Translated from IndieWire, original link
David Fincher's Fight Club has become one of his most iconic and influential films. But that wasn't the case two decades before the film hit theaters. In his new book, How 1999 Blew up the Screen, author Brian Raftery takes a behind-the-scenes look at the chaotic film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel, some excerpts available on The Ringer. Laura Ziskin, a Fox 2000 executive, bought Palahniuk's novel for $10,000 and originally wanted it to be written by David O. Russell ("The Line of Happiness Behind the Dark Clouds"). Russell read Fight Club and didn't understand it, so he didn't direct it, but Finch was drawn to the story.
"I was almost 40 years old and I took this book as a rallying cry," Finch told Raftery. "Chuck was conveying an outburst of anger at social discontent, 'we' had been stuck for a long time and needed to be done. The sprint towards self-evolution is very easy to be attracted by its sheer 'juiciness'".
In order to direct the film, Finch had to get over his bad past relationship with 20th Century Fox. He is known to have clashed with studios while directing his debut Alien 3. Finch went to Fox and gave them what he felt were the only two options available for Fight Club: a low-budget $3 million movie or a big-budget movie. Finch, however, preferred the latter, calling it a "rebel operation", but Fox instead became interested and gave him time to write the script.
"We're being sarcastic," Finch said. "As we say, blowing up the building is as serious as fucking your mom's friend in The Graduate."
Fox approved the script planned by Finch and Jim Ulls. Building on the collaboration he directed Brad Pitt on the serial killer "Seven Deadly Sins," all Finch needed was to convince him to read the script while filming "The Sixth Sense" to sign up for the role of Tyler Durden. Finch was also intrigued by Edward Norton after watching his rendition in "Sex Book Tycoon," who, coincidentally, saw "Fight Club" as a comedy as much as he did.
Yet how interesting Fight Club really is has become a point of contention between Norton and Finch. The two bickered over the film's tone, often resulting in long stoppages between sets while the rest of the cast waited in silence.
"I think Norton's idea was: 'Let's make sure people realize it's a comedy,'" Finch said. "He and I have had countless discussions about this topic, and I think his humor is more flattering. , like winking at the audience and saying, 'Don't worry, it's going to be fun', I want it to be not flattering, I want the audience to ask themselves, 'Do they support this?'"
However, in terms of the conflict with Fox over the film's release, the conflict between Finch and Norton is not worth mentioning at all. The director has no right to ask about the announcement of the film. "The people who were in charge of the film's announcement were like, 'I don't want to do this,'" Finch said. Finch recalls an executive telling Finch that the film had no audience at all, "men don't want to see shirtless Brad Pitt, women don't want to see him bleed, so who are you making this movie for?"
“Looking back in 1999, I didn’t feel like I was watching a movie with my feet on the chair in front of me and a 16-ounce popcorn in my hand,” Finch added. A meeting where you slap yourself hard, and end up with a calloused forehead."
Fincher wanted more creative ways to announce the film and directed several pseudo-public ads starring Pitt and Nordeau. The two actors appear as characters, advising moviegoers to turn off their phones, and adding a few quirky words at the end, like "no one can imitate you in the swimsuit-changing area." Finch's idea is to use a "face riding tactic" for publicity, but Fox prefers to market it in a conservative and safe way, selling it as "a movie with superstars and a big studio". Advertisements are placed in wrestling matches to cater to the plot of "fight".
The announcement failed, and Fight Club became a notorious box-office bomb, grossing just $1,100 in its first week and grossing just $37 million in the U.S. Fox spent $65 million on the film. Anticipating the film's bleak box office, Finch decided to escape the doomed bad news by taking a holiday to Bali on the opening weekend. He said, "You spent two years of your life and then you got a fax that said 'Everyone go home, it's a big sale' and you're going to torture your soul in that moment 'fuck it' , what should I do now', how are you going to recover?"
Finch added, "The folks at Morton's would pat you on the shoulder like you're dead relative, and the CAA [Creative Artists Agency] vibe would be very strong, 'This is great, you've been through this thing, you know, we can get you out of this decision that ruins your life and your career', I made an excuse to leave, and then in one of my conversations I said, 'How dare you do this? I really like this movie'".
But whatever Finch went through during the filming of Fight Club, in the two decades since, the film has sold more than six million DVDs and has become a cultural touchstone for a younger generation of audiences. "The wound must have also healed.
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How 1999 Blew up the Screen
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