David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club follows a white-collared insomniac who starts an underground fight club that goes on to take a dark and sinister turn. While the movie did not do very well at the time of its release, it went on to be a cult classic following its home video release. Unlike many fans, the director of the film has shared during a recent interview that he has not seen the movie in 20 years.
The filmmaker also addressed the unexpected appropriation the movie has received by a specific section of society over the years.
David Fincher on Fight Club’s Controversial Interpretations
Starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter, David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club has grown to become a cult classic. And the movie has particularly become a hit among dissatisfied white men, who are often referred to as ‘incels.’
The filmmaker, however, has said that he could not take responsibility for such influence, claiming that it is up to people how they choose to interpret his work. “I’m not responsible for how people interpret things,” he told The Guardian, noting that he did not make the movie keeping these specific groups in mind.
He was also asked about how the movie had overly tapped into the resentful and disempowered masculinity. Fincher said in response that he’s unable to understand why people don’t recognize that Tyler Durden is a negative influence.
Brad Pitt’s character Tyler Durden in the 1999 film is portrayed as an “alpha male” who does what he wants. However, depicting a dark side to The Narrator, he also shows problematic behavior. “I don’t know how to help them,” Fincher said, stating that he does not know how to respond to people who idolize the complex character.
David Fincher Was Expected to Reunite With Brad Pitt
David Fincher and Brad Pitt have given several hits together, including Seven and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And there had been reports suggesting that they could have reunited in another project, the sequel to the 2013 action horror film World War Z, before it was eventually canceled.
Talking about the same during a recent interview with GQ, Fincher said that he’s “glad” it was canceled. He shared that the sequel was “a little like The Last of Us,” the hit HBO series released earlier this year starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
“I’m glad that we didn’t do what we were doing because The Last of Us has a lot more real estate to explore the same stuff,” he said. While he did not reveal much about the sequel, Fincher said that they were planning to use the “little parasite” similar to how the HBO series did in its opening sequence.
Fight Club is available on Prime Video.
