Panic Room - Production

Production

• David Fincher – director
• David Koepp – screenwriter, producer
• Ceán Chaffin – producer
• Judy Hofflund – producer
• Gavin Polone – producer
• Howard Shore – composer
• Conrad W. Hall – cinematographer
• Darius Khondji – cinematographer
• James Haygood – editor
• Angus Wall – editor
• Arthur Max – production designer
• Keith Neely – art director
• James E. Tocci – art director
• Jon Danniells – set decorator
• Michael Kaplan – costume designer

Panic Room is directed by David Fincher based on a screenplay by David Koepp. The film, produced at Columbia Pictures, was Fincher's fifth feature film, following Fight Club (1999). Koepp was also a producer for Panic Room, and he was joined by Judy Hofflund and Gavin Polone, with whom he collaborated on Stir of Echoes (1999). Fincher included as producer Ceán Chaffin, with whom he had worked on commercials and music videos. Fincher also included in his initial crew people with whom he had worked before: cinematographer Darius Khondji, production designer Arthur Max, costume designer Michael Kaplan, and editors James Haygood and Angus Wall.

Fincher envisioned Panic Room as a popcorn movie about survival. His previous film Fight Club had 400 scenes and 100 locations, so he wanted to simplify the production of Panic Room. To this end, he wanted to focus production on a single set and to plan the scenes and shots thoroughly before the start of filming. Despite the preparation, he experienced difficulty in production with changes in the cast and the crew as well as the inherent inflexibility of his initial planning.