What was the meaning of the Bob Vaughn subplot in Zodiac?
In the movie "Zodiac" the cartoonist Robert Graysmith takes on investigation of the Zodiac killer and eventually tracks down Bob Vaughn.
During the episode it is revealed that the handwriting on a movie poster that matched closely with Zodiac's handwriting is in fact Bob Vaughn's. After that the episode's tone turns really grim and unsettling. After Robert Graysmith fled Bob Vaughn's apartment he mentioned something about there being two killers (I could not really make out what he was saying). And after that...nothing! As if he never even met Bob Vaughn.
So what was the meaning of that subplot? Why did Fincher decide to portray it so dark and unsettling?
Best Answer
Because it’s basically showing that Graysmith is so far in this, he’s seeing the Zodiac in everyone. Bob Vaughn was a real guy actually (an organist) and he was never implicated as the Zodiac at all. Graysmith was just going a bit crazy trying to solve this case.
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Is Bob Vaughn a suspect?
Vaughn was never considered a credible suspect. But in a movie filled with rote police work and dead ends, those five minutes of kettle-whistling tension turn a procedural into true horror.Who was the guy at the end of Zodiac?
The film ends with reporter Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) tracking down a man called Arthur Leigh Allen, who he is convinced is the Zodiac killer. While circumstantial evidence seems to indicate his guilt, the physical evidence, such as fingerprints and handwriting samples, do not implicate him.Who was the projectionist in Zodiac?
They include former San Francisco movie projectionist Rick Marshall and others. In the movie, Robert Graysmith is alerted to handwriting similarities between Rick Marshall's movie posters that he drew and the handwriting in the Zodiac letters. You can view one of Rick Marshall's movie posters below.Who does Graysmith think the Zodiac is?
The movie depicts a meeting between Robert Graysmith and his main suspect he believes is the Zodiac Killer, Arthur Leigh Allen. The movie shows Graysmith going inside the hardware store that Allen works at and the two staring each other down, which is pretty similar to actual events.Bob Vaughn Zodiac | Zodiac Killer | Zodiac Suspect | Serial Killer | Zodiac Killer Documentary
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Answer 2
And after that...nothing! As if he never even met Bob Vaughn.
When Robert Graysmith meets Linda at San Joaquin County Honor Camp where she was locked up, the following conversation happens:
LINDA: What's this about?
GRAYSMITH: Zodiac.
LINDA: Figures. You got the look.
GRAYSMITH: What look?
LINDA: I...I didn't mean anything.
GRAYSMITH: Tell me about this "painting party".
LINDA: Told the cops about it so long ago. Darlene always had lots of boys around, even though she was married. This one guy was weird, though. He used to bring her presents from Mexico. I don't know why she was friends with him. She once told me he'd killed somebody.
GRAYSMITH: Really?
LINDA: Yup. Maybe when he was in the service. GRAYSMITH: The Navy?
LINDA: I think so.
GRAYSMITH: Was he into movies?
LINDA: He wasn't into people, I can tell you that. This party Darlene threw, people were supposed to show up, have beers, help paint. This dude shows up in a suit. He sat alone in a chair, didn't talk to anyone. Creeped me out. Darlene told me not to go near him. She was scared of him. Couple weeks later, she was dead.
GRAYSMITH: Do you remember his name?
LINDA: It was short. Like a nickname. Like Stan
GRAYSMITH: Rick?
LINDA: No. No, I don't think so.
GRAYSMITH: Are you sure?
LINDA: Yeah.
GRAYSMITH: How can you be sure? It was long time ago. Think hard.
LINDA: I am thinking hard
GRAYSMITH: It was Rick.
LINDA: No, it wasn't.
GRAYSMITH: It was Rick, Rick Marshall.
LINDA: No.
GRAYSMITH: Just say it.
LINDA: It wasn't Rick.
GRAYSMITH WALKS AWAY
LINDA: It was Leigh.
GRAYSMITH: Leigh?
LINDA: Yea, Leigh. Sound's right.
It was after this conversation that Robert Graysmith rules out Rick Marshall and Bob Vaughn from the suspect list and now he's onto Leigh.
Quoting from an Interview with Fichner,
Robert Graysmith knew he was a guy on the sidelines of this story. He wanted to be a part of it and he made himself a part of it. He was doing it on his own time, because he wasn’t a reporter. It was Robert who went after it, after everybody else had pretty much walked away.
This implies that Robert Graysmith went to some extremes covering all the suspects in the list.
Even though Bob Vaughn was not in suspect list of police I think the purpose of this scene was to bring forth the audience the fact that there were people who would fit the description or you might confuse them as a suspect.
Answer 3
Maybe, just maybe and hear me out on this one, Bob Vaughn could have been the Zodiac and based his whole plan around Arthur Leigh. I wouldn't put it behind the Zodiac to have already found a scapegoat before he even started killing? If the DNA didn't match Leigh, or the handwriting, maybe he was set up before he even knew it. A Molester who has somehow created a series of code that for decades cannot be uncovered, yet not smart enough to keep his paedophilic ways a secret? Seems iffy to me, personally I think that the handwriting match and the fact he knew so much about the case off the top of his head was enough to suspect him, let alone he knew about the symbol in the film. I'm sure this man knew more then he was letting. He also looks oddly similar to the zodiac killer sketch. Just a little thought, not valid in anyway.
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