To commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the release of Fight Club, one of the most provocative major motion pictures of the past decade, the savagely witty Guy Movie Hall of Fame winner (Spike TV) is finally making it’s debut on Blu-ray — with the blood and bruises looking more brutal in 1080dpi than they did on the big screen and packed with a ton of original and new bonus features. In our own homage to this classic man’s movie, I opened up my Top Secret files on Tyler Durden and the Fight Club to resurrect my October 1999 interview with Brad Pitt, who offered up his thoughts on his soon-to-be-released cinematic legend that would hit theaters a couple of weeks later. You’ll find that interview, plus this week in home video, after the jump.
Pitt shared top-billing with Edward Norton in Fight Club (based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk and directed by the legendary filmmaker David Fincher), and the dynamic duo played characters who bond over a mutual disgust for corporate hypocrisy and find release in an eccentric, shocking new form of therapy — Fight Club. Pre-Angelina, long before becoming a pappa to a troupe of cross-cultural kids, and on the road to being transformed into the biggest movie star on the planet, Brad and I hung out in his LA hotel suite to talk, joke and argue about life, fame and Fight Club. In these select highlights from our conversation, Brad offered up his thoughts on the film’s extreme violence, its alleged homoerotic overtones and the possibility of real-life, copycat fight clubs, as well as his thoughts on marriage, being a man and working with David Fincher and how he blows off his bottled-up rage.
You are a millionaire in real life, but in the film you are playing a guy who is trying to do away with the trappings.
“I loved the irony of it. Because, this whole success thing for me was like winning the lottery in a sense.”
Does Fight Club advocate real fighting?
“In no way does this film say that you should take your aggression out on other people as a means of solving your problems. I think the Fight Club is a metaphor making the radical gesture of stripping yourself of your own fears. It asks, ‘Why have you sequestered yourself off? Why are you hiding out?’ It’s about people who feel disenfranchised and want to shake-up their own world.”
Fight Club is a very violent film coming on the heels of some very violent events. What do you think about the violence in Columbine?
“I might get slaughtered for saying this, but I question whether there was — not a positive excitement — but an excitement about something that had gone done, that broke out of the monotony and the boredom. Whenever there is a tragedy…”
The media has really picked up on the violence in the movie and are using it in headlines…
“It’s an easy angle. A lot of people haven’t even seen the movie. That just seems like lazy journalism to me.”
Do you think that real fight clubs will start up because of the film?
“Maybe.”
The violence in the film might give way to copycats.
“What should we do? Burn the White Album right now because Charles Manson liked it? Forget about Taxi Driver or Dr. Strangelove. Any movie that’s ever been called dangerous or radical is now a cultural landmark.”
How do you think most people think?
“Let’s keep things bright and shiny. Touched By An Angel, God bless it. Did you know that we are guest starring in that soon? Ed [Norton] and I are going on it together.”
Would you feel responsible if any fight clubs started up because of the movie?
“If a fight club started up, no I wouldn’t feel responsible. Those people are responsible for what they do. But what would bother me that the point was misinterpreted. That people went out and bashed somebody to exorcise their rage. It’s about taking a punch, not giving them out. And how would you survive? So, if they popped up, it wouldn’t surprise me, because nothing surprises me. I would not join one, let me tell you that much.”
Why do you get along with Ed Norton so well?
“We’re strictly lovers, it’s all a sexual attraction.” [Laughs]
You jokingly mention that you and Ed are lovers…
“No, I wasn’t joking.”
Well, some people have called Fight Club homoerotic.
“I never saw it as homoerotic.”
So, you didn’t see any homoerotic overtones in the film?
“I just didn’t see it that way. I know that some people have taken it that way. And, that’s fine with me, it doesn’t mean anything to me. But, a lot of that comes from the line, ‘We are a generation of men raised by women. I’m wondering if another woman is really the answer we need’ My interpretation of that line is always, ‘We’re so fucked-up. We’re looking at a brick wall. We’ve hot to sort ourselves out before we can take in the responsibility of another person and expect to live happily ever after – all that bullshit.’ We’ve got to figure out ourselves first, and then, we can find a partner down the road. We’ve got to stop listening to all those preconceived notions of go to college, get a job and then, get married.”
