David Fincher gets a Panic Attack, setting up gritty new crime thriller

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Just as David Fincher’s take on THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO got an official trailer and French one-sheet, news has broken today that the A-list visionary may be setting up his next directorial project.

According to Vulture, Fincher has optioned PANIC ATTACK, the grisly 2009 crime novel from author Jason Starr, which revolves around a New York shrink who shoots and kills a home intruder, then faces a media frenzy and the victim’s vengeful accomplice.

Whether Fincher will direct himself or merely produce has yet to be determined, although Fincher has apparently tapped Ted Griffin (OCEAN’S 11, TOWER HEIST) to adapt the tome for his own Panic Pictures production company.

Here’s what Starr said about PANIC ATTACK:

“The thing about Panic Attack is that there’s a really compelling antihero in this guy Johnny Long [the revenge-minded cohort stalking the psychiatrist and his family]…He’s a very clever, Ripley-esque psychopath.”

F*ckin’ beautiful! I love how, after being snubbed by the Academy this year, Fincher’s harking back to what made him so dope to begin with; pitch black thrillers. Even if he doesn’t direct himself, he chooses his producorial projects carefully enough to get excited about. He’s currently producing the Kevin Spacey film HOUSE OF CARDS, as well as the Tom Cruise sci-fi vehicle OBLIVION.

But back to PANIC ATTACK? You think it’s a perfect project for Fincher to direct? If not, why not?

Rooney Mara, the new Lisbeth Salander