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As usual, watch out for SPOILERS and TRIGGERS.
We may occasionally produce irregular 'footnote' episodes such as these.
The so-called 'Zodiac' was a serial killer who haunted San Francisco and its environs in the late 60s and early 70s, and who was never caught or identified. The movie is based on Robert Graysmith's best-selling book about the case, and purports to tell both Graysmith's own story and to (maybe) unmask the killer. Listen to find out what Daniel thinks about these claims.
This episode is a compliment to a forthcoming episode of the They Must Be Destroyed On Sight! podcast (on which Daniel is also a co-host), which will also look at Zodiac, probably from a different standpoint. Be sure to check that out, along with TMBDOS generally.
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Zodiac, 2007, directed by David Fincher, written by James Vanderbilt, based on the book by Robert Graysmith. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jnr., Mark Ruffalo, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, Chloe Sevigny, Brian Cox, and John Carroll Lynch.
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Episode Notes:
Main Topic: Zodiac (2007). But first, a thirteen minute riff on superhero movies. Token. Is Jack the Zodiac? Aren't we all the Zodiac? Unsolved mysteries. "Curtain rods everybody." Not to interrupt. Jack projects. General thoughts of the film. Fincher as director. Quality pastiche. Empty. JFK versus Zodiac. "The look." The radian theory. Pattern-seeking behavior. Marrying Chloe Sevigny. No social turmoil. Daniel pours a beer. Misogynist Zodiac Killer. Daniel projects. DNA. The guilt of Arthur Leigh Allen. Lingering fascination with history. Ferrin and the painting party. Two previous victims. Avery's discovery of a possible Zodiac victim. Missing evidence. Evidence presented by the film. 1978 letter not real. ALA lived near the IHOP? Ferrin trying to get weed. Ferrin's humanity. Inaccuracies in the opening sequence. Verisimilitude. Fake docudrama. "Graysmithed." A Current Affair. Toschi the camera hog. Searching the trailer. Not a good guy. The Dick Cheney joke doesn't land. Graysmith is always wrong. An aside about Steven Knight. Paranoid Graysmith. Fleischer as Vaughn. Papering over mistakes. Gay porn. Alt-right and the serial killer. The trailer search. Why the fascination? Displaced interest in history. Prickle and salaciousness. Puzzles and connections. Storytelling as justice. The ciphers. Serious droopy. Escalation. Earlier victims? Paul Avery. Handwriting. Ambidextrous. Seven versus Zodiac. Figures of intense anxiety. Looking for a black guy. Johnnie Cochran reference. Daniel pours another beer. In the past. Pitiful. Pepe the Zodiac. Infodump education. Murderous retail. Police files. Siding with Graysmith. Wallace Penny/Penny Wallace. Reading Graysmith? Faces in the dark. Gay Ellroy. The ending. Graysmith the hero. The poster. Wrapping Up.
