Failed Oscar Campaigns: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011)

Scene from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

The Movie

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Directed By: David Fincher

Written By: Steven Zaillian (Screenplay), Stieg Larsson (Novel)

Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Running Time 158 minutes

Summary: Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker

The Movie

While it's far from the Oscar conversation as things can get, this weekend's release of The Girl in the Spider's Web marks the return of a franchise that was conceived as something darker and edgier than the competition. The books, based on Stieg Larsson's posthumously released Millennium Trilogy, became international best sellers and protagonist Lisbeth Salander was an icon of counterculture behavior. The latest film is the first to be based on material not written initially by Larsson, instead being based on the less revered novel by David Lagercrantz. There is still one thing that's being discussed even with everything already in place: why isn't David Fincher and Rooney Mara involved? Considering that the 2011 film they're referencing was considered a "flop" at the time, it's bizarre that they would even make this comment. Then again, it foreshadows how doomed The Girl in the Spider's Web was always likely to be.

In 2011, Fincher was coming off of his arguable peak as a director with The Social Network. It had earned a Best Picture nomination, and won Aaron Sorkin an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He was capable of doing anything next, so he roped in The Social Network co-star Mara for an adaptation of the best-selling novel "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Before it even saw the light of day, many wondered how it could compare to the Swedish adaptations, all directed by Niels Arden Orpev and starring Noomi Rapace as Salander. It was a hefty goal for any filmmaker, but there was an effective charisma to Fincher that's been prominent in all of his work. There was no move too bold for him. If he felt that the impulse was right, he'd do it. And thus one of the rare films in his career with a quick turnaround from the last was born.

The easy way to sell the film writ large was that it was to be the start of an "adult franchise." This was going to be a HARD R-rated mystery drama full of dark themes and done on a budget exceeding $100 million. The film's success from there would be difficult to track, though it's perfectly embodied in the fact that The Girl in the Spider's Web was not only delayed seven years in production, but that its budget was slashed by over half of what Fincher's had. While there were good reviews to spare and a healthy argument that the American version exceeded the Swedish originals, it still was mired in conflict that would lead some to blame it for the death of the "adult franchise" as a concept. It's safe to say that everyone recovered from the film just fine, but it remains this odd note in Fincher's career despite also garnering with it a handful of Oscar nominations and even one major win.

- The Campaign -

It could be argued that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's Oscar campaign started with The Social Network. Both were films featuring prominent use of the internet and were written by prestigious writers with distinct styles. When that film won Oscars, it molded a new personality onto Fincher's style of film making. He has since worked exclusively with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross as composers. He borrowed The Social Network's Mara to play Lisbeth Salander. He was seen as prestigious even if most could make the argument that Larsson's original book is closer to pulp with dark themes of rape, misogyny, and violence that is far from commercial. That is the mystery behind Fincher getting carte blanch to make a $100 million adaptation and have it become a tent pole Christmastime release. Even the original teaser played up the notion that it was the "feel bad movie of Christmas." From the beginning, it was the edgy alternative to whatever came after.

On the screenplay was Steven Zaillian, who had begun writing the screenplay years before and was also working on Moneyball around the same time (which would be co-written by The Social Network's Sorkin). Everything was in place and the film had the energy behind it. Much like Fincher's other inventive marketing campaigns, he played up the hacker mentality in the marketing. Among the highlights of this is the Tumblr blog Mouth Taped Shut, which gave cryptic clues into the production of the film throughout the summer prior to the film's release. It gave clues that would unlock further information and gave a general sense of mystery. The blog also lead to the release of the score by Atticus and Ross, which itself was an astounding 39 tracks long and was almost 20 minutes longer than the almost three hour movie. Considering that there were also special trailers that played randomly that ranged from the typical two minutes to double digits, the film was setting itself apart from the competition.

There was even a fun mystery as to who would play Salander for several months. Because Fincher and crew wanted to keep it a secret, they kept Mara in hiding so that her punk aesthetic wouldn't leak to the press. There needed to be a hunger for the images, and there definitely was when they arrived. Mara had a full body conversion where even her hairline and eyebrows were greatly altered in order to appear in character. She would also claim that she got piercings (including her nipples) in order to better get into character. Images would appear in places like W Magazine where she dressed in a trashy form of chic while discussing that, as an actress, she was fine with being nude in the film. She also believed that because of the film's need for her to dress in often masculine attire, she no longer had concern for buying frilly clothes and she bought whatever utilitarian outfit she felt suitable in.

There was a lot more emphasis in the marketing on Mara than there was on her co-star Daniel Craig, who would play Mikael Blomkvist. Even then, the marketing would emphasize the titillating nature of the film, even including a promotional poster where Mara appears topless while being cradled by Craig's hand. Considering the film's controversial themes, it was fitting even though it likely upset some audiences who didn't approve of the strange exploitation of yet another naked woman to sell a movie. More than any other aspect of the film, Mara's image was the big selling point, and her transformation was just as key to major interviews.

