OT - Zodiac movie, anyone?

[Fletch]

Just wondering if anyone here is looking forward to the David Fincher-directed Zodiac movie that comes out . I am a huge Fincher fan (Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room) and honestly cannot wait for this film.

Here's a cool clip from the film I came across today....it kinda reminded me of UM because I can imagine something like this happening to people who take rides from strangers. Here's the clip in three different formats -

Quicktime -

http://www.zodiacmovie.com/public/vi...a_ride_lrg.mov

Windows Media -

http://mfile.akamai.com/17690/wmv/pa...a_ride_lrg.asx

Flash -

http://www.zodiacmovie.com/public/vi...you_a_ride.flv

[Awsi Dooger]

Thanks for that clip, Fletch. It's a depiction of the Kathleen Johns incident, a true story. There is debate whether she actually encountered Zodiac that night, but my instinct is yes.

She died a few years ago. But shortly prior to that she was located by posters on the zodiackiller.com website and answered some questions about that night.

[hostedbyrobertstack]

I want to see it, but in a way it kind of sucks because I have seen the zodiac cases profiled on so many tv shows that you pretty much know the whole story/all the murders and how they happened, and that it is still unsolved. So that part is kind of a bummer, but I am going to see it.

[AB]

I like these type of movies so we'll probably see it.

[greatgarrett2]

I'll probably go see it because it always presents a different angle to the facts and every time I see a new crime doc or movie, I always learn something more that could've been left out in the previous documentary/movie. But, as hostedbyrobertstack stated, you pretty much know the whole story and it's still unsolved.

[Awsi Dooger]

Just a heads up. Anderson Cooper on CNN is going to have an exclusive interview with a Zodiac survivor in a few minutes. It looks like it will be the male survivor of the famous Lake Berryessa attack, the one where Zodiac wore the hood. I forget his name. Last I heard he was a prominent physician and didn't want to speak about the Zodiac episode.

That attack had some similarities to the Tom Johnson attack that CRicci and SpaceInvarerz and others have debated, since both were told to get on their stomach and Zodiac slashed at them alternately with a long knife, killing the girl but the male survived.

[Awsi Dooger]

I saw the segment. It was Bryan Hartnell from the Lake Berryessa attack. He is an attorney, not a physician.

They went back to the site, along with two of the original investigators. Not enough specific questions for my taste but that's typical.

Hartnell said he was never worried they would be attacked, even when they were bound with rope and placed on their stomachs. He said Zodiac began the attack without a word of warning, and Hartnell said he felt the fist, not the knife. So the knife is already inside him and he's feeling the fist. He was stabbed eight times and the girl more than that. She gave a description of Zodiac before she died the next day, since she saw Zodiac before he slipped behind a tree to put on the mask.

Looks like the movie is particular to detail and well done. I'm more inclined to see it now after watching the brief clips that are available. Robert Graysmith was also briefly interviewed on tonight's show, still apparently clinging to the Arthur Leigh Allen nonsense.

[scol_arl_90]

I've read a lot on the Zodiac and seen a couple documentaries as well. No doubt it's an interesting case, but the movie just doesn't look that good, imo. I'll probably wait until it's out on DVD and rent it if anything.

[SiberianKiss]

it'll be worth seeing just b/c of Fincher

hartnell didn't feel the stabbing? wow it didn't hurt? what?

what did cecilia give as the description?

what did that idiot graysmith say? lol saw him on the AMW thing the other night, that whole zodiac segment was absolutely horrible.

on the day of the berryessa attack, three girls who were there also reported being watched by some weird guy. the description of him looked a lot like allen, especially if allen was wearing a wig. hartnell reported he thought his masked attacker was wearing a wig.

[Awsi Dooger]

They showed the sketch that was made from Cecilia's description. I've seen it before. Kind of a square face with short hair.

Graysmith focused on the significance of the Zodiac watch worn by Allen, supposedly how rare it was. He also said the newsroom was obsessed with Zodiac; that's all they talked about.

