As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, Hasitha Fernando looks at the story behind Fight Club…
To say Fight Club is one of the most controversial cinematic efforts of the 1990s would be an understatement. The film can be bunched with 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause and 1967’s The Graduate in terms of thematic similarities but still functions as its own entity through its incisive deconstruction of modern society and contemporary human behavior. Utilizing biting satire, explosive violence and some well-placed dark humor Fight Club holds up a mirror to society, inviting us to dive into its swirling vortex and embark on a journey of self-realization. As the ambitious film hits 25 we look at its chaotic backstory and the behind-the-scenes drama which transpired during the making of the movie…
Chuck Palahniuk based the story on real-life incidents
Chuck Palahniuk is an American author whose works have earned immense popularity due to its pitch black humor and sharp satire. The novelist has described his efforts as transgressional fiction and his very first publication was none other than Fight Club. During an interview the writer explained that the idea for the novel came to him when he was badly beaten up during a camping trip when he complained about the ruckus a bunch of campers were making nearby. When he returned to work the next day, covered in bumps and bruises, Palahniuk was surprised to find that no one at office acknowledged or mentioned his injuries, and instead simply engaged in awkward small talk with him.
Palahniuk concluded that the reason people at work responded this way was because if they’d inquired what had happened it would involve a certain degree of interaction at a personal level and his colleagues wanted to avoid that connection with him. And it was this phenomenon of societal ‘blocking’ that formed the basic premise of his novel. Palahniuk also elaborated that much of the brilliantly deranged incidents featured in his book – such as splicing single frames of pornography into family films and attending support groups for the terminally ill – came from stories told to him by his friends and associates as well as things they actually did. Additionally, Palahniuk also interviewed numerous young white males doing white-collar jobs to gain their insight regarding life in general and discovered that “the longing for fathers was a theme I heard a lot about. The resentment of lifestyle standards imposed by advertising was another.”
Fight Club was Jim Uhls’ very first screenplay
From the get-go Chuck Palahniuk told the producers that he wasn’t interested in writing the screenplay for the feature film adaptation. At first, producers Laura Ziskin considered hiring the screenwriter of the seminal coming-of-age drama The Graduate, due to its many thematic similarities between it and Fight Club. However, instead of hiring the veteran scribe Ziskin chose an up-and-coming talent named Jim Uhls to pen the screenplay. Uhls worked closely with director David Fincher and lead actors Brad Pitt and Edward Norton when crafting the script. In addition, Andrew Kevin Walker and Cameron Crowe also did some uncredited work on the screenplay throughout production. The first draft of the screenplay by Uhls did not feature any narration but Fincher suggested that it is through the narration that most of the dark humor gets communicated. Hence, Uhls amalgamated the narrations into his script.
The novel was deemed a controversial effort from the get-go
Fight Club was discovered by Fox 2000 Pictures executive, Raymond Bongiovanni, who sent it to Laura Ziskin, President of Production at Fox 2000 Pictures. Ziskin felt that in spite of the book being a tremendous piece of literature, it may not make for a great movie. To get some idea regarding its potential, Ziskin sent the novel to a 20th Century Fox studio reader and the report outright lambasted Chuck Palahniuk’s effort. Undeterred, Ziskin pressed on ahead looking for producers who’d be ballsy enough to bankroll such an audacious enterprise.
Fight Club was first offered to Lawrence Bender and Art Linson but they both initially turned it down with Linson returning to produce later on. The project was next given a look-see to Atman Entertainment’s Joshua Donen and Ross Grayson Bell and the pair immediately fell in love with the property and agreed to produce it. Ziskin, who was still undecided on where she stood, was finally convinced by Donen and Bell when they organized a read-through of the novel with some actors and sent its recordings to her. Once Ziskin heard the six-hour recording session she was convinced of the book’s potential, purchased the rights to the novel for $10,000 and green-lit the project.
Peter Jackson, Bryan Singer & Danny Boyle were first considered for the director’s gig
When one looks back at Fight Club now, its abundantly obvious that no one but David Fincher could have pulled it off. But as it so happened, three directors were actually offered the gig prior to Fincher being considered. Lord of the Rings helmer Peter Jackson was the initial choice for the project as producers Joshua Donen and Ross Grayson Bell were impressed with the kiwi filmmakers body of work. However, Jackson turned down the offer as he was too busy prepping for the Lord of the Rings films in New Zealand at the time. The second choice of the producers was Bryan Singer who had previously helmed the critically acclaimed The Usual Suspects and Apt Pupil. But Singer never got back to the producers and later admitted that he didn’t even read the novel that was sent.
