David Fincher - Zodiac - Movies - New York Times:
"Robert Downey Jr., impeccably cast as a crime reporter driven to drink, drugs and dissolution, called Mr. Fincher a disciplinarian and agreed that, as is often said, “he’s always the smartest guy in the room.” But Mr. Downey put this in perspective.

“Sometimes it’s really hard because it might not feel collaborative, but ultimately filmmaking is a director’s medium,” he said. “I just decided, aside from several times I wanted to garrote him, that I was going to give him what he wanted. I think I’m a perfect person to work for him, because I understand gulags.”"

The eternal struggle between actors and directors as played out in David Fincher's new film "Zodiac". I find it interesting how some directors like Fincher, Kubrick often do dozens and dozens of takes in an effort to get the performance they want from an actor, and others, like Clint Eastwood for example, manage to get good results with a handful of takes. I mean, why would you need 70 takes of a scene? Kubrick it seems, often wanted a certain stylized portrayal difficult for most actors to do. Maybe dozens of takes made this possible. I don't know much about Fincher or his films but he is critically respected and his films are popular. Actors do want to work with him.