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華納影片公司驚慄發行
根據真實連環殺人懸案改編

《七宗罪》導演大衛芬查David Fincher再佈懸疑殺局

《斷背山》《明日之後》積佳蘭賀Jake Gyllenhaal
《夢幻皮草》《各位觀眾晚安》羅拔唐尼Robert Downey Jr.
《同行殺機》《裸體切割》麥克雷法路Mark Ruffalo

殺謎藏ZODIAC

《基本懸兇》占士韋特碧列James Vanderbilt編劇
《心理遊戲》桑查芬Cean Chaffin 監製
《七宗罪》夏里斯沙維迪斯Harris Savides ASC攝影
《搏擊會》安格斯禾爾Angus Wall剪接
《竊聽大陰謀》大衛舒亞David Shire 音樂

6 月21日 兇光乍現
www.zodiacmovie.com

一位逍遙法外的冷血殺手，以一連串神秘難解的密碼令全美國陷於恐慌之中。他聲稱殺害超過三十人，警方則確定他曾襲擊七位無辜平民，並奪其中五人的生命。沒有人能確定到底多少人死在這殺人狂魔手上，大家只知道他是惡名昭彰的「星座殺手」。

《七宗罪》、《搏擊會》大導演大衛芬查最新懸疑傑作《殺謎藏》，改編自一位曾經肆虐美國三藩市灣區的連環殺手的真實故事。這位留下連串密碼挑戰執法人員破案能力的恐怖殺人狂魔，惹來四人日以繼夜的追查和研究，試圖揭開兇徒的神秘面紗。

在四位鍥而不捨破解密碼的人物之中，羅拔格利史米（積佳蘭賀　飾演）是最特別的一位。身為一家報社的卡通插畫家，格利史米沒有同事兼罪案記者保羅艾法利（羅拔唐尼Jr.　飾演）的專業技巧，也沒有三藩市兇殺組探員杜夫托斯治（麥克雷法路　飾演）及其拍檔威廉岩士唐（安東尼艾活士　飾演）神通廣大的人脈網絡。但，他卻擁有一般人所欠缺的敏銳洞察能力。

1969年8月1日，三封信分別寄到三藩市三家主要報社，寫信人列出早前兩宗兇殺案詳細的資料，暗示自己就是殺人兇手。三封信分別載有不同的密碼，假如成功破解密碼，便可揭穿寫信人的身分。信中更警告，假如不公開刊登這些信件的話，便會有更多人遭到毒手。一場震撼世界的死亡遊戲正式展開。

同類撲朔迷離的密碼信件還陸續有來。1969年9月27日，一男一女再遭星座殺手殺害，令全美市民大為震驚。一個月後，星座殺手來到三藩市，從背後射殺一名的士司機，並向報社寄出第五封信件，威脅將對年輕的學童施以毒手，頓時令三藩市全市市民陷入極度恐慌。

雖然城中人士都致力破解星座殺手留下的線索，但始終被兇徒領先一步。格利史米知道他只差一點便能識破兇手的廬山真面目，但另一方面，星座殺手卻決定不再為兇案留下任何線索。這位犯案纍纍的冷血連環殺手，會否從此逍遙法外？

2007年其中一部大師級傑作，《殺謎藏》由《七宗罪》、《搏擊會》導演大衛芬查執導，根據羅拔格利史米的著作改編，並由《斷背山》的積佳蘭賀、《夢幻皮草》的羅拔唐尼Jr.、《同行殺機》的麥克雷法路主演。

重塑星座殺手懸案　大衛芬查自揭童年惡夢

「假如你在那裡長大，童年時一定試過因為星座殺手而感到害怕。要是他在我居住的地方附近出沒該怎麼辦？小孩子幻想力比較豐富，總會幻想這些事情的。我在三藩市附近長大，我現在知道那些兇案發生的地點，但對於一位小孩子來說，他難免會擔心那變態殺手會在身邊出現。」憑《七宗罪》和《搏擊會》贏得全球影迷掌聲的導演大衛芬查，讀小學二年級的時候，原來也曾因為星座殺手而憂心忡忡。

像許多在三藩市附近長大的孩子一樣，當時只得七歲的大衛芬查，完全被那位稱為「星座殺手」的隱形殺人犯嚇呆。大衛芬查憶述：「我記得小時候曾跟朋友談起星座殺手，後來我搬到其他城市，他們都知道星座殺手的事跡。」相信當時他從沒想過，自己在三十年後會把這宗震憾世界的兇殺案搬上大銀幕。

為了將這故事拍成電影，大衛芬查翻閱了10,000多頁紀錄和證物，跟大難不死的生還者、死者的家屬和主要疑犯的親戚進行連場訪問。當時，主要疑犯是一位犯下孌童罪行的教師，他因為非禮學童而被革職和被判入獄。