Next the project-to-be was offered to Brit filmmaker Danny Boyle, who not only met with Donen and Bell, but also took a great liking to the source material. Ultimately Boyle too declined as he wanted to focus on his next venture, which was an adaptation of Alex Garland’s popular novel The Beach. Finally, the producers turned to David Fincher as they were big fans of his moody, neo-noir crime thriller Se7en. But Fincher was reluctant to work with 20th Century Fox again following his negative experiences making Alien 3. To gain the director’s trust a meeting was set up by Donen and Bell, with studio execs Laura Ziskin and Bill Mechanic and thus, his faith in the studio was once again restored and he turned down an offer to direct 8MM to focus on Fight Club.
Budget troubles & misunderstanding with studio execs
Fight Club was a project that was mired in controversy, budget troubles and misunderstandings with the studio that produced it. The projected budget for the movie was $50 million, however, shortly after filming began the budget increased to $67 million and executive producer Arnon Milchan ordered director David Fincher to cut down the excess expenditure by $5 million. Fincher disagreed, saying that cutting down the budget would harm the integrity of the film. This naturally enraged Milchan enough to quit the movie and take $25 million of the budget provided by his company, Regency Enterprises, with him. Foreseeing the difficulty of financing effort without Milchan’s assistance, 20th Century Fox Studio head Bill Mechanic begged his co-producer to return and began to send Milchan dailies of the film’s progress. Convinced about what Fincher & company were doing Milchan returned to the production and approved the budget increase to $67 million, upping Regency Enterprises previously agreed involvement.
Producer Laura Ziskin, a stalwart supporter of Fight Club from the inception of production had numerous misunderstandings with the content featured in the film. In one instance Ziskin was horrified when she saw the scene where Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden catches Edward Norton’s character eavesdropping at the door and Pitt was sporting a rubber glove. This outrageous idea was one of Pitt’s suggestions but it didn’t sit well with Ziskin. However, the producer changed her mind when the appearance of the glove got the biggest laugh of the whole movie, during a subsequent test screening. Another instance was when Ziskin objected to the infamous “pillow talk” scene which had Helena Bonham Carter’s Marla saying, “I want to have your abortion”. Fincher agreed to change the line on the proviso that the new line couldn’t be altered in any way. Ziskin agreed and Fincher included an even more outrageous replacement, “I haven’t been fucked like that since grade school”. Ziskin regretted her initial objection and requested for the original line to be put back but as per their deal Fincher refused to do so.
Brad Pitt wasn’t overly interested in making the film until he met David Fincher
Brad Pitt is a brand upon itself. Although his acting career had a bit of a rocky start the actor soon gained recognition through such early efforts as Thelma & Louise, The River Runs Through It and Kalifornia. However, it was with Edward Zwick’s Legends of the Fall that people started viewing Pitt as a legitimate actor, and he quickly followed it up with David Fincher’s Se7en and Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. The veteran actor has since won great acclaim for his performances on Babel, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
When it came to joining Fight Club, Pitt didn’t show overt interest in it until David Fincher himself arrived on his doorstep during the production of Meet Joe Black, insisting they go out for a beer. It was during this tete-a-tete that Fincher pitched the premise of Fight Club and Pitt agreed to give a look-see at the screenplay. Quite interestingly, producer Ross Grayson Bell first wanted Russell Crowe to play Brad Pitt’s role but thankfully fellow co-producer Art Linson overruled this decision and insisted that Pitt was a better fit. For his contribution Pitt was paid an extravagant $17.5 million whilst Edward Norton was paid only $2.5 million.
Edward Norton engaged in a rigorous exercise and diet routine for the role
After making waves with his jaw-droppingly brilliant performance in Primal Fear, which earned him multiple accolades, Edward Norton next took on the role of redeemed neo-Nazi skinhead in American History X, once again cementing his reputation as a rising talent in Hollywood. In order to play the unnamed narrator in Fight Club, Norton lost 17-20 pounds of the muscle he gained for American History X by engaging in regular running, taking vitamins and pretty much ignoring the on-set catering. While the producers preferred both Matt Damon and Sean Penn for The Narrator’s role, director David Fincher’s first preference was Edward Norton. In addition to the rigorous exercise and diet routine, Norton along with his co-star Brad Pitt took up boxing lessons and learned taekwondo and grappling techniques to prepare for their respective roles. As shooting progressed Norton deliberately slept less and lost some more weight to better reflect his character’s physical deterioration.
