photography began in November 2006 and wrapped up in September 2007. Digital Domain worked on the visual effects of the film, particularly in the process of the metamorphosis of Pitt's character. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was released in North America on December 25, 2008 to positive reviews, with major praise for Fincher's directing, Pitt's performance, production values, and visual effects. The film was a box office success, grossing $335.8 million worldwide against its $167 million budget. The film received a leading 13 Academy Award nominations at the 81st Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Fincher, Best Actor for Pitt, and Best Supporting Actress for Taraji P. Henson, and won three, for Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, and Best Visual Effects.
You know, in a rehearsal once, a dancer fell. And he just... He just put it right into the production. I mean, can you imagine that? Like in a... In a classical ballet? You know, a dancer, intentionally falling. There's a whole new word for dance now. It's called "abstract." No, he's not the only one, though. There's Lincoln Kirstein and Lucia Chase, and oh, my... Oh, there's Agnes de Mille. She's just torn up all those conventions, you know, all that straight-up-and-down stuff. It's not about the formality of the dance, it's about what the dancer's feeling. As she told me about this big new world, names that didn't mean a thing to me, I didn't really hear very much of what she was saying. It's new and it's modern and it's American. They understand our vigor and our physicality. Oh, my God. I've just been talking and talking. No, no, I've enjoyed listening. I didn't know you smoked. I'm old enough.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button