Courtesy of The New York Times:

Though he has always been something of a polarizing figure, Mr. Fincher, 46, is ensconced within the creative elite of Hollywood auteurs, in the company of Steven Soderbergh, Christopher Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson and a handful of others, who are able to maintain artistic control within the studio system. In many ways, however, he does not fit the standard profile of a personal filmmaker, which may be why it has taken critics a while to warm up to him. He does not write his movies and generally sticks to genre fare. His feature directing career began with the third installment of the “Alien” franchise, and before “Benjamin Button” all his movies were noirish thrillers of a sort.

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Courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times:

I’ve been accused of refusing to review Ben Stein’s documentary “Expelled,” a defense of Creationism, because of my belief in the theory of evolution. Here is my response.

Ben Stein, you hosted a TV show on which you gave away money. Imagine that I have created a special edition of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” just for you. Ben, you’ve answered all the earlier questions correctly, and now you’re up for the $1 million prize. It involves an explanation for the evolution of life on this planet. You have already exercised your option to throw away two of the wrong answers. Now you are faced with two choices: (A) Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, or (B) Intelligent Design.

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• Michael Douglas in Wall Street:

• Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross:

• Ben Affleck in Boiler Room:

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