With the interest there, the film made its pre-release premiere on November 28, 2011 to a predominantly critics-based screening. On the bright side, the film received a lot of high praise. However, there was never the notion that it was a film as radical and new as The Social Network. It wasn't a game changer. It would be a fun Fall movie for adult audiences, and that's about it. Despite being based off of a book that sold over 65 million copies and had a fervent fan base, this was kind of the attitude that would hold for the remainder of the marketing. While the marketing did everything in its power to feel significant and unique, there was the notion that in a time where audiences seek prestigious awardsy movies that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was not going to be it.

With the December 21, 2011 American release, it maintained that behavior.  With a midweek release, the film made $21 million in its first week on 2,914 screens and rose to 2,950 by the second day - in part inspired by positive word of mouth. However, the lower-than-expected turnout lead to an immediate push back that included the film being dropped from over 1,000 theaters by its third weekend. By some miracle, it made $102.5 million at the American box office alone by the end. It would also go on to be banned in countries such as India for its explicit content, only adding to the notion of the film's complicated themes. Internationally, the film would gross $232 million, which is a significant gross and technically makes the film a success. However, it was considered a box office bomb in America because it fell way below the expected numbers, which were at least triple its budget.

While it would be an ongoing issue far after the film's release and Oscar chances, there was the conflict over whether there would in fact be sequels to this "adult franchise." Fans of the books were undoubtedly expecting Fincher and Mara to continue with The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Both of them have admitted at times that they would, and even Zaillian was writing a screenplay for the sequel at one point. However, the film remained in development hell for years after 2011. By that time everyone had expressed interest of working together on the film, but it was becoming clear that the next stage of production was never going to happen. It's part of what makes The Girl in the Spider's Web feel a bit more ominous, especially given that it's more of a streamlined action film than the previous entry. 

For a film that dominated the conversation for most of the year, it's strange to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fail as hard as it did. With that said, it wasn't the end of the road for the film. As Fincher gave interviews detailing the technical elements of the film, including the provocative opening credits sequence that he released online, there was still an interest in the film as art. It did also receive major awards nominations, including two Golden Globe nominations. Some critics, such as David Ehrlich (now of Indiewire), would even put the film in their Top 10 of 2011. For a film that existed as this rare big studio film with guts to be dark and cynical, it really had legs that would make it an anomaly in everyone's career. Few admitted it to be among Fincher's best, though there's been consistent reassessment of it since. Now it was time to see how The Academy would treat the film.

- The Payoff -

It could be that Fincher was coming off of his biggest success critically with The Social Network, but the film managed to earn a surprising five nominations, all technical save for the Best Actress nomination for Mara. While it was a positive surprise that she had gotten any awards consideration, many were upset that the film didn't get any other major nomination for Fincher, especially in terms of a Best Picture spot. Given that it was a period with an extended Best Picture line-up, this was especially jarring to some. However, the nomination for Mara was likely to be expected since it was a "transformation," as evident by her still offbeat haircut that she had at the Oscars ceremony:

In one of the strangest moves in 21st century Oscar history, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's sole win came in Best Editing. To summarize, there is a general notion that the Best Editing category was a good predictor for Best Picture. Considering that this couldn't be the case for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it was one of the rare examples that helped to shape a new trend of this category going to entirely different movies. It was also fitting that the trend went this way since the film's outsider status was always a bit kooky. Zaillian meanwhile would get a nomination that year, though it was for the Best Picture nominee Moneyball, co-written by the previous year's winner Sorkin. In fact, Best Editing was a field that The Social Network had won the year previously as well. For a "box office bomb," Fincher had succeeded all the same.

This whole entry could've been dedicated to the marketing alone of this film, which is one of the best of the past 10 years. It is probably a big reason that the film managed to resonate and become a sleeper hit. However, it could also be that it was an unrepentant and faithful adaptation that pushed boundaries and tried to be something deeper and more perplexing. It was the Fincher way, after all, and would continue with his next film Gone Girl. However, this is to date the only Larsson-based novel to have any Oscar consideration, which makes it all the more shocking that it was even considered in the first place. Considering that The Girl in the Spider's Web doesn't stand a chance to even be best movie of the weekend, it's likely to be a trend that starts and ends in 2011. It's a miracle that the film exists and tragic that there wasn't an adult franchise to change this. Maybe it's the film's fault, or that audiences were more into ongoing cinematic universes of the time (which works to the 2018 film's favor). Still, it will be a fun artifact that not only proved that American remakes are capable of being good, they could also compete with world cinema when done right.