Do you still remember Helena Bonham Carter’s emo character, Marla Singer, from Fight Club? There was reportedly some drama surrounding the casting decision of the actress for this role in the Brad Pitt starrer film.
Unbeknownst to many, Courtney Love was originally slated to play the lead role in the 1999 film, Fight Club, which Helena Bonham Carter ultimately landed.
Fight Club by David Fincher was a classic among movie fans of that generation. Thus, there is a good chance that Tyler Durden (the uber-cool anti-hero played by Brad Pitt) had an impact on you if you were young and impressionable when Fincher’s adaptation was released.
Several actresses competed for the unconventional love interest role of Marla, which was ultimately played by the Cinderella actress. However, Love, who then provided the justification, claimed that the role was solely hers up until it was lost.
And can you guess to whom the 58-year-old singer-actress owed the blame?
Why Did Brad Pitt Fire Courtney Love From Fight Club?
In the competitive industry of Hollywood, where egos clash and rivalry is fierce, learning of yet another disturbing tale is nothing new. The conflict between Brad Pitt and Courtney Love during the production of the classic film, Fight Club is one such case.
The veteran musician and actress, Courtney Love claimed that she wanted to turn Chuck Palahniuk’s first book Fight Club into a big-budget motion picture. In a guest appearance on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron, Love once stated that she had already pitched the idea to David Fincher and thus, secured the role of Marla Singer in the 1999 film.
“This is my role. We’d done all these table reads; I’d gone to work privately with David [Fincher].”
The Ocean’s Eight actress went on to say that she actually once rejected Pitt’s proposal for the Kurt Cobain biopic and that left her feeling “not heard” and “ignored”.
“It was like the hellmouth opened. Oh my God, ‘We wanna do it about Kurt!’ And 22 years later, I still kick myself for not having the shark instinct to be like, ‘Sure,’ and f—k ‘em later. I went nuclear.”
Courtney Love Has ‘Never Seen That Film’
At the time, Edward Norton, who starred in Fight Club alongside Brad Pitt, was dating Courtney Love. He informed her about her firing and as she told Marc Maron, he was disappointed to learn about it. To quote her:
“Edward gets home, he starts sobbing – his mother had just died, so it was very much allowed – but he was like, ‘I don’t have the power!’”
Love further claimed that David Fincher had called her and told her she was no longer a part of the movie.
“My landline rang, and it was David Fincher. I knew it was gonna be him. By the way, God bless Helena Bonham Carter. She’s a genius. I’ve never seen that film … And yeah, he fired me because I wouldn’t let Brad play Kurt.”
Well, Love did attend an audition for the role in Fight Club, but according to a source close to the project, she was not given the part. The source continued (via Variety):
“You cannot be fired for a job you did not get. It’s common knowledge that roles are not decided by other actors but by the director.”
The movie received mixed reviews from critics and was underwhelmed on its opening weekend at the box office. But it ultimately proved profitable and gained a reputation as a cherished cult classic after being released on home video.
Source- WTF Podcast with Marc Maron