在大衛芬查之前，已另有人對星座殺手的真正身分感到著迷，他就是當年三藩市紀事報的卡通插畫家羅拔格利史米。這種終生的執迷，更驅使他寫出兩部著作：最暢銷書《星座殺手》和它的續編《星座殺手真面目》，把關於星座殺手的一切資料和他的調查推測，鉅細無遺地羅列出來。

「格利史米知道希望自己成為故事的一部分，於是便決定參與其中。」大衛芬查說：「他在空餘時私下進行研究，因為他不是一位記者。當大家都不再願追查這案件時，就只有格利史米沒有放棄。電影中出現的東西都來自他口中。在進行訪問時，有時也會遇到互相矛盾的說話，而且因為年代久遠，人們的記憶都開始模糊，還會加入很多未必真確的傳言。所以我選擇用格利史米的版本來說星座殺手的故事，我希望能把原作所展示的真相拍成電影。」

《斷背山》型男　追?世紀殺人犯

憑《斷背山》感動全球觀眾的積佳蘭賀，從導演大衛芬查那裡收到劇本後，便立刻被這緊湊刺激的故事深深吸引，他更被這故事的真實性嚇倒：「我第一次讀這劇本時，覺得那些兇殺案很可怕，我一邊翻劇本一邊在想：『這是真實的，是真正發生過的悲劇。』於是便很想參演這電影。」

「在故事開始的時候，格利史米與案件沒有很大的關連，他是一位卡通插畫家，只是三藩市紀事報其中一位實習生。當報社收到星座殺手寄來的信件時，他恰巧也在場，當時他正要交卡通畫稿，報社的人都不知道他對謎語和密碼如此著迷。多年後，當所有人都認為這是宗不解懸案的時候，他仍獨力試圖破案。」

積佳蘭賀繼續說：「這故事最吸引我的地方，是這種案件總會令公眾嘩然，然後案件便會交由專家處理，不過專家的熱誠有時可能不及一位像格利史米般的普通人。像格利史米這樣的業餘人士，調查時不需要得到這樣那樣的批准，他只是純粹因為興趣而出發，我覺得這棒極了。他能夠憑一己之力破解別人束手無策的案件，他的經歷很令人鼓舞。」

為了飾演這角色，積佳蘭賀採取了很精密和科學化的準備工夫，他解釋說：「格利史米是個很有趣的人，我首次跟他意面時要求拍攝整個過程，因為我要模仿他的一舉一動。其實當時我很緊張，一直猜想怎樣才能瞭解這個人的性格，怎樣才能演得神似。但真正見面之後，我發現他原來是一位很有禮貌，毫不造作，常常稱讚別人的人。」

格利史米這樣評價飾演他的大明星：「我看過積佳蘭賀幾次扮演的表現，他沒有採取直接的模仿的方法，而是嘗試演出我的神態。他把我的熱情、舉止和怪癖都演得很神似。我們頭髮的顏色也是一樣的！」

格利史米起初撰寫《星座殺手》和《星座殺手真面目》兩本書，是因為他想邀請大眾一起破解星座殺手之謎。他著書時，這宗神秘懸案大約有2500位疑犯。他憶述：「星座殺手是歷史上一等一的大案，誰能偵破它便肯定一舉成名，所以警方不願意把有關資料公開。」經過10年的調查和300幾頁詳細的資料和研究筆記，格利史米只希望能把真正的星座殺手繩之於法，這一點希望直至今日也沒有改變。

星級演員精彩配搭　經典血腥懸案活現

積佳蘭賀對飾演的罪案記者保羅艾法利的羅拔唐尼Jr.讚賞有嘉，說他令演員們演得加倍落力，令故事更加精彩：「羅拔唐尼Jr.實在妙極了。他令他所飾演的角色栩栩如生，而且很有幽默感，令在場所有人都看得如痴如醉。」大衛芬查對他的演員配搭亦感到很欣慰：「我很喜歡跟片中的演員們合作，我們希望盡量演好這電影，算是對片中那些曾經努力嘗試破案的人獻上一點敬意。」

三藩市兇殺組探員杜夫托斯治，是當時其中一位全力偵緝星座殺手的人，這人物在電影中由曾經參演《同行殺機》的麥克雷法路飾演。麥克雷法路非常佩服他所扮演的角色和導演的劇本：「我不喜歡這類電影，它們通常都很暴力，但這電影的劇本實在很妙。我飾演的杜夫托斯治可算是位模範警探，很多演員都希望演這樣的角色。還有，羅拔唐尼Jr.實在很棒，跟他演對方戲很有挑戰性，亦很有趣味。他在演出時的即興性使人拍案叫絕。」

