Fight Club was released on October 15, 1999. It was directed by David Fincher and was initially seen as a financial disappointment. But eventually, Fight Club was discovered by many DVD viewers and it became one of the most beloved and controversial films of all time.
As we approach the 22nd anniversary of this classic film, we have listed 10 things that some fans still don’t know about Fight Club (1999).
1) Brad Pitt said he didn’t want his parents to see the film, but he couldn’t stop them from watching it. They changed their minds after watching the chemical burning scene.
2) In the movie, Tyler Durden is seen wearing Blue-Blockers, a type of sunglasses often used by insomniacs to filter out blue light, which interferes with the production of melatonin, a chemical essential for sleep.
3) Norton and Pitt shared in the DVD commentary that they both took soap-making lessons from a boutique company called Auntie Godmother. They also take “basic lessons” in boxing, taekwondo, and grappling, topping it all off by watching hours of mixed martial arts fights.
4) Chuck Palahniuk got the inspiration to write the book Fight Club after a camping incident with his friends. When Palahniuk complained to some other campers that they were playing their radio too loudly, a brawl broke out. Even though Chuck’s face was “smashed up,” none of his co-workers the Monday after the incident acknowledged that he looked any different.
5) In an interview with UK film magazine Empire, David Fincher claimed that there is a Starbucks coffee cup visible in every shot in the movie.
6) During the crash scene, Brad Pitt is driving the car. However, after the crash, Pitt gets out of the passenger seat and pulls Norton out of the driver’s seat, foreshadowing the eventual plot twist.
7) Brad Pitt’s salary was seven times higher than his co-star’s. Brad Pitt was paid $17.5 million for his part in the film. Edward Norton was paid $2.5 million.
8) As the film progressed, Edward Norton purposely lost weight and lacked sleep, while Brad Pitt bulked up and indulged in tanning bed sessions.
9) In the scene where the Narrator hits Tyler Durden in the ear, Edward Norton was originally going to fake hit him, but before the scene, David Fincher pulled Norton aside and told him to smack him in the ear. After Norton actually hits him in the scene, you can see him smiling and laughing while Pitt is in pain giving a genuine reaction.
10) During rehearsals, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton discovered that they both hated the new Volkswagen Beetle, and for the scene where Tyler and The Narrator are hitting cars with baseball bats, Pitt and Norton insisted that one of the cars be a Beetle.
Also read: 5 MCU Roles That Were Perfectly Cast Vs. 5 Actors Who Almost Replaced Them In Movies