The rimjob ecstasy of that first Benjamin Button screening has worn off for director David Fincher, who is said to be tormenting Paramount underlings just in time for the film's Oscar push. Studio staffers were encouraged enough in recent days to even sell the notorious taskmaster out to Page Six, which reports today that Fincher has brought his shouty perfectionist passion to Button's marketing campaign.

Examples are vague, however, and we are at a loss ourselves to suggest potential conflicts between Paramount's efforts and Fincher's vision: Perhaps the poster's lettering isn't backwards enough? The reviews aren't unanimously euphoric with praise? It could be anything, really, but we hear at least one 'Mount alum has a new welt to remind him of an ancient-past studio misstep:

After an LA screening, Fincher was rude to John Goldwyn, who was running Paramount in the early '90s when the movie, based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first in development. After Goldwyn congratulated Fincher, "he hit Goldwyn in the chest with his hand and hurt him and said, 'That's for you, for not greenlighting the movie when you had a chance.' " The picture, which shows Brad Pitt aging backward, relies on computerized effects that didn't exist 15 years ago.

Not to mention on a director whose film career at the time consisted solely of Alien 3, and nobody thumped him in the chest for wrecking that. Appreciate your breaks where you can catch them, Fincher, and consider keeping these guys closer for the next three months— they aren't Jake Gyllenhaal.