大衛芬查再施懸疑魔法　《七宗罪》後又一犯罪電影經典

電影的監製畢利費沙堅持把《星座殺手》這本書拍成電影，但其實它在另一家電影公司已待了十年之久，原本打算由另一位導演執導。他說：「我知道大衛芬查必定能拍好這部電影，把當中的人物和心理描劃得逼真迷人。他已拍過一部關於連環殺手的電影《七宗罪》，但《殺謎藏》是同類電影的一個突破。他能夠把人們對破案的執迷和人物的情感捕捉得非常深刻。

「大衛芬查深知這電影要拍得精簡獨到，他知道這故事曾經過報章和媒體的多番渲染和報道。」監製畢利費沙繼續說：「這案件多年來一直充滿神秘感，我們正要撥開重重迷霧，為真實和虛構劃清界線。你要知道，某程度上是傳媒的渲染令星座殺手成為無所不能的恐怖殺人狂。事實上，他是個變態可悲的人物，只差一點便被繩之於法。」

大衛芬查亦堅稱：「製作過程非常艱苦漫長，但我們必須堅持說出真實的故事，因此我們不可以憑二手甚至三手的消息作準。我們翻查了大量警方的報告，又找來所有相關的人物進行訪問，包括當年的追緝者、受傷而大難不死的人、還有死者的親屬，只為訴說一個最準確的故事。」

最經典的連環殺手奇案，遇上最出色的導演和演員，《殺謎藏》勢將成為2007年最令觀眾喘不過氣的影壇經典。

無從破解的密碼　難以追蹤的真兇

希臘字符、摩斯密碼、天氣標誌、英文字母、星座符號…這一連混合各種古怪符碼的手寫信件，在1969年8月1日首次送抵三藩市紀事報的報館內。寫信人要求把信件登在報章頭版，並稱密碼背後隱藏著他的真正身分。假如報社不遵從的話，他便會在夜裡再次對無辜途人大開殺誡。

同類信件困擾了執法人員好幾個十年，自稱為「星座殺手」的寫信人在信中詳述謀殺案的案發經過，並恐怖地列出針對學童的屠殺計劃。CIA、FBI的專家都破解不了信中的密碼，直至北沙連拿高校教師當奴哈頓立志接受這項被認為不可能的挑戰。

「實情是，當這宗案件見報後，我的前妻便開始沉迷地嘗試破解信中的密碼。」現年78歲的當奴哈頓憶述：「我見她屢敗屢試的樣子，便忍不住幫她一把。我在當童軍時試過做過一點解碼的工作，我花了三天時間在那封信上，最後我打電話給報社，說自己成功解讀了信件的內容。」

哈頓破解的密碼見報後，兩夫婦一夜之間便成為三藩市的大紅人，他們更收到FBI的來電，說他們確實破解了信中的密碼。不過這亦令他們惶恐不安：「每次有記者來採訪，我的前妻便會擔心是殺手找上門報復，我最後買了一枝槍來自衛，才令她安心下來。」他甚至要在任教學校裡向驚訝不已的學生們講解破解密碼的方法，滿足孩子們對這位名人老師的好奇和敬佩。

哈頓猜想星座殺手以多個不同的符號來代替相同的字母，於是他便轉而尋找一些常見的字母排列形式。最後，他發現星座殺手用了七個不同符號代替英文中最常見的e字，並成功破解信件的內容：

"I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST BECAUSE MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUE OF ALL TO KILL SOMETHING GIVES ME THE MOST THRILLING EXPERIENCE IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN GETTING YOUR ROCKS OFF WITH A GIRL THE BEST PART OF IT IS THAE WHEN I DIE I WILL BE REBORN IN PARADICE AND THEI HAVE KILLED WILL BECOME MY SLAVES I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY NAME BECAUSE YOU WILL TRY TO SLOI DOWN OR ATOP MY COLLECTIOG OF SLAVES FOR AFTERLIFE.

EBEORIETEMETHHPITI"

對於信末奇怪的署名，哈頓把字母重新排列，認為它代表 "ROBERT EMMET THE HIPPIE"。直至1992年８月，警方才知道最大嫌疑犯阿瑟李阿倫(Arthur Leigh Allen)小時候一直妒忌游泳校隊的同學羅拔伊密洛迪法(Robert Emmett Rodifer)。他是學校中的嬉皮士(Hippie)，後來移民到德國居住。

「但人們對這樣的結論也不是完全同意。」大衛芬查說：「35年後的今天，經過一眾專家的長期研究，人們仍未能揭開星座殺手的真面目。雖然格利史米對這解釋深信不疑，但人們對之仍存有疑問。」

更多未解拆密碼　終成世紀連環謀殺懸案

哈頓成功破解第一封信件的密碼後，寫信人便開始在往後的信件中自稱為「星座殺手」。往後信件中的密碼更加難以解拆，格利史米發現寫信人用上了一些十三世紀稱為「星座字母」的圖案，他更發現城中各大圖書館有關密碼的書籍全都不翼而飛。

