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Finally… On release of the film, the Zodiac case caught public imagination again and was re-opened in San Francisco. Robert Graysmith’s only major comment on the film was "God, now I see why my wife divorced me."

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Made on a budget of $65-85m, Zodiac grossed $84.7m at the box office, so was actually a flop. Its reputation has grown over time though and it is now regarded as one of the great crime thrillers of the 21st century, and among David Fincher’s best work.

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Near the end of the film we see a book rack filled with Graysmith's book, called Zodiac. This is the real book published by the real Robert Graysmith.

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In the restaurant scene between Graysmith and Toschi, you’ll notice Toschi chews his burger then spits it into a napkin. This is apparently because Mark Rufalo is a vegetarian and doesn’t like to eat meat, even when in character.

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The scene where Toschi and Graysmith watch Dirty Harry was filmed in the Mann National Theatre in California. Dirty Harry was influenced by the Zodiac case – the bad guy in the film is a serial killer called Scorpio.

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The cab murder scene on Washington and Cherry Streets could not be wholly shot in San Francisco due to filming restrictions. As such, a set was constructed of the intersection in Los Angeles, and backdrops of San Francisco were added digitally.

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In recreating the Lake Berryessa scene, the area had changed a lot since 1969. Fincher was desperate for realism so trees had to be flown in by helicopter to recreate how it had looked decades earlier.

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The film opens with the 4th of July Zodiac double murder. The first attack was actually on Lake Herman Road. This was left out of the film due to there being no surviving witnesses. Fincher hired a PI to track down 4th July survivor Michael Renault Mageau.

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The Warner Bros. and Paramount logo idents at the start are almost identical to the ones used by the two studios in 1969, the setting that the film starts.

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All three leads apparently had problems with Fincher’s highly methodical style and penchant for dozens of takes. RDJ said “I wanted to garrote him” and Gyllenhaal later said Fincher “paints with people… it’s tough to be a color.”

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The effects studio was Digital Domain and they handled 200+ digital effects shots. This included the time lapse shot of the Transamerica Pyramid and CGI blood for the murder scenes. Fincher also had some hair added to Gyllenhaal’s hands as they were “too pretty.”

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The Director of Photography on the film was Harris Savides, who had also worked with Fincher on The Game. Savides left production midway through for undisclosed reasons, and the great South Korean director Bong Joon-ho later called his work on the film flawless.
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With Fincher having experimented with digital on some of his ad work, Zodiac was one of the first major Hollywood films to be shot digitally. Most of the film was shot on the Thompson Viper FilmStream camera, except the slow-motion scenes.

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Nancy Slover was the Vallejo operator who took the first Zodiac call, and she gave voice direction by choosing an audio recording of readings by various, unidentified actors. She chose the recording of John Carroll Lynch who plays Arthur Leigh Allen.

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Costume designer Casey Storm had access to police evidence photos for reference in recreating the costumes. This included Darlene Ferrin’s blue floral jumpsuit, and The Zodiac’s hood was recreated from Bryan Hartnell’s own recollections.

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Fincher went all out to make the film as accurate as possible. No murders were depicted for which there were no witness or police reports. He said “There’s an amount of hearsay in any case, and I wanted to look these people in the eye and see if I believed them.”

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Bryan C. Hartnell - the real-life survivor of the Lake Berryessa attack – also appears. He and his wife are extras seen in the background of the scene where Marty Lee suggests to David Toschi that he take time off work.

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The first attack and end credits are scored by Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man. And Donovan’s daughter – Ione Skye – is in the film, too. She plays Kathleen Johns, the woman who escapes the Zodiac after he threatens to kill her baby.

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Fincher was influenced by All The President’s Men and wanted the same composer – David Shire – to write the score. Fincher got hold of editor Walter Murch, who worked with Shire on The Conversation, and he agreed to come aboard.

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As the story moves from the 60s into the 70s, Fincher wanted to show a black screen for 2 minutes while playing a montage of hit songs from the time. Fincher had final cut but agreed to studio requests to just display a title card saying “Four years later.”

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Some artistic license was taken with the script. Graysmith and Avery’s relationship was fictionalised for the film, and the real Avery did not retire to live as a recluse – he was married with two daughters.

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The shooting script was 200 pages long (which would equate to almost 3.5 hours on screen). Not wanting to cut any scenes, Fincher had the cast speak faster and move more quickly through scenes.

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Anthony Edwards was cast as Inspector Bill Armstrong. Fincher wanted the character to come across as a very decent man and, knowing Edwards as his neighbour, cast him in the part.

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Before the film was released, it was reported that Gary Oldman had been cast as TV host Melvin Belli. Graysmith later said “physically it wasn't going to work, he just didn't have the girth." Brian Cox was cast instead.

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To keep the Zodiac a mysterious figure, Fincher hired three actors to play him: John Lacy, Richmond Arquette, and Bob Stephenson. (And if you think Arthur Leigh Allen is the Zodiac, then John Carroll Lynch is the fourth actor to play him).

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Fincher’s first choice as SF journalist Paul Avery was Brad Pitt, but he was unavailable. He also reportedly considered Daniel Craig before turning to Robert Downey, jr.

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The real Toschi even had an influence on Star Wars. George Lucas’ high schooler imagination had been captured by the Zodiac and, when he penned his space opera years later, he named a location on Tatooine Tosche Station.

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In preparation, Ruffalo met the real Toschi, and took his mannerisms and distinctive fashion choices straight from the real man. Ruffalo later said how impressed he was that Toschi still remembered even the most minute details of the case.

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