Reese Witherspoon, Courtney Love & Winona Ryder were considered for the role of Marla Singer
Helena Bonham Carter is one of those actresses that can simply disappear into whatever role they inhabit in a movie. With numerous accolades under her belt including two Academy Awards, four BAFTAs and nine Golden Globe Award nominations the uber-talented British actress has been known to take on roles which border on the eccentric and weird. Prior to her casting as the neurotic Marla Singer, actresses that were considered for said role were Courtney Love, Winona Ryder and Reese Witherspoon. Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sarah Michelle Geller was in brief contention for the role, but in the end, it came down to Helena Bonham Carter and Reese Witherspoon. Fincher wanted the former but the studio preferred the latter since Witherspoon was the bigger name. In the end, Witherspoon turned down the role as the actress considered the material “too dark” and thus Bonham Carter was cast. According to the performer she fashioned her take on Marla Singer on Judy Garland in the latter stages of her life. Fincher even called her “Judy” on set to help her get into that mindset.
About that steamy sex scene in the movie
The steamy sex scene that transpires at around the 48 minute mark of the film was the culmination of weeks of elaborate planning and careful coordination between cast and crew. It was shot using the same ‘bullet time’ technique that was utilized in The Matrix. To achieve the shots still cameras were set up in a circle around the bed and each camera would take a single shot in a specific sequence. These shots were then stitched together and augmented digitally as both Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter were fully clothed and in motion capture suits during the sequence. The pair posed in ten different positions from the Kama Sutra during the shooting of the scene.
During a 2014 interview, body double actress Laura Grady shared her experience doubling Helena Bonham Carter for the sex scene. “Fight Club was my favorite by far. It was just incredible. There was so much work on that set; it was literally two weeks of just these scenes in bed! You cannot be shy. There was also a body double for Brad Pitt, so we spent two weeks with David Fincher on a set and green-screen, just reenacting all of those sex scenes. I did see Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter throughout the day, but they were never in my scenes – the body doubles did their thing, and then Brad and Helena did their thing.”
The studio was unsure how to market the end product
After post-production and editing was concluded for the movie, the studio executives were left with one important question – how were they going to market Fight Club? As it were, the studio was baffled by the final output churned out by David Fincher and they had no intention of embracing the filmmakers unique marketing campaign which centered on the film’s theme of anti-commercialism. So, they opted go down the most predictable route where the campaign was built largely on the popularity of Brad Pitt’s presence as well as its fighting aspect – which actually plays a very minor role in the actual movie itself. This decision however, hurt the box office prospects the flick already had, as it gave the impression that Fight Club was essentially about men beating each other up in underground boxing matches. The fact that the satirical elements and dark humor was eschewed during the marketing campaign didn’t sit well with Fincher and it riled him even more when he saw adverts for the film during WWE and UFC programming.
Polarizing critic reviews & the birth of a cult-classic
Made on a production budget of $65 million Fight Club went on to make a modest $101.2 million at the worldwide box office. The main contributing factor in the film’s poor performance at theaters was due to it being marketed in the wrong manner by the studios, as mentioned earlier. The polarizing critic reviews further impeded box office earnings over the next few weeks resulting in a disappointing box office haul. The overall critical consensus was also pretty divided, with many either loving or hating the effort in equal measure.
Reviewing for The New York Times film critic Janet Maslin praised Fincher’s direction and editing of the movie. But she cautioned that Fight Club carried a message of “contemporary manhood”, and that, if not watched closely, the film could be misconstrued as an endorsement of violence and nihilism. Acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert wasn’t a huge fan of Fight Club and reviewing the movie for the Chicago Sun-Times gave it two stars out of four, calling it “visceral and hard-edged”, but also “a thrill ride masquerading as a philosophy” whose promising first act is followed by a second that panders to macho sensibilities and a third which he simply described as “trickery”.
Fight Club had a few successes during awards season receiving a nomination for Best Sound Editing at the Academy Awards and Helena Bonham Carter walked away with the Empire Award for Best Actress the following year. But where the movie truly became popular and achieved cult status was through a strong word of mouth following its release. Due to its explosive content and mesmerizing performances Fight Club became one of the most talked about films of the 1990s. Similar to other movies released during 1999 like The Matrix, Being John Malkovich, Magnolia and Three Kings, which ushered in a new-wave of thought-provoking cinema and innovative visual style Fight Club too didn’t shy away from embracing darkness and controversy in its effort to being something truly memorable.
In order to capitalize on the positive word-of-mouth Fincher gave the audience what they wanted through a DVD release that was beyond any fans wildest dreams. The bonus disc of the DVD set contained behind-the-scenes clips, never-before-seen deleted scenes, the promotional music video “This is Your Life”, trailers, TV spots, cast biographies, storyboards and various publicity materials. The movie sold more than 6 million copies on video and DVD with the ten years making Fight Club one of the largest-selling home media items in the studio’s history, in addition to raking in over $55 million in the DVD and video rentals. Regardless of the controversy swirling around Fight Club there is no shadow of doubt that it is has gone on to influence filmmakers, stimulate debate and deconstruct society as a whole through its dark humor and biting satire.
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Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.