「這案件最令人大惑不解之處，就是那些至今依然未被破解的密碼。」格利史米說：「我希望有人看過這部電影，或者讀過我那兩本書之後，能破解兩幅隱藏著他姓名和所在地的密碼圖。」

經過格利史米多年來的明查暗訪，他深信阿瑟李阿倫就是星座殺手的真人。導演曾邀請國際知名的語言鑑證專家麥馬利文，比較右撇子阿瑟李阿倫用右手寫的一封信和星座殺手所寫的信件，看看相中有沒有相似之處。他發現星座殺手寫字的方法跟阿瑟李阿倫組字的方式確有相似之處，但這一點證據並不足以在法庭上作肯定的判斷。經過三十多年的研究，星座殺手的真正身分，始終是犯罪史上的不解懸案。

演員和導演資料

積佳蘭賀（Jake Gyllenhaal）　飾演　羅拔格利史米（Robert Graysmith）

曾經憑《斷背山》獲得奧斯卡最佳男配角提名的積佳蘭賀，是其中一位最受好評的新世代演員。他收放自如的演技，贏得影評人和觀眾的一致掌聲。他憑《斷背山》中的演出，已贏得英國電影電視藝術學院的最佳男配角獎。

積佳蘭賀曾經參演近年多部話題作品，當中包括森曼德斯的《平頭日記》、浪漫愛情電影《情來算盡愛》、票房大熱作品《明日之後》，還有大熱的獨立電影《Donnie Darko》。

羅拔唐尼Jr.（Robert Downey Jr.）　飾演　保羅艾法利（Paul Avery）

經過多部叫好叫座的電影中的演出，羅拔唐尼Jr.現在已成為其中一位最受敬重的荷里活演員。他憑1992年的《卓別靈》贏得奧斯卡最佳男主角的提名，並贏得英國電影電視藝術學院的最佳演員獎。

他最近參演的《夢幻皮草》，與荷里活一姐妮歌潔曼大演對手戲，在Richard Linklater的真人動畫作品《A Scanner Darkly》中，則與奇洛李維斯和雲露娜維達等大明星同台演出。此外，羅拔唐尼亦曾Jr.參演佐治古尼執導的《各位觀眾晚安》和《愛神》中史提芬蘇德堡執導的一段。追看電視劇的觀眾，當然也會記得他在2001年那季《甜心俏佳人》的演出，他所飾演的角色，更為他贏得最佳電視劇男配角的金球獎。

麥克雷法路（Mark Ruffalo）　飾演　杜夫托斯治（Dave Toschi）

麥克雷法路在短短的十多年時間內，已建立起非常可觀的參演歷史，成為荷里活其中一位最炙手可熱的演員。演舞台劇出身的他，在正式投身大銀幕的演出之前，早已憑精湛的演技獲得多個重要的舞台劇最佳演員獎。

麥克雷法露曾參演多位名導的電影，包括米高曼的《同行殺機》、李安的《亂世恩緣》、珍康萍的《裸體切割》，與及辛潘新近執導的《All the King's Men》，當中更與琦溫斯莉和祖迪羅比試演技。

導演　大衛芬查（David Fincher）

大衛芬查首部執導的長片是92年的《異形第三集》，他95年的作品《七宗罪》由畢彼特、摩根費曼和奇雲史柏西主演，講述一位根據聖經所載的七宗原罪而殺人的連環殺手，旋即成為九十年代的影壇經典作品，在全球獲得超過三億元的票房收入，亦成為日後無數犯罪電影的模仿對象。

兩年後，大衛芬查執導的《心理遊戲》找來米高德格拉斯和辛潘主演，當中鬥智鬥力的精彩劇情，至今仍為影迷們津津樂道。99年他再次伙拍畢彼特拍攝《搏擊會》，畢彼特和另一位主角艾活諾頓陰陽對比的形象可謂深入民心，這部劇情創意曾出不窮的電影，公映不久便被公認為當代不可多得的傑作。2002年，大衛芬查找來茱迪科士打拍攝《房不勝防》，當中運用了極富創意的電腦特技效果，描劃出一對母女在屋內躲藏的驚險過程，成為當年票房大熱之作。

《殺謎藏》是大衛芬查經過五年精心拍攝的最新傑作，勢必再創犯罪電影的高峰，成為2007年最具爭議性的經典電影。

PRODUCTION NOTES

"… I shall no longer announce to anyone when I commit my murders, they shall look like routine robberies, killings of anger and a few fake accidents, etc…"

Letter 7 - November 9, 1969

It is the ultimate cold case.

The rampage of a madman who has never been caught; the elusive cipher slayer who gripped the nation in fear, America's very own Jack the Ripper. He publicly claimed 13 victims, then more, two dozen more. Police pinned him with seven, five dead. The true body count may never be known. One thing is certain: That count includes the living.

