Whether you love his films or not, it’s hard to deny that David Fincher is incredibly smart. If you listen to any of his audio commentaries, you’re keenly aware that this is a guy who has thought long and hard about every single shot and decision, and has reasoning behind every little choice. He’s also the guy who helped make “the Facebook movie” into a defining film about the early 21st century.

So when Fincher talks about the current cinematic landscape, folks listen up. And while the filmmaker hasn’t done a ton of interviews for his brilliant new Netflix series Mindhunter, in speaking with the Financial Times (via The Playlist) he did get pretty candid about the lack of time for character in the current cinematic landscape:

“There’s no time for character in movies. No, now. Look at All The President’s Men — everything is character. Now, movies are about saving the world from destruction. There aren’t a lot of scenes in movies, even the ones I get to make, where anyone gets to muse about the why. It’s mostly the ticking clock. And in this show it’s hard to find the ticking clock. But the thing is: I don’t care if the whole scene is five pages of two people in a car sipping coffee from paper cups as long as there’s a fascinating power dynamic and I learn something about them. And I do not care if the car is doing somewhere between 25 and 35 miles per hour.”

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Fincher isn’t the first filmmaker to contrast the current landscape with the talky, experimental 1970s era, but he is pretty up front about the limitations:

“Look, many people at studios are still fighting the good fight. There are executives there who are friends of mine. But if you want to make studio movies, you stay in their lanes, which are romantic comedy, affliction Oscar bait, Spandex summer, superhero tentpole, moderately budgeted sequel.”

During a discussion with journalists posted by Yellow King Boy, Fincher pointed to television as a haven for character-centric storytelling while singling out Marvel Studios as an example of studio limitation on filmmaking:

“Look, there’s a very large talent pool of people who are—don’t feel there’s much for them in terms of sustenance (working for Marvel),” said Fincher, prompting the listeners to laugh. “And I think that if we can make a playground for them that is thoughtful, adult, interesting, complex, challenging stories and figure out ways to pull them into it, there’s a chance at something that isn’t lassoed and hogtied by three acts. And there’s something else that doesn’t have to be 22-minute half hour or have a cliffhanger. I think it is an exciting time.”

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Image via Sony Pictures

In his interview with the Financial Times, Fincher asserted that cinema isn’t a lost cause, but the onus is on the studios to get people to pay attention again:

“The cinema isn’t dead. It just does something different. The place is still filled with kids, it’s just they’re all on their phones. It’s a social event like a bonfire, and the movie is the bonfire. It’s why people gather but it’s not actually there to be looked at. Because the bonfire is always the same.”

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine a movie like Fight Club or even Se7en getting made today, and even Fincher is aware of the limitations as he gets ready to direct World War Z 2, which will no doubt bring something new to the table in terms of franchise filmmaking. Many scoffed at the notion of Fincher adapting Gone Girl a few years ago, but the filmmaker was simply keeping up with the times. He packaged a biting critique of relationships into a hilarious and wildly entertaining date movie, and audiences showed up. But we need studios to trust in directors, writers, and story enough to greenlight these kinds of films without the perceived safety net of explosions or twist-y hooks.

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Image via Netflix