Q&A: David Fincher talks us through the off-screen torture of making 'Seven'

And he thought about it — and this kid's 30 years old — and I remember he said, "OK, here's what we're going to do: You're going to continue to shoot. Tell them you need five days. Shoot what you need. Get your helicopter shots. You keep going. Do what it is you need to do. I'll sign the P.O.s." And so that's how we got another 11 days of shooting.

Q. Do those kind of producers exist anymore?

A. Sure they do. They absolutely do. I think you have to understand that the conceit of it was you are sold a thriller, but it really becomes a horror movie. And by that, I mean horror movies at their essence are about things that you can't control. You can't control Michael Myers, you can't control Bruce the Shark, you can't control Linda Blair. That was a really compelling and interesting puzzle box to work your way out of. Mike had my back. We talked about it and he really stood by what it was that we were trying to do.

Q. Have you made peace with how large "Seven" looms in your filmography? Even when you were releasing something like last year's "The Killer," it's always: Fincher's back to what he does best. Do producers want you to repeat yourself?

A. Look, I'm happy about that. I like the movie. I went through that with Warner Bros. on "Zodiac." They were like, "Well, this isn't scary." And I was like, "There are people who might disagree with you on that." I got blue in the face saying, "This is not 'Seven.' This is a 35-year cross between 'All the President's Men' and 'River's Edge.'" I'm sure there are people who would love to be able to hire you to do that thing that you did for New Line back in the mid-'90s, but I barely remember what that was. Hopefully we've all moved on.

Q. Do your fans only want to talk "Seven" with you?

A. No. When you make the kind of movies I make, not a lot of people go: "Let's talk about 'Zodiac.'" The ones who really want to talk about it are probably on a watch list somewhere.

Q. You're 100% wrong about that. Are you on a watch list for making all these movies — and then returning to them decades later with Imax versions?

A. God, I would hope so. We used to joke that by the time "Seven" got to its fifth weekend, anybody who was there during the matinee, just slap the cuffs on them.

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)