20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Zodiac (2007)
19. David Fincher Has A Personal Connection To The Story
Born in Denver, Colorado, director David Fincher actually grew up extremely close to the killer's stomping grounds. When he was just two years old, the family upped sticks and moved to Marin County, San Fransisco.
The director was just seven years old when the Zodiac Killer first struck. In an interview with the New York Times, he recalls noticing police cars following his school bus. At the time, the killer had just put out a letter stating his intention to target school busses, first shooting out the tires before taking out the students as they came out of the vehicle. The attack would never come to fruition, with the killer later stating; "If you cops think I am going to take on a school bus the way I stated I would, you deserve to have holes in your heads".
The harrowing childhood experience would later influence his work on Se7en, as well as serving as inspiration to take on the Zodiac film. Fincher was originally due to direct a miniseries based on the Black Dahlia murders, but dropped the project in favour of Zodiac because of this personal connection.