BlackBook

Right about now, I hope someone is slaving away at their desk writing a comparative analysis of David Fincher premieres in the last two weeks—Netflix's House of Cards series and Justin Timberlake's brand new music video for "Suit & Tie." Yes, the video is finally here. We reported a couple weeks ago that Fincher would be directing J.T.'s latest track featuring Jay-Z, the first single off his fresh return to music with The 20/20 Experience. Floating somewhere between the slick and meticulous world of Fincher and a fancy vodka commercial, the video is shiny and suave—of course. J.T. eats cereal (or soup) while chillin with Jay, then hits the stage to showcase his smooth moves, interspersed with shots of a lingerie-clad lady writhing around. We're into it. 

[Ed. note: on Monday, our frequent contributor Jolie Kerr sung the praises of House of Cards, the David Fincher-directed series that is single-handedly proving the success of Netflix and internet streaming. But our other frequent contributor Miles Klee is not buying it.]

Holy mackerel, is House of Cards ever great. Overblown, overwrought, soap opera-esque at times, it still manages to offer up enough political dialogue and stunning business attire to keep from insulting its viewers. Kevin Spacey's Shakespearian asides to the audience—and even the inclusion of Kevin Spacey doling out Shakespearian asides in and of itself—are mostly absurd, but then he drops a perfect eye-roll in your lap and all is forgiven. Shakespearianishly.

With his new series House of Lies premiering next week, it looks like David Fincher has some other exciting non-feature film projects in the works. The Playlist confirms for us that yes, the man who brought us Fight Club, Zodiac, Seven, etc. will now be directing the video for Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie," the first single off his new album. Apparently J.T. and Fincher must have gotten pretty chummy while filming The Social Network and are collaborating once again with production already underway. No stranger to the world of music, not only did Fincher got his start on videos and commercials—with Nine Inch Nails' "Only" his last hand at cinema for the sonic—but music always plays such a key role in his films.

Before David Fincher was busying himself with Netflix programming and the upcoming adaptation of Gillian Flynn's runaway bestseller Gone Girl, he was getting all gaga over the punked-out Rooney Mara in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Based on Stieg Larsson's trilogy (as well as the original Swedish films), the American version was supposed to blow everyone's minds. Well, the first film was a box-office success and picked up some Oscar nominations, but everyone agreed that there was something a little disappointing in the nearly shot-by-shot remake. 

Set to premiere next week, Netflix's new television series, House of Cards is amping up the anticipation with four new trailers now streaming. The political drama focuses on Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood, a ruthless and cunning congressman who takes us through Washington, D.C.'s dark underbelly filled with sex, greed, and corruption. Starring Robin Wright as Underwood's wife and Kate Mara as a young reporter, the political drama looks sufficiently David Fincher-esque right off the bat—which makes sense as he acts as a producer and director of the pilot and second episode. We saw Wright in his take on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo last year, which happened to also star Mara's youngster sister, Rooney. But the brooding atmosphere and slick dark aesthetic feel right at home for Fincher and perfectly akin to the world he's portraying. Penned by Beau Willimon of Farrgut North and the film it inspiredThe Ides of March, the show's proceeding episodes will be directed by James Foley, Carl Franklin, and Joel Schumacher. 

● Michelle Williams's next big role is to be somewhat less glamorous than her last. With no big projects on the horizon, she says that she "just [wants] to go back to being a mom for a while." [Huff Post]

The real mystery of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo': Why was it so long?

When it was announced that David Fincher was signed on to film an American adaptation of the bestselling Swedish novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a crazy search ensued for the right actress to play the female lead, the troubled but confidently edgy Lisbeth Salander. It would be a hard role to fill, as the novel, the first in a three-part series, made the character so iconic. Not to mention the Swedish film adaptation that was already popular enough in the states, which features Swedish native Noomi Rapace in the starring role. While many young women auditioned for the part, it eventually went to Rooney Mara, who was briefly featured as Mark Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend in two scenes of Fincher's The Social Network. The most famous name to be passed over was Scarlett Johansson, who the director referred to as being too attractive for the role.

● Netflix may be close to picking up their first original television series, David Fincher's House of Cards.[NYT] ● Rapper and hook-man Nate Dogg passed away in his sleep last night at the age of 41. As Snoop Dogg tweeted in tribute, "You put yo stamp on evrybdy u ever didit wit". His funk lives on. [Billboard] ● Charlie Sheen pornstar lady-friend Kasey Jordan tweeted through a bender of her own yesterday. "The 16 hours I spent with Charlie messed me up ... I can't get that image out of my head," she began, before admitting to downing pills and whiskey. Police, responding to an emergency call, intervened, taking the star to the hospital for psychiatric exams, where she tweeted, "I'm Sooo bored in this hospital bed! I want to have someone save me." [NYDN]