Based on the true story of a serial killer who terrified the San Francisco Bay Area and taunted authorities in four jurisdictions with his ciphers and letters for decades, "Zodiac" is a thriller from David Fincher, director of "Se7en" and "Fight Club." Hunting down the hunter would become an obsession for four men, an obsession that would turn them into ghosts of their former selves, their lives built and destroyed by the killer's endless trail of clues.

Of the four, Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) was the wild card.

A shy editorial cartoonist, Graysmith didn't have the cache and expertise of his seasoned and cynical colleague Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), the San Francisco Chronicle's star crime reporter. He didn't have Avery's connections with San Francisco Police Department's celebrated and ambitious Homicide Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and his low-key, meticulous partner Inspector William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards). What he did have was a crucial insight no one anticipated. It first appeared Aug. 1, 1969.

A crudely written Letter to the Editor arrived in the day's pile of mail. One of three penned to the Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner and the Vallejo Times-Herald, its contents brought the newsrooms to a standstill. "Dear Editor, This is the murderer…" of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen shot to death Dec. 20, 1968 on Lake Herman Road in Solano County and the July 4, 1969 fatal shooting of Darlene Ferrin and attempted murder of Mike Mageau at the Blue Rock Springs golf course parking lot in Vallejo. He didn't call them by name, but he gave a laundry list of details only the police could know. Each paper was given part of a cipher which, when decoded, would purportedly reveal his identity. It was followed by a threat - publish or more would perish. No killer since Jack the Ripper had written the press and taunted the police with clues to his identity. Zodiac had raised the bar for homicidal psychopaths in the U.S. A Salinas couple decoded the message. But it was Graysmith, a cipher enthusiast, who decoded its hidden intent, a reference to the 1932 film "The Most Dangerous Game."

More letters and threats would follow. On Sept. 27, 1969 Zodiac would strike again, hooded and armed with a gun and sheathed blade, he would stab to death Cecilia Ann Shepard and leave for dead Bryan Hartnell as the young couple picnicked at Lake Berryessa in Napa County. One month later, Oct. 11 the killer had come to San Francisco. Taxi driver Paul Lee Stine was shot in the back of the head in the posh Presidio Heights neighborhood. Three days later a fifth letter arrived, the most ominous of all: Zodiac told police they could have caught him that night. Worse, school children were in the cross hairs of his gun sight. He would pick them off as they stepped off the school bus. San Francisco was literally a city in panic.

Zodiac inadvertently had turned detectives Toschi and Armstrong and reporter Avery into overnight celebrities. Characters based on Toschi would prove pivotal roles launching three movie stars' careers. Graysmith remained committed to his armchair sleuthing from the sidelines, injecting his input when Avery would allow. Zodiac was always one step ahead, covering his tracks, peppering his lettered taunts with more threats. And then they became personal.

Infamy would eclipse fame as Toschi fell from grace; Armstrong, frustrated moved on; Avery left the paper, crippled by his addictions. Zodiac would no longer reveal his targets. Copycats sprang up coast to coast. The key suspect was still out there.

Graysmith's moment had come. That moment would change their lives forever.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures Present a Phoenix Pictures production of a David Fincher film, "Zodiac," starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, and Dermot Mulroney. Directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt, based upon the book by Robert Graysmith, the film's Producers are Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Bradley J. Fischer, James Vanderbilt, and Cean Chaffin. The Executive Producer is Louis Phillips.

ABOUT THE FILM.

THE PAPER CHASE

He was the ultimate bogey man.

"If you grew up there, at that time, you had this childhood fear that you kind of insinuated yourself into it. What if it was our bus? What if he showed up in our neighborhood? You create even more drama about it when you're a kid because that is what kids do. I grew up in Marin and now I know the geography of where the crimes took place, but when you're in grade school, children don't think about that. They think, `He's going to show up at our school.'"

Welcome to David Fincher's second-grade nightmare.

Like many children who grew up in the Bay area in the early `70s, director David Fincher, then 7, was spellbound by the invisible monster known only as the Zodiac.

"I remember as kids talking about the killer calling in on the Dunbar Show. In 1974, we moved away and I remember realizing that other places, other people knew about the Zodiac killer," Fincher recalls. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that three decades later he would be asked to envision a film that would prompt him to: Retrace the killer's steps with several of the officers who tracked the most notorious killer of his youth; Comb through 10,000 pages of documents and evidence; Interview the victims who survived, the loved ones of those who didn't and the relatives of a prime suspect. At that time, that prime suspect was a former teacher turned pedophile, fired and imprisoned for fondling grade school children.

