David Fincher has said that in literally every shot of Fight Club there is, somewhere in the frame, a cup of Starbucks.
In fact, Starbucks had no problem with being made fun of in Fight Club. Which is why they let Fincher use their name. But they finally had to draw the line in the coffee shop destruction scene. And so, when the giant art sculpture (the rolling ball) comes crashing through the front window of that cafe, you don't see a Starbucks sign anywhere.
After the car wreck, on the side of the road, Jack is seen sliding out of the driver's side of the car when it was Tyler who was seen driving...or was he?
What does Tyler smell at the end after having his head blown off? I always thought he was smelling the gun powder from the gun. But Chuck had something else to say: "That is a huge inside joke. It's David Fincher's reference to the lyricist Ira Gershwin who, while he was dying of an undiagnosed brain tumor, insisted that he could smell burning chicken feathers, and kept asking "what is that smell?" until he fell down dead."
As an inside joke, Fincher named the three detectives who try and castrate Jack, Detective's Andrew, Kevin and Walker. A little dedication to his Se7en screenwriter.
Speaking of Andrew Kevin Walker, he did an un-credited rewrite on the Fight Club script during its final stages.
Although pretty much all of the FC soundtrack is dominated by the whirring sounds of The Dust Brothers, songs from other artists do appear. Most notably, "Goin' Out West" by Tom Waits and "Where is My Mind?" by The Pixies.
Two of the fake names The Narrator uses in the support groups, Travis and Rupert are both the first names of Robert DeNiro characters: Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) and Rupert Pupkin (sp?....King of Comedy).
The payphone is which Jack is "star-69ed" from Tyler has a notice on it which says, "No in-coming calls." In addition to the notice, all of Tyler's phones are rotary, which you can't use to star-69 anyway.
Fox exec Laura Ziskin is one of the few who had faith in Fincher and Palahniuk's vision from the beginning. Which is why she tolerated so much of the content in the film. But when she heard Marla's line to Tyler, "Oh, Tyler. I want your abortion." she was shocked and appalled. She finally had to confront Fincher, urging him to remove the line. Fincher, because she had been such a good sport, did change the line. The new one read, "I haven't been fucked like that since grade school." When Ziskin heard the new line, she was even more appalled and begged Fincher to replace the scene with the old line. But Fincher said no way.
Besides the removal of the "abortion" line, the only other notable cut that was made in the film is a quick shot of Angel Face's (Jared Leto) nose being, literally, split open down the center as Jack pummels him. The prosthetic that Leto had to wear was so gruesome that other crew and cast members were seen avoiding him on set that day.
Christie Cronenweth, Jeff's (the DP) sister has a cameo in the film as the airline check-in attendant.
Fincher wanted Fight Club to have a new brand of promotional pieces. Which is why the soap bar became the logo for the film. In fact, in the beginning, the soap bar was the only thing he wanted on the poster. But Fox made him change it to include Pitt and Norton's faces. But if you pay attention to all the different posters, magazine ads as well as the cover of the movie tie in book, you'll notice a few changes in each regarding the ancient map in the background. In the official poster, it appears behind Ed Norton. On the cover of the paperback, it appears behind Brad Pitt. And in the magazine ads, it appears behind neither of them.
Fincher also shot two "public service announcements" in which Pitt and Norton addressed the audience about proper theater procedures. Each announcement, however, would end with some awkward, sudden line. Pitt saying, "Did you know urine is sterile? That's right, you can drink it." and Norton saying, "And remember, nobody has the right to touch you in the bathing suit area."
But that's not all. Fincher also shot a 15 minute video of Pitt and Norton playing guitar on the steps of the Paper Street House while Spacemonkey's are cleaning in the background. The two co-stars are singing a duet of the Frankie Avalon hit "Venus." Only their version is an ode to Marla entitled "Penis." With lyrics like "Penis, oh peeeeenis/Penis if you will/Send a little girl for me to thrill..." (The Face, Dec '99)
Edward Norton, son of a Lawyer and grandson of James Rouse, creator of the American shopping mall, lost 17-20 pounds for the role of Fight Club after having to beef up tremendously for his role as a Neo-Nazi skinhead in "American History X." Norton achieved this form by running, taking vitamins and just ignoring the on-set catering.
Ed Norton got his start for his stand-out performance in Primal Fear, getting the role after Leonardo DiCaprio dropped out. Norton has been noted for passing up on lead roles in "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Thin Red Line." He is good friends with Drew Barrymore and even shared a flat with her in NY at one time. Could this be why there is a Movieline magazine with Drew on the cover in a scene in Fight Club? (The Face, Dec '99)
Pitt had his caps removed for the part to give his mouth a more non-Hollywood grin.
Speaking of Pitt, when Marla and Jack argue outside of the restaurant, you can see a movie theater in the background displaying "Seven Years in Tibet." In fact, Fincher went so far as to have, across the street, another theater showing "The People vs. Larry Flint" and "Wings of the Dove." The only problem is a parked truck, which obscures them from the frame.
tinylife.com, tylerdurden.com, projectmayhem.com and makemineveal.com all lead to Twentieth Century Fox's Official Web Site.
Project Mayhem is based after the local chapter of the Cacophony Society in which, author Chuck Palahniuk is a proud member.
In an early scene where Jack is in a hotel room narrating about single-serving items, on the television is a commercial for the hotel. In the commercial's last scene is a group of waiters where in the front row, on the far right, is Tyler.
The warning at the start of DVD says: WARNING. If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don't you have other things to do? Is your life so empty you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all who claim it? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think everything you're supposed to think? Buy what you're told you should want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned ...... Tyler.
The last car Tyler and Jack hit with the bats is a VW New Beetle. Norton requested this because he hates New Beetles, believing they represent the will of the Baby Boomers to replace Gen-X youth culture with their own.
Watch the scene during the "mid-air collission". Play it in slow-mo and see the flight attendant get nailed by the wing of the oncoming plane.
The waiter who serves Jack and Marla while they are arguing is the lead singer of Live.
After Jack beats the hell from Angel Face, Tyler and Jack are greeted by a driver. When he says "After you Mr. Durden," his line of sight is in contact with Jack, not with Tyler. That's why Jack turns to Tyler and mocks the driver.
During shooting, Marla has to cross a road while cars are zooming by her. The cars came so close to her that the buttons on her jacket would clank on the cars.
