Today, it’s an oft-quoted classic, butFight Clubwas only a modest success when it was released in 1999. Its cult film status was cemented by repeated VHS and DVD viewings, thanks to the brilliant performances by Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter in David Fincher’s adaptation of the novel of the same name. By now, we’re all as familiar with the movie’s twist as we are the whole bit inThe Sixth Sense. Yes, there’s the whole “first rule of Fight Club,” but we’ve all shared anecdotes like the subversive frames hidden in the movie, or the Starbucks cups in every scene. Here, we look at 10 things you never knew aboutFight Club.
10The Producers courted four different directors.
It’s hard to imagine anyone else behind the camera, but producers approached at least three other directors for the job before making a deal with David Fincher, who at the time had madeAlien 3,Se7en, andThe Game. A copy of the book was reportedly sent to futureX-Mendirector Bryan Singer. Producers met withTrainspottingdirector Danny Boyle and reportedly really wanted to work with Peter Jackson, but the New Zealand filmmaker was busy makingThe Frighteners, instead.
9Russell Crowe could have been Tyler Durden.
Speaking of famous men from New Zealand, producers were interested in casting Russell Crowe as Tyler Durden. ‘ThoughL.A. Confidentialwas released in 1997, Crowe breakthrough Gladiator had yet to arrive. Fox wanted a bigger name. David Fincher had worked with Brad Pitt onSe7en, so with the director’s help producers were able to bring him onboard. Pitt helped fashion the character into the one audiences ultimately saw onscreen, in all of hisswaggering and aggressive glory.
8Matt Damon and Sean Penn were considered for Jack.
The role of theeveryman Narrator, nicknamed “Jack” in the script, of course went to Edward Norton. Producers considered Matt Damon; both of them were up forThe Talented Mr. Ripley. Years later, in one of theJason Bournemovies, Matt Damon’s character squares off against a guy in a “fight club.” Edward Norton appeared in 2012’sThe Bourne Legacy, theBournemovie that actually starred Jeremy Renner. Sean Penn, another almost Narrator, did eventually play a character named Jack in a movie that costarred Brad Pitt, Terence Malick’s 2011 dramaThe Tree of Life.
7Many familiar faces were up for Maria.
The movie’s stars once jokingly summarizedFight Clubas, “A story about two friends who start an amateur boxing club for disadvantaged young men and the woman who comes between them.” That woman, of course, is Maria, who may or may not even be real, depending on which Internet rabbit hole holds the truth. Fincher offered the part to Janeane Garofalo, who passed. Other actresses considered for the role included Winona Ryder, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Courtney Love, who acted alongside Norton inThe People vs. Larry Flynt.
6That all important first punch feels real because it was.
“I want you to hit me as hard as you may.” Norton and Pitt had trained in various fight styles and even soap making, but this was supposed to be just another movie punch. Shortly before calling “Action,” Fincher told Norton to hit Pitt for real. Look closely after it happens - Edward Norton is clearly giggling at Pitt’s surprise.
5No, Meatloaf didn’t really look like that.
No, the famous Bat Out of Hell singer andThe Rocky Horror Picture Showscene-stealer whose birth certificate reads Marvin Lee Aday didn’t really look like that. To achieve the look of Bob inFight Club, Meatloaf wore a fat suit stuffed with birdseed.
4Speaking of rock stars.
When Tyler Durden says, “We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires and rock stars. But we won’t,” he looks right at Angel Face. Jared Leto had already formed 30 Seconds To Mars, who would sell millions of copies of albums like their self-titled debut, A Beautiful Lie, and This is War.
David Fincher was unable to convince Radiohead to scoreFight Club. In 2008, there were news reports that the elusive UK band had agreed to score the movie Choke, based onFight Clubauthor Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same name, but those proved to be unfounded. Fincher was able to secure The Dust Brothers, the producer duo best known for their work with Beastie Boys, Beck, and Hanson. Fincher would later collaborate with Trent Reznor, with the Nine Inch Nails mastermind and his partner Atticus Ross making music for the director’sThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,Gone GirlandThe Social Network, which won them an Oscar.
2There’s a Fight Club 2.
Chuck Palahniuk, the book’s author, has rather famously said he prefers the film version to his original novel. In recent years, readers were able to revisit the author’s world via the comic book sequel,Fight Club 2, published by Dark Horse Comics. No strangers to Hollywood, Dark Horse is the publishing house responsible for Hellboy, Sin City, 300,American Splendor,Mystery Men,Barb Wire,Timecop, andThe Mask.
1Will there be a Fight Club musical?
Going as far back as at least 2004,Fight Club’s authorhas claimed there’s a musical in the works, with new music by Reznor and the participation of Tony Award winner July Taymor, who worked onThe Lion KingandSpider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. He even “confirmed” as much in a tweet from San Diego Comic Con in 2015. Time will tell if the rock opera was ever for real, or just a Tyler Durden-style prank.