Hartnell said the Zodiac initially said there's nothing to worry about, I just want your money and car. They should have asked him about rest of the conversation. I've read it dragged on for a long time and included some weird claims, like he was an escaped convict from a different state.

I missed the AMW program. I've read elsewhere that it included some handwriting analysis, which would have interested me.

On zodiackiller.com there's a recent update that says a San Francisco paper recently discovered an old and apparently unopened Zodiac card which had been filed away. It was shown to the webmaster of Zodiackiller.com to verify authenticity. He thinks it is legit, and says the postmark on the envelope blew him away. That implies it came much later than known communication from Zodiac. There's a marathon thread on that message board speculating on the contents and significance of the recently discovered letter. The webmaster can't understand what's taking so long for the Chronicle to publish it. He agreed not to be specific and not publish images until the paper did.

[Awsi Dooger]

The recently discovered card is from December 1990. If legit, that would be 16 years after the latest confirmed Zodiac communication. A partial image of the outside of the envelope is at this link:

http://zodiackiller.21.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=122

"It's a "Happy Holidays" greeting card, mailed from Eureka California in December 1990. Not sure which day in December. The envelope is red and it's one of those "From your secret pal" cards, similar to the Halloween card Zodiac sent Paul Avery in 1970. One stamp was used. No "Zodiac" name, nor cross-circle symbol.

Inside the card was a xerox of two USPS keys on a keychain. The keys were numbered and a strange object, possibly a penlight, was attached to the keychain. Nothing was written inside the card, only on the envelope."

[Awsi Dooger]

Another heads up. Anderson Cooper on CNN will have another segment tonight on Zodiac survivor Bryan Hartnell. The program just started but that segment will be later in the broadcast.

I assume it will be different footage than they showed last week, since it has been promoted all weekend and last week's clips were frustratingly brief.

[Awsi Dooger]

Lame. Identical segment from last week. Must have been an attempt to capitalize on the movie's publicity and spike ratings for tonight's broadcast.

[greatgarrett2]

I just saw that segment tonight. In fact, I taped it. I didn't know they previewed it last week so I didn't know the difference. Anyway, the interview with Bryan Hartnell was interesting in itself but pretty much the same information that we who study the Zodiac case already know.

I think, as you said Awsi, it was just an attempt to capitalize on the movie's publicity. I just took it as a preview for the movie......which I'm going to see this weekend. They showed a few scenes from the movie in the segment. The interview with a surviver was interesting, though. The first interview with a Zodiac surviver I've seen on TV......

[Awsi Dooger]

Originally Posted by greatgarrett2

I just saw that segment tonight. In fact, I taped it. I didn't know they previewed it last week so I didn't know the difference. Anyway, the interview with Bryan Hartnell was interesting in itself but pretty much the same information that we who study the Zodiac case already know.

I think, as you said Awsi, it was just an attempt to capitalize on the movie's publicity. I just took it as a preview for the movie......which I'm going to see this weekend. They showed a few scenes from the movie in the segment. The interview with a surviver was interesting, though. The first interview with a Zodiac surviver I've seen on TV......

Agreed. The segment itself struck me tonight as better than I remembered it from last week, but disappointing since it was a pure replay.

So much missed potential. Hartnell hasn't spoken about this case in over 37 years yet the questions didn't bring out anything new, as greatgarrett2 said. Ask Hartnell about distinguishing characteristics like voice or accent or mannerisms or certain phrases, or anything that he remembered about the encounter since the last time he spoke to authorities.

I'm surprised Mike Mageau hasn't surfaced on any of the shows. He survived the attack at the golf course and has been much more public than Hartnell over the years. Mageau was the guy who got in the back seat and flopped around to thwart the gunfire.

That was clever. While watching the Lake Berryessa clip I was wondering how I would have reacted. By myself I would have run to the water and dived in, staying under water as long as possible. Best of luck to a gunman who can overcome a moving target or someone who is submerged. But if I were with a date I guess you've got to stay there and be vulnerable. Depends on cuteness level.