1999 is largely regarded as one of the
most important film years in recent memory. It included massive films that
warmed the heart and soothed the head, as well as a few masterpieces that fell
short. Fight Club is simply one of several films in this genre. However, the
year 1999 demonstrated that we, the audience, understood what was going on. We
were cool. We made The Matrix a cult classic. We were on the verge of making
The Talented Mr. Ripley a $100 million film. We loved The Green Mile and Toy
Story 2, and Fight Club felt like a necessary
addition to the mix to keep things balanced.
Here's what sets Fight Club apart from
the other films that didn't make the cut.
First and foremost, studio executives
were perplexed when the film based on the violent and morally ambiguous novel
turned out to be vicious and morally ambiguous, despite the fact that the
picture was shot on a very large budget of over $60,000,000. It's almost as if
no one knew about the project until it was too late. In some ways, this is good
for the viewer since a film like Fight Club will never be created unless some
truly powerful talent plays hardball and certain gatekeepers fall asleep at the
wheel. When the video was shown to executives, they were taken aback and unable
to comprehend the monster they'd created.
After their first viewing of the
picture, the studio (20th Century Fox) developed cold feet. David Fincher had a
very particular concept for how the film should be promoted. The marketing was
adjusted to be more enigmatic and oblique, emphasising on the action and
faux-cool dialogue rather than the film's true theme. The marketing, on
the other hand, was still really cool. It promoted a picture