Unlike the rest of the cast, which had the benefit of six weeks' rehearsal, Foster had only two weeks to prepare before shooting resumed in February. By all accounts, the transition went smoothly -- until Foster announced her good news. ''Of course, we were concerned,'' says Columbia chairman Amy Pascal. ''This is an action movie. She's running and jumping and wielding a sledgehammer. But she said she could do it. And she did.'' Yet it wasn't easy. ''First, there was the tank-top problem,'' says Foster, referring to the sleepwear she sports in the movie's first half. ''At a certain point, my stomach and boobs were going to be so huge it would really be ridiculous. If it took longer,'' she laughs, ''I was going to show up with a tank top that said 'F--- YOU!'''
Fincher couldn't meet Foster's deadline, though he was able to get her into a baggy sweater soon thereafter. The plot did help mitigate some logistical challenges presented by the actress' pregnancy, as Foster spends much of the film in that panic room, watching the burglars on video monitors. But the complexity of Fincher's enterprise slowed him down. For the sake of those monitors, most of the scenes with the burglars had to be shot twice, from alternate angles and with different lighting schemes. Fincher was also plagued with a host of technical snafus: flooded sets, out-of-focus footage, faulty equipment.
Perfectionism and complications drove production into July. By this time, Foster was suffering from a sprained hip due to distended ligaments (a common pregnancy malady). One of her final scenes was the walking-and-talking opening sequence, which she valiantly attempted wearing a cashmere coat and using a large purse to hide her swollen belly. ''We were on the phone with Columbia going 'This is bulls---. Jodie looks like a f---ing crack whore, all sweaty and strung-out,''' says Fincher. ''It was just ridiculous.''
Columbia agreed. Fincher adjourned cast and crew, and on Sept. 29, Foster gave birth to her second child, Kit. (As she did after the birth of her other son, Charles, now 3, she declines to discuss paternity.) Last fall -- as news broke that Fincher was planning to form a filmmaking collective with directors Steven Soderbergh, Spike Jonze, Sam Mendes, and Alexander Payne (nothing official yet, says Fincher) -- ''Panic Room'' reconvened for reshoots and additional photography. And there could have been even more. After a recent test screening, Columbia asked Fincher (who has final cut) to consider an alternate ending. Fincher grudgingly agreed but warned the studio it would cost $3.5 million to rebuild the set. Columbia withdrew the suggestion. ''In the end,'' says Fincher, ''cheaper minds prevailed.''Remarkably, the finished film, in theaters March 29, reveals few traces of the trauma. Looking back on ''Panic Room,'' Foster says, ''It was really one of the most fun experiences I've ever had. I loved the technical challenge. I loved the physical challenge. I loved...'' She laughs. ''I loved not being bored.'' Fincher snickers. ''That's one thing you can say about it,'' he says. ''It definitely wasn't boring.''
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