Oscar-nominated filmmaker David Fincher plans to direct the pilot episode of “Living on Video,” which is the working title of his half-hour HBO project about music videos in the 1980s, TheWrap has learned.
Fincher will executive produce “Living on Video” with Cean Chaffin and Joshua Donen.
HBO declined to comment, while attempts to reach Donen proved unsuccessful.
Not many details are known about “Living on Video” other than the fact that it focuses on the crew members who worked in the early days of music videos, though casting is currently under way.
Fincher revealed he was developing a project based on his experiences as a music video director in a recent Playboy interview.
“Studios treat audiences like lemmings, like cattle in a stockyard. I don’t want to ask actors or anyone else on a movie to work so hard with me if the studios treat us as though we’re making Big Macs. ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ is not a Big Mac. ‘Gone Girl’ is not a Big Mac. This TV show I’m doing about music videos in the 1980s and the crew members who worked on them, or this other show, a Sunset Boulevard set in the world of soaps — they’re not Big Macs. I don’t make Big Macs,” said Fincher.
Frustrated with the limitations of the studio system (he walked away from the upcoming Steve Jobs movie), Fincher has focused his attention on TV of late. He’s preparing to direct the entire first season of HBO’s “Utopia,” though that project hasn’t started casting yet, and he continues to develop the original drama project “Shakedown” at HBO with crime writer James Elroy.
Fincher, who’s coming off the smashing success of “Gone Girl,” received Oscar nominations for directing “The Social Network” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” He’s represented by Donen and attorney Craig Jacobson.
For the record: A previous version of this story misidentified the title of the series as “Living on Noise.” TheWrap regrets the error.
