Hey there, it's Kathy. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to History of the 90s

early and ad-free on Amazon music included with Prime.

It begins with a blast of thunder. A sepia tone book fills the screen as a shadowy hand

flips slowly through the pages.

Over the next two minutes, it's a visual assault of shaky titles and disturbing violent scenes

that pop on and off the screen so quickly that they're almost subliminal messages.

All the while, a remixed version of Closer by 9-inch Nails ominously builds in the

background. It's like you're seeing inside the mind of a serial killer. And that's exactly what the

young, edgy director of this 1995 movie was hoping to achieve. With his unique vision, the obsessive O'Toole, left his mark on the 90s like no one else.

Through films like this one, as well as controversial commercials and high-budget music videos,

he styled the decade.

I'm Kathy Kanzora, and this is History of the 90s, a podcast about a decade that changed the world.

On this episode, we're talking about director David Fincher.

Looking back, it seems almost inevitable that David Fincher would get into the movie business.

He was born in Denver, but his family moved to Northern California in the mid-60s when he was a young boy.

His neighbors included fame director George Lucas, who before creating Star Wars made the classic movie American

Graffiti just down the street from Fincher's house. After high school, Fincher got a low-level

position at Lucas's Visual Effects Company, Industrial Light and Magic. But he quickly felt bored

and stifled. Then in 1985, at the age of 23, Fincher went out on his own

and landed an opportunity to direct a commercial.

It was actually a public service announcement, or PSA,

for the American Cancer Society.

...