20 Facts About 'Fight Club' (To Read in the Middle of a Meeting)
![20 Facts About 'Fight Club' (To Read in the Middle of a Meeting)](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/5/856985_320x180.jpg)
It may not seem like it today, but back in the ’90s Fight Club was kind of necessary. Hollywood had been doing some subversive movies for a while, but nothing on that level. Sure, today we joined together to abolish the class divide driving climate collapse, and dudes everywhere just laugh off hacks peddling chodie masculinity to our best and brightest – and it was easy. At least, we think that’s what happened, right? It’s not like we have time to still be on the fence on such obvious stuff otherwise… Whatever, the point is that things were dire. When Fight Club came out in the late ’90s, neoliberalism had ruined men so much they forgot about truly American models of badass, freedom-loving masculinity, and so Brad Pitt’s abs were summoned to get on it.
Indeed, we now discuss 20 awesome facts about Fight Club to read in the middle of a meeting. Yes, we’re talking to you, Middle-Management Dude. Ignore what the Man is telling you about Excel sheets and PowerPoint presentations and quarter eports or whatever, and check out these kickass facts about Fight Club. For example, here’s a freebie: did you know Tyler’s plan to destroy credit card companies actually echoes one of the oldest tricks in the human equality playbook? It’s all about freedom, baby. That is, if you actually pay attention to the movie and even original author Chuck Palahniuk’s politics instead of misinterpreting their pretty overt ideas like, well, you know. In today’s Pictofact, then, we look back at all things Fight Club: the author, the book, the movie, the oily, economy-resetting abs… Everything but the video game, which doesn’t exist anyway, so forget we even mentioned it.
The Other Cast
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB RUSSELL CROWE WAS ALMOST TYLER DURDEN. Also, Matt Damon and Sean Penn were considered for the Narrator; and for Marla, Winona Ryder, Courtney Love, Reese Witherspoon, and Janeane Garofalo.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/1/1/857011.jpg)
Source: Wikipedia
Adaptation
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB THE ADAPTATION PROCESS BEGAN BEFORE THE NOVEL CAME OUT. Fox Searchlight got a copy of Chuck Palahniuk's book before it hit the street, and then forwarded it to several producers until they found a couple willing to turn it into a movie.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/2/856992.jpg)
Source: Wikipedia
The other directors
![FIGHT CLUB IT COULD HAVE BEEN A PETER JACKSON MOVIE. Before settling for David Fincher, the producers considered post-Heavenly Creatures Jackson and post-Trainspotting Danny Boyle, as well as Bryan Singer back when he was interesting (but still slimy). CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/0/2/857002.jpg)
Source: Wikipedia
A Massive Shoot
![IT WAS A HUGE SHOOT. Filming took place in over 200 locations, lasted for 138 days, and ended up with three times the number of rolls of film as a regular Hollywood production. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/0/7/857007.jpg)
Source: Wikipedia
Tyler Durden
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB THE TRUTH ABOUT TYLER IS HEAVILY HINTED AT. On the bus, only the Narrator pays; when they enter bars, only he is greeted; and after the car crash, the Narrator is dragged out the driver's side - but that is not where he saw him seating.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/0/6/857006.jpg)
Source: WhatCulture/YouTube
Radiohead
![FIGHT CLUB RADIOHEAD ALMOST DID THE MOVIE'S SCORE. Frontman Thom Yorke turned down the gig, as he was exhausted after working on the band's third album. ...... CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/0/4/857004.jpg)
Source: NME
Six Hours
![FIGHT CLUB THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT LASTED SIX HOURS. Before committing to buy the novel's rights, producers had unpaid actors read the preliminary version to determine how long the script should be. The reading lasted for six hours. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/0/5/857005.jpg)
Source: Wikipedia
CGI Sex
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB THE SEX SCENE IS CGI. Marla and Tyler boinking is a direct predecessor to The Matrix's bullet time. In fact, it was the first time a fully CGI-rendered sex scene was ever put to film.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/0/3/857003.jpg)