Fincher too would succumb to the need to know; a need that fueled a young San Francisco Chronicle political cartoonist's obsession to unravel the mystery of a murderer. Robert Graysmith would channel that obsession into two books, the bestseller Zodiac and follow-up Zodiac Unmasked, recounting in minute detail every fact and tormented nuance of the unproven for those closest to the investigations in four jurisdictions, his derisive yet engaging colleague Paul Avery and himself.

"Robert Graysmith knew he was a guy on the sidelines of this story. He wanted to be a part of it and he made himself a part of it," says Fincher. "He was doing it on his own time because he wasn't a reporter. It was Robert who went after it and after everybody else had pretty much walked away. Everything we included in the movie, we used from what Robert gave us. But, we had police reports and we backed everything up with documentation, our own interviews and evidence. Even when we did our own interviews, we would talk to two people. One would confirm some aspects of it and another would deny it. Plus, so much time had passed, memories are affected and the different telling of the stories change perception. So when there was any doubt we always went with the police reports. The one thing about the Zodiac story too is there are so many people out there who are convinced Robert is wrong about some things and that their version or interpretation is right and there are so many myths that sprang up so you have to keep all of that in mind when you are dealing with the story of Zodiac. That is why we chose to tell the story the way we did, through Robert's eyes. My goal was to capture the truth of those books."

In short, capturing "Zodiac" proved a massive undertaking.

"When you begin an adaptation, the only thing you can be sure of is you're going to end up throwing out 5/6ths of your source material for the simple fact that you can't fit it all in," explains screenwriter-producer James (Jamie) Vanderbilt. "Add to that the facts that the movie is based on two books, as well as a ton of interviews. The one thing we had going for us is that the movie is about these guys who get sucked down the rabbit hole of the Zodiac case, Graysmith in particular, but also the detectives and a reporter. The dearth of information worked for us, because there was always another conversation to be had, theory to be discussed, suspect to examine. I think the movie itself is one of the most `informationally packed' I've ever seen, and it doesn't even scratch the surface in terms of the sheer volume of material out there."

The biggest difference between the books and the film is Graysmith himself, Vanderbilt says.

"Robert doesn't put himself at the center of the Zodiac books, but it was his involvement that first fascinated me the cartoonist as crime stopper," says Vanderbilt. "`What if Garry Trudeau woke up one morning and tried to solve the Son of Sam' was how I used to pitch it" the idea for a screen adaptation of Zodiac, his favorite book in high school. "Getting to know Robert during this process was actually invaluable because the script changed as we became friends; and very rarely in order to make him look better. Robert truly invited us into his life warts and all, and that's how I think we ended up portraying him onscreen. The great thing about Robert the artist is that he recognizes the value in that, he understands the creative process and what makes a good story. "

Jake Gyllenhaal was drawn to the story by the immediacy of the drama in the page-turner of a script he received from David Fincher, he says. And then he was totally hooked by its verisimilitude. "The first time I read the script, the murders, in particular, were terrifying," he says. "I remember flipping through the pages and thinking, 'This is real, this actually happened. I immediately wanted to do it.

"At the start of the story, Robert Graysmith exists on the periphery of the case. He's a cartoonist, an intern, at the San Francisco Chronicle. He happens to be in the room when the paper is sent a cipher and a letter from the Zodiac Killer asking them to print the cipher. He's turning in copies of different cartoons. But little do they know he's sort of obsessed with puzzles and deciphering things. He becomes really interested in the case and then, years later, when the case is not solved, he takes it upon himself, under the guise of writing a book about it, to try and solve the case on his own.

"I think what is most interesting about this story is that when something like this happens there's mass hysteria. And then it's given to the experts. And sometimes the experts don't have the same heart that just a kind of a regular guy like Robert Graysmith would have. They also have so much red tape to go through, all the jurisdictions. Robert, a sort of regular person off the street, doesn't have to get a warrant for this, or permission for that. They can just go out of pure heart and pure, in Robert's case, obsession. I think that's fascinating because we rely less and less on ourselves, you know. We rely on expert's opinions, and so often they're tinged with so many other political things and things related to their own work and where they want to go. A regular person like Robert, you're doing the work on your own, the true hard facts come much more clearly. To me, it's an empowering thing, to know that there's this sort of regular guy, who could just, could break open a case that people found impossible, to solve."

How did the actor prepare for the role of the bold cartoonist? Gyllenhaal's method was deliberate and scientific. "Robert Graysmith is an interesting bird, I would say. When I first met him I had told him that I was going to put him on tape because I wanted to study his mannerisms and just physically, I wanted to see how he behaved. I was actually really nervous. I thought to myself, 'Oh, well, what kind of personality does this guy have to have in order to go into this world?' And I thought, 'I'm going to meet this guy and it's going to be like this weird, dark exchange. What world am I going to have to go to with him in order to get some truth out of him?' And he walks into the room and he's this like sweet, unassuming, constantly complimentary, kind of innocent man.

"And, everything they tell you in acting school, like, 'you should always play the opposite.' That's exactly what he is. He's the opposite of everything you would assume to be a person who would be obsessed with a case like this. But then, as you spend more time with him, there is a sense of, if he wants to get a piece of information out of you and you haven't answered the first time because it's a little too close or a little too personal, he'll then insert it in this odd, syncopated way, so that you answer it and you don't even know you're answering it. He is very smart, and also at the same time, kind of cunning, when he wants to get information. But, as a human being, he's a gentle guy. It's really interesting."

"I watched Jake interpret my character on several occasions," notes Graysmith. He was not doing an impersonation of me but an interpretation of me. I thought he caught my enthusiasm and excitability, my Southern upbringing, polite deference and eccentricities perfectly. We already had the same color of hair."

As for capturing the sweep of an era, something more than just a recreation of a storytelling experience, he says he and Vanderbilt were "on the same page. At the risk of becoming too `meta'," Vanderbilt adds, "There was something very cool to me about the movie regarding the power of words - the writer writing about the writer who was writing about the killer who became famous because he was a great letter writer. Because that's really the reason Zodiac remains with us today, he wrote scary fucking letters and not to the cops, but to other writers. Newspaper guys who went, "Oh, shit, this is pretty good. We should run it." So they did, and people read those letters, and we're still talking about him decades later. The power of the written word."

Graysmith wrote his "first person diaries" (Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked) because he wanted to enlist the public in tracking down the killer. When he began, there were 2,500 suspects to sift through "and a wall of silence to breech," he recalls. "In those days, police weren't sharing. Zodiac was a big, big case and the man who solved it was going to be an ace, so they clamped down on all information. It was common for them to hold records so I could not see them and if I got close enough to the truth as we talked, they would verify a fact or two. I was also not allowed writing implements or paper so I had to commit serial numbers and dates to memory. It made for rather long and spirited sessions afterward writing down all I could recall." After 10 years , 13 drafts and reducing a mountain of research into his 351-page tome, "I guess, my biggest contribution, as I uncovered new leads, conducted interviews and tracked down missing witnesses and suspects, was to visit each police department, consolidate all the facts and share them so that Zodiac could be captured." That was always his greatest hope, he says today. When he reflects on the tumultuous journey, "it is a wonder any of us survived the Zodiac. The long pursuit, the irresistible lure of the case, its mystery, tragedy and loss, ruined marriages, derailed careers, demolished health of a brilliant reporter; it was a study in frustration as police were beaten back time and again."

Gyllenhaal credits Robert Downey Jr. with providing some special energy on the set that inspired the players to make the story come alive. "Robert Downey Jr., is extraordinary. What he's done, and what he always does, is bring a presence, kind of 'wipe-through.' His Paul Avery is kind of a court jester in that he dances around things and he has this sense of humor, almost a detachment from the situation, but a real sense of humor about it. Kind of like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan. He just sheds light all over everybody whenever he flies around," Gyllenhaal says.

Fincher felt "very fortunate" to have this cast. "I found the people I wanted to work with. And I was very fortunate to have many of the real people from that time around. I think we tried to give people their due respect. But it was never about duplicating them exactly, their hair, etc." Example: "Robert Downey Jr., who plays Paul Avery, is the only one who plays someone that is no longer alive. But I think he has such enthusiasm and because he is someone who could really grasp Paul's inner demons, he was perfect for the role."

Of the four characters, it was Toschi who knew Avery the longest. "I met Paul Avery in 1960 when I was 28. I was with the Bureau of Inspectors (for the San Francisco Police Department) and I wanted to be a detective," says Toschi. "We shared a lot of history. At the end Paul was doing cocaine and he was on a machine. He was in really bad shape. He called me before he passed away. He wanted to write a book, a quick paperback before he died to leave to his grandchildren. He said, `Dave we can make $25,000 each, just like that!' I felt bad for him, really bad. But I told him, Paul, I'm committed to Robert Graysmith. I remember when Robert first came to me and said, `You're the only guy who has all of the info, the only guy I can talk to. I met Robert Graysmith in 1977 when he told me he wanted to write. He really believed this case could be solved. He really wanted to try. We have remained good friends since."

Toschi says Fincher was curious why he talked to Graysmith at all. The case was no longer actively being investigated and Graysmith wasn't a reporter. "It was because of his sincerity and honesty," he says. "In a couple of minutes I knew he was about that. He was this political cartoonist. I believed him."

For his part, Mark Ruffalo was totally impressed with Toschi and how Fincher portrayed him in the script. "I don't love the genre; it's usually pretty violent," he says. "But David had written this script that, when I read it, I saw that this character I was going to be playing had come to life in a nuanced, beautiful way. Then I took a trip to meet the guy, and at that point I just felt so fortunate to be doing the movie. After all, he is the model for actors who attempt to play detectives, and I am playing the one that some actors have modeled their career-making roles on.

