While he doesn’t always crap out perfection, David Fincher is definitely a favorite director here, and probably over there, and really most anywhere… From cult hits like Fight Club to well recognized and hyper-sharp prestige pics like The Social Network, Fincher never fails to make something interesting.

I consider myself something of a particularly enthusiastic Fincher fan, with several of his films being big presences in my formative years as a film geek. For this reason I was very excited and honored to be invited on the great Director’s Club Podcast to discuss the director. I’ve appeared on the show before to discuss another great passion of mine — The Wachowskis — and it was a thrill to be asked back.

Hosted by CHUD friend and occasional contributor Patrick Ripoll and his cohort Jim Laczkowski, each episode of the podcast focuses on a specific director, targeting discussion around two reprsentative entries from their filmography. For Fincher we went with Fight Club and Zodiac, though there are healthy discussions about the finale of Seven, the unlikely merits of Benjamin Button, and the possibility that the Social Network is the director’s masterpiece. If that second one surprises you, know that it surprised me even more to be playing Button’s advocate after years and years of relentless shit-talking of that flick.

Hit their site or iTunes to listen to the ‘cast.

Be warned: they record extensive episodes, so be prepared to stretch it out over a few commutes…

Once you’ve had a listen, be sure to check out my companion piece here on CHUD, the most recent Renn Loves Music Videos, which runs through Fincher’s formative years as a music video director and picks out 10 of his best.