Source: WhatCulture/YouTube
Paper Street
![FIGHT CLUB PAPER STREET IS A HINT THAT TYLER IS NOT REAL. A paper street is a mapmaking term for streets that show up in a map, but don't exist in the real world. PAPER ST CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/0/1/857001.jpg)
Source: Screen Rant
Meat Loaf's Pants
![CRACKED.COM LOAD Alt BE FIGHT CLUB MEAT LOAF RANDOMLY LOSES HIS PANTS. Watch as the gang leaves the hotel after attacking the politician in the bathroom attack-and focus on Meat Loaf's character as his pants fall off.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/0/0/857000.jpg)
Source: Screen Rant
Never Been Kissed
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB DAVID FINCHER TROLLED FANS WITH THE BLU-RAY. The 10th-anniversary Blu-Ray of Fight Club greets you with the menu of Never Been Kissed, which disappears after a few seconds. Drew Barrymore gave Fincher her blessing to use her movie for his prank.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/6/856996.jpg)
Source: Collider
Real-Life Project Mayhem
![FIGHT CLUB PROJECT MAYHEM HAS A REAL-LIFE INSPIRATION. Author Chuck Palahniuk was a member of the Cacophony Society, which alongside anti- consumerist group the Suicide Club was behind Burning Man (before it became an Instagram background for techbros and yoga models, that is). CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/5/856995.jpg)
Source: Wikipedia
Marla's Look
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB MARLA'S MAKEUP WAS APPLIED LEFT-HANDEDLY. To make Marla look like someone who doesn't really care about her looks, Helena Bonham Carter had the makeup artist make her up with their left hand.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/4/856994.jpg)
Source: Ranker
Invisible Monsters
![FIGHT CLUB INVISIBLE MONSTERS IS A PREDECESSOR. Chuck Palahniuk wrote Invisible Monsters first, but only published it after Fight Club's success. In terms of concept, structure, and character arcs, the novel is pretty much a gender-swapped Fight Club. CHUCK PALAHNIUK INVISIBLE MONSTERS MOTI - REMONTION NAT FOODS FE BOW - - 00/27 DE BY THE AUTHOR OF REAT DIM CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/3/856993.jpg)
Source: Wikipedia
Mondays, Am I Right?
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB THE AUTHOR HAD THE IDEA BEATEN INTO HIM. Chuck Palahniuk got a beating during a weekend, and when he showed up to work on Monday, everyone ignored the fact that he looked like he had just gotten a goddamn beating. That's how he came up with the basic idea for Fight Club.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/7/856997.jpg)
Source: Screen Rant
Flop
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB THE MOVIE WAS A FLOP. Fight Club barely made 60% of its budget at the domestic box office. Edward Norton and David Fincher attribute it to studio execs neglecting the movie because they felt it was calling them out.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/1/856991.jpg)
Source: Looper
The Ear Punch
![FIGHT CLUB THE EAR PUNCH WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. David Fincher told Edward Norton to hit Brad Pitt, but it wasn't supposed to be in the ear. Pitt's surprised reaction was genuine. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/8/856998.jpg)
Bronchitis
![CRACKED.COM FIGHT CLUB ELENA BONHAM CARTER GOT SICK FROM SMOKING. David Fincher was obsessed with Marla's smoking, and with getting the smoke just right - so much that Bonham Carter got bronchitis. She gave Fincher an X-ray of her diseased lungs as a parting gift.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/9/9/856999.jpg)
Source: Screen Rant
CGI Breath
![FIGHT CLUB THE BREATH EFFECT WAS CREATED FOR TITANIC. The breath during the fantasy cave scenes comes from the library that was created for 1997's Titanic. David Fincher would also go on to use CGI breath in The Social Network, with much dumber results. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/8/856988.jpg)
Source: Cinemablend
The Author's Opinion
![FIGHT CLUB THE BOOK'S AUTHOR PREFERS THE MOVIE. Chuck Palahniuk took a backseat during production, and appreciated how they knotted the themes together and streamlined the novel's plot. Не even considers the movie's ending to be superior. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/8/9/856989.jpg)
Source: Cinemablend
More: 5 Movies That Improved on the Book (According to the Author)