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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American romantic fantasy drama film directed by David Fincher and adapted by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord from F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1922 short story. The film stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse and Cate Blanchett as his love interest throughout his life. The film also stars Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas, and Tilda Swinton.
Directed by David Fincher · Cut by Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall · Music by Alexandre Desplat · Ratio 2.35:1 · 166 min
How it was made
- Fincher used a facial-capture camera rig called Contour, developed by Steve Perlman, to record facial deformation data from Brad Pitt's live performance for the character's de-aging effects.
- Visual effects house Digital Domain handled the transformation of Pitt's character down to infancy, while Matte World Digital built a 3D model of the New Orleans train station's interior using Next Limit's Maxwell rendering software to show its architectural decay across different eras.
- Louisiana's production incentives contributed $27 million toward the film's $167 million budget; principal photography ran about 150 days, split between New Orleans and two further months in Los Angeles.
- Composer Alexandre Desplat recorded the score with an 87-piece Hollywood Studio Symphony ensemble at the Sony Scoring Stage.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by David Fincher
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