What are the tennets of Fight Club?
“We talked about the tennets of the movie, which I found interesting. One of the tenants states ‘Kill your parents, kill your god, kill your teacher.’ Define your own ideology. And, it’s not saying we have to murder or kill. Take from them what works for you and then move on.
What is a man?
“Is man defined by his car, the clothes he wears or his job? Who knows?”
What should audiences take from Fight Club? Should people got out punching each other in the lobby?
“Do you want me to say ‘Yes’ to that? Of course not. My feeling is that this thing is so dense and so loaded with ideas and ideology. I just want people to have their interpretation. I don’t want to dictate.”
You’ve got marks all over your knuckles, so are you still fighting?
“That’s because Edward and I just can’t give it up. We had a little round this morning.”
Your generation has been dismissed because of lacking direction, but you guys are not slackers.
“I’m so tired of reading that my generation has no direction. We’re not angst-ridden slackers. We have real despair and paralysis.”
Is this something you think about a lot?
“Oh yeah. We talked a lot about how we were the first generation to be raised on television and what that means is a bombardment of advertisements, which means a selling of a lifestyle. So, it’s more of a no sense of direction. Our ideals in my generation are if you can work yourself up to a place, you will have this car and drink this brand of beer and go to these places, restaurants and have this kind of woman. Again, you’re dealing with image, like that can give you some sort of spiritual happiness.”
You have it all Brad, aren’t you spiritually happy?
“Well, you see, that’s the thing. No one wants to hear from me that I’m not happy. [Laughs] There is a definite freedom with money. No question. I do wish everyone could have that freedom. It’s also a distraction. What you do learn – and this is why so many people who have made it check out or can’t carry on – is that you ask yourself, ‘Now, what do I do?’ You’re stuck with yourself. These things don’t add up to much. You’re still waking up the same and going to bed the same.”
So what do you think of our culture?
“The point is that we have become spectators. Did you see the Emmys the other night? You can actually order an actor’s wardrobe and whatever the cast of a show is wearing. It’s a little frightening that we live in this QVC culture where people are accustomed to sitting on a couch and watching other people live a life. We don’t get in there and participate. The rage comes from sequestering ourselves.”
What do you do to get out your rage?
“I won’t say there is one form of release. I don’t kick box or do martial arts. I sing. I’ll turn up the music real loud. I also love traffic. Traffic is this great form – as long as guns aren’t involved – but traffic is this great way of getting out your frustrations. You can yell at someone and someone will yell back at you. You can get it out that way. You can also see someone who wants to get in the lane and you can let them in the lane and be a nice guy.”
You do that?
“There’s a code there that goes on that’s pretty funny. I’m screaming, ‘That guy did cut me off!’” [Laughs]
What is harder to do, a fight or love scene?
“It’s harder to gear up for a love scene than a fight scene.”
What do you think of Tyler Durden’s message in the movie?
“I never took it as all bad. It’s a positive Tony Robbins, at times. It’s about making a connection.”
Do you believe in marriage?
“Of course, I do believe in marriage. But, the characters in this movie — I think before you get married, you’ve got to figure out your major malfunctions first before you take on that next step.”
Do you think it take guys longer to decide to get married?
“That, I can’t tell you, because I’m a guy. But, we grow up with these other ideals which the movie lightly touches on. You always hear about how true love conquers all and two become one and all that shit. It just doesn’t turn out to be true.”
So two will never become one?
“Two will never become one. Only if you lose yourself completely. Two become two.”
Tyler asks, “What do you want to be like?” And if you ask most guys who they would want to be like, they are liable to say Brad Pitt.
“Perversion of baggage. That was more dealing with the projection and the image out there – good and bad – than me, myself, because I’ve never felt a part of that.”
With Fight Club, as with his previous movies, David Fincher seems to be the new wave of filmmaking.
“I think he is one of the guys leading the pack. He’s out there, really pushing the medium. I certainly feel like Fincher is picking up where Kubrick left off. And, this thing that he created here is extraordinary beyond any of our hopes. You always set out with an image of what this could be and this film exceeded all of our expectations…Fight Club, on a directorial level, is going to be studied, because there are so many groundbreaking things he achieved. He would even put product placement and put them in really violent scenes. There’s these little subliminal things that make the film brilliant.”
Do you really feel like there’s a male crisis over the masculine ego becoming obsolete in modern society?
“There are things that are very specific to the males feeling somewhat emasculated by modern society. We are not hunter/gatherers anymore, we are just consumers. We’ve become receivers. We’ve gone from having a proactive role to being people who have to distinguish what sofas or comforters we want. Or we worry about whether the wallpaper pattern matches the paint.”
So you expect there to be some people offended by Fight Club?
“There are going to be people that are going to be offended and will come up with some really relevant ideas. But, I expect that. I mean, if you make a movie like this and don’t irritate somebody, then you’ve done something wrong. It’s an indictment of what a lot of people embrace. We had fun with questioning some people’s value systems and have come to a point where they are happily entrenched with them. I’d be nervous if everyone was going, ‘Oh, it was lovely.’”
What was doing the sex scene with Helena Bonham Carter like?
“When you look through the cracks and see all the shadows, we were literally doing gymnastics, we were just jumping on the bed.”
Did you and Edward ever talk about switching roles and playing the opposite character? Could he have been your Tyler Durden?
“It was never mentioned, but I always thought that we could have been switched, easily.”
You’re a rich actor in a movie being put out by a big corporation. There is a line in Fight Club where you say, “People think that they become stars, but they are starting to figure out that they can’t.”
“I don’t think there is anything in the fact that I’m an actor that invalidates my participation in a movie with this theme.”
Is the movie pro-anarchy?
“The film is not a literal anarchist handbook. It’s saying that we are hitting a wall going in this direction, so, what if we turn around the other way and see where it takes us. It may not be right, but I know the one I’m going in isn’t working.”
Did you break any bones during the fight scenes?
“There were no broken bones, just a few bruised ribs.”
Was it hard to shake the character of Tyler at the end of the day?
“No, not at all. But I’ve never understood that kind of acting. I mean, I’ve heard the stories about James Dean not knowing who he was when a movie ended. It’s symbiotic with my personal life in the sense that you are investigating these things, and, of course, you apply it to yourself. It’s just a gradual evolution of yourself, I feel like.”
Did you feel a personal evolution from doing Fight Club?
“Absolutely, but I would say that with every film I do. Every step you take is an evolution.”
Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Bonus Features: Commentary by David Fincher, Chuck Palahniuk, Brad Pitt, Ed Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, writer Jim Uhis, tech commentary with Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenweth, Michael Kaplan and Kevin Huag, seven deleted scenes, a music video, photo gallery, alternate scenes, Trailers, Internet and TV spots, PSA, Promotional galleries, Behind-the-scenes vignettes, “Welcome To Fight Club” featurette, and the two all-new interactive featurettes — “A Hit In The Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club” and “Insomniac Mode: I Am Jack’s Search Index,” and Fincher, Pitt and Norton at SPIKE TV’S 2009 GUYS CHOICE Awards.
Thirst
While many of the latest movie and TV hits are playing fast and loose with traditional vampire lore, this Chinese horror cult classic pays homage to traditional vampire legend while mixing in a compellingly original storyline. Thirst focuses on a devout priest whose life is saved by a blood transfusion that just so happens to turn him into a vampire. This man of God struggles to keep his insatiable desire for blood under control until an unexpected love affair unleashes his darkest desires in deadly ways. An almost operatic look at bloodlust, Thirst takes the vampire legend to shocking new levels.
Limits of Control
Filmmaking auteur Jim Jarmusch, the indie king of such cult classics as Broken Flowers, Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, Year of the Horse, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and Coffee and Cigarettes, directs an all-star international ensemble cast including Isaach De Bankolé, Gael Garcia Bernal, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray in a sexy thriller about a mysterious loner (Bankolé) with a dodgy past and precarious future. Utilizing the striking and varied landscapes of contemporary Spain (both urban and otherwise), the stranger takes on his activities while remaining meticulously outside the law. Bonus Features: “Behind Jim Jarmusch” documentary and “Untitled Landscapes” featurette.
Brüno
In this jaw-dropping comedy, audiences follow Brüno (after losing his European TV fashion show “Funkyzeit”) as he searches for fame and fortune in America, ensnaring everyone he meets in hilariously unpredictable, unscripted and unsuspecting ways. Brüno fearlessly tramples the boundaries of good taste in ways that confound celebrities (including Bono, Chris Martin, Paula Abdul, LaToya Jackson, Snoop Dog, Slash, Sting) and just plain folks alike. (Also on DVD) Blu-ray Bonus Features: An hour of exclusive footage of deleted, alternate and extended scenes not shown in theaters, commentary by Sasha Baron Cohen & director Larry Charles, an interview with Brüno’s real Hollywood agent Lloyd Robinson and BD-LIVE!
Wild Child
In her final big screen performance, the late Natasha Richardson portrays the headmistress of an English boarding school. In the Nick Moore-directed film, Richardson attempts to teach a rich, out-of-control, spoiled, “wild child” — 16-year-old Beverly Hills diva Poppy (Emma Roberts) — how to act like a young lady after she is sent to the school when her dad (Aidan Quinn) has had enough of her behavior. Bonus Features: Deleted scenes, three featurettes and more.
7th Heaven: Season 9
One of the highest rated shows on The WB Network, this family drama and part time comedy, touched viewers of all ages as it chronicled the goings on in the Camden’s household that includes a minister (Stephen Collins), his wife, Camden (Catherine Hicks) and their seven children. One of Aaron Spelling’s final series as a producer, 7th Heaven is filled with loads of drama, romance and heartbreak. Bonus Feature: The all-singing, all-dancing musical episode.
The Best Of Star Trek: The Original Series Volume 2 • The Best Of Star Trek: The Next Generation Volume 2
The Best Of Star Trek: The Original Series Volume 2 features four of the series’ most memorable episodes including “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the series’ second pilot episode where audiences meet Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Scotty (James Doohan) and Sulu (George Takei); “Journey to Babel,” that introduces Spock’s parents, Sarek and Amanda; “Space Seed”, in which the crew discovers the ancient war criminal Khan Noonien Singh; and “A Piece of the Action,” the time travel episode where the crew visits a planet with an Earth-like, violent, 1920s gangster culture. • The Best Of Star Trek: The Next Generation Volume 2, the long-awaited successor to the original series and set in the 24th century, follows the all-new Enterprise crew under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Volume 2 features episodes including “Relics,” starring James Doohan reprising his role as Montgomery Scott; “The Inner Light,” one of the official Star Trek website’s highest-rated episodes of all the Star Trek series; “Cause and Effect,” guest starring Kelsey Grammer; and “Tapestry,” which delves into Picard’s back story and lays all his secrets bare.
The Canyon
In this life or death thriller, newlyweds Nick (Eion Bailey from Fight Club) and Lori (Yvonne Strahovski, the FBI babe on Chuck) decide to celebrate their honeymoon at the scenic and wild Grand Canyon. However, their dream honeymoon quickly turns into a horrendous nightmare as Henry, a mysterious tour guide, leads them off the trail and tragedy strikes. The couple soon discover they have become human prey and are being hunted by an unknown madman. Bonus Features: Deleted scenes, Yvonne Strahovski Casting Session and two featurettes.
Is Anybody There?
From the producers of Harry Potter, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen and Revolutionary Road comes a film sure to transcend generations. In his latest film, Is Anybody There, 76-year-old Oscar-winning British actor (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite and knighted “Sir” by the Her Royal Highness) portrays an aging magician who befriends Ed, a young boy (Bill Milner) after being dumped at a retirement home run by the kid’s family. While Ed’s mother struggles to keep the family business from failing and his father is forced to deal with the onset of a mid-life crisis, there is little time left for the young boy. Ed’s is a lonely boy until he meets Clarence (Caine), a man who refuses to go quietly into to old age. The two strike up an unlikely friendship which helps them both remember that magic is possible when life is lived to its fullest. Bonus Feature: Deleted scene.
Humpday
The winner of The Special Jury Prize at 2009’s Sundance Film Festival, Humpday is the amusing story of two old friends who have dared themselves into the biggest life changing dare of their lives. It’s been over ten years since Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. When Andrew unexpectedly appears on Ben’s doorstep, they quickly adopt their their old dynamic bad habit of macho one-upmanship. However, at a wild party, they swear to follow through on a mutual dare to enter an amateur porn contest. The twist, the two straight males decide they will have sex, with each other, on camera. As the longtime pals see it, it’s not gay and it’s not porn — it’s all about art and artistic expression. There is nothing standing in their way to enter the contest, except Ben’s wife Anna, heterosexuality, and certain mechanical questions. Written and directed by Lynn Shelton, Humpday skillfully mines the biggest ironies of the male ego and uses witty and smart insight into the paradoxical psyche of the contemporary male.
NOW ON BLU-RAY
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas
Pop open the cheapest bottle of champagne (or even beer) and make a toast to the most deviant, offensive and unwholesome bar owners in Philly as they celebrate the holidays in the raunchiest way possible in the new never-before-seen It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas. Starring creators and writers Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day, as well as comedy legend Danny Devito (Taxi) and fan-favorite Kaitlin Olsen, the hysterical comedy series is one of the most obscene hilarious shows on television. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia combines crude humor with brilliantly unwholesome commentary while touching on highly controversial topics such as politics, abortion and terrorism. In this holiday special, Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Frank and Dee spread their Christmas spirit with inappropriate childhood videos, a bloody encounter with Santa Claus and all the over-the-top, twisted and politically incorrect behavior the city of brotherly love can handle. (Also on DVD) Bonus Features: “Young Charlie & Young Mac: Deleted Scenes, Dad, Dogs & Bird videos, Behind the Scenes/Making Of featurette and Sunny Sing-A-Long.
Rome: The Complete Series
This 10-Disc Blu-ray collection, featuring all 22 Episodes from the richly layered and visually stunning two seasons of Rome, is a must-have for fans of the epic series. Rome: The Complete Series takes a look at Roman history and the building of the Empire through the eyes of two ordinary soldiers whose fate is entwined with that of the city itself. The series chronicles the turbulent era that saw the fall of the Republic and the creation of an empire. This set the stage for “modern” politics – infighting, corruption and party lines – with everyone from provincial commoners and soldiers to aristocrats and leaders of the Republic – struggling for social mobility and preservation of place in society. With prominent historical figures like Julius Caesar, Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Rome brings the ancient empire to life in intensely personal terms. (Also on DVD). Bonus Features: “All Roads Lead to Rome” and “Bloodlines” interactive on-screen guides, extensive photo gallery, 13 revealing audio commentaries from cast and crew, 4 featurettes that examine the history of Rome and several of its more famous citizens, 3 behind-the-scenes featurettes that explore the expansive production and 2 featurettes that detail the creation of pivotal scenes.
Kevin Smith Box Set
One of the most innovative and hilarious independent writer/directors of our generation is celebrated with this Blu-ray collection containing three of the earliest (and arguably, best) films of his career — Clerks, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back and Chasing Amy. Clerks Bonus Features: “Oh, What A Lovely Tea Party: The Making Of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” featurette, introduction by Kevin Smith, Original DVD Bonus Features: Classic Commentary, Enhanced Playback Track; Intro To The First Cut 2004 Commentary, 2004 Commentary (with New Authoring); Clerks Lost Scene, Animated Short, MTV Spots With Jay & Silent Bob, Theatrical Trailer; Soul Asylum’s “Can’t Even Tell” Music Video, Clerks Restoration; Original Auditions; Snowball Effect, Outtakes From Snowball Effect, Mae Day: The Crumbling Of A Documentary With Intro By Kevin Smith And Scott Mosier, and 10th Anniversary Q&A. Chasing Amy: “Tracing Amy: The Chasing Amy Doc” and “Was It Something I Said?” featurettes, 10 Years later Q&A, Audio Commentary with Smith and Producer Scott Mosier and Original DVD Bonus Features: Deleted Scenes, Outtakes and Trailer. Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back: Audio Commentary with Smith, Mosier & Jason Mewes; Deleted Scenes with Intros by Smith & Guests; “The Secret Stash” with Intro, Gag Reel with Intro, Internet Trailers with Intro, TV Spots, Stills Galleries, Behind the Scene featurette; Music Videos — Morris Day and the Time’s “Learnin the Moves,” Afroman “I Get High,” Stroke 9 “Kick Some Ass,” Comedy Central’s Reel Comedy, Cast and Crew Filmographies, Guide to Morris Day and The Time (Still Frames), Storyboards and more!