"And Robert Downey Jr. is amazing. I've always loved him and think he's as close to genius as you can come without falling over the edge. I found it really exciting to work with him, and scary and fun. There's the danger factor. Not physical or violent danger - it's his spontaneity."

It was Vanderbilt and Phoenix Pictures' Producer Bradley (Brad) J. Fischer who optioned the rights to Graysmith's book when it finally became available after lingering in limbo at another studio for nearly a decade. They had one director in mind.

"I felt David Fincher would be able to tell the story in a way that would be true to what happened and get to the psychology of what motivated the people who inhabited that world. He had obviously done a serial killer movie before, but this went beyond genre," says Fischer, "There was something in these characters that exists in all of us: the capacity for becoming consumed by something so fully, that day after day, night after night, year after year, you can't ever truly put it away. Fincher is able to articulate things about human behavior and emotion cinematically that makes the characters and the world they inhabit so incredibly authentic. He can give the viewer that feeling, that they could be watching themselves up there, sinking down into the rabbit hole without realizing it. The DNA of this story had so much to do with that, with degrees of malevolent deviant behavior whether you're talking about a serial killer or the men whose lives are drained in the pursuit of something that will probably remain just out of reach for the rest of their lives. There's something equally admirable and sad about that, but more than that, it is a most human thing to want to know what can't be known. It is a compulsion that exists in all of us, and it has the potential to be an incredibly destructive force. I knew that was something Fincher would be able to help us explore like no other filmmaker.

"What Fincher knew is that the story had to be made simpler, clearer," the producer continues, elaborating. "What Fincher knew was that the material we were dealing with, almost everything that was out there about the story of the Zodiac investigation, it was all a bit distorted by this massive game of telephone, filtered through the worst lens you could think of: newspapers.

"The case had taken on its own mythic proportions over the years, and it was our job to undo all that; to draw a clean line between fact and fiction and demystify what had somehow grown so far beyond its roots in reality. You have to remember, it was the media that turned Zodiac into this all-powerful enigma - I mean, he writes a letter and says, 'This is the Zodiac speaking,' and then the newspapers start calling him 'The Cipher Slayer!' It's like seeing this gigantic and terrifying shadow mutate against the wall, and then you understand the source is just one man who clumsily shot five people and stabbed two others; and he snuck up on all of them. He's not "Wile E. Coyote Super Genius," as we grew fond of calling him; he's a sad, pathetic and incredibly sick person who came within inches of being caught. The rest was all in the public's head, ready and waiting for each eager imagination to mold into a most powerful demon "

And so, says Fischer, "the process was long and difficult, but it was important if we were going to tell the real story. So it was anathema to rely on any secondary or tertiary source. Police reports became the rule. That, and, of course, the people that were there. It was really quite simple: Let's find everyone we can who was materially involved in the investigation, and let's sit down across from them, look them in the eye, ask them direct and sometimes difficult questions, and then hear what they have to say. So we talked to Bryan Hartnell; to Mike Mageau, who is now homeless and hasn't really recovered since he was shot in 1969; to Dave Toschi; to Bill Armstrong; to Ken Narlow; to George Bawart. We put Don Cheney and Sandy Panzarella in a room together for the first time since they were interviewed by police in the 1970s and asked them to tell us every detail of their story. We did our best to get it right."

Producer Mike Medavoy, Phoenix Pictures' co-founder and Chairman, says what was interesting about the material "is not so much that it is about a serial killer, which is a movie unto itself, but it's about the people that went after the serial killer. It is what happens when you get so obsessed with something and you lose sight of what the objective is. You're bound to get lost and you're bound to destroy everything along the way … and it happened to every single one of them. Graysmith came back, but he's no longer married. Look at all the things that happened to the principal characters. To me, that's what's fascinating about the film.

"They, in fact, lost themselves in the process of chasing the story," Medavoy adds. "David and Brad and Jamie" - the trio doing its own gumshoe work - "were maniacal about making it accurate. We thought Brad was going to become a policeman and quit show business (not quite)!"

Producer Arnold W. Messer, Medavoy's partner and Phoenix President, says to his knowledge "this is probably the most extensively researched script, the most meticulously accurate representation of actual events consistent with dramatic movies. I've been producing 30 years and I have never been involved with a movie that has been this close to the truth and the amount of research and energy put into it. Every one of those people represented in the movie who are alive, have been interviewed. Every one of those people who contributed to it in some way or another…the guys went into the books, the raw files, the 10,000 pages of transcripts. It was really impressive the work these guys did to make sure they were in line with the facts."

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Note: The information above is provided by the owners of the film or their agents who are responsible for the promotion of the film. We do not guarantee the accuracy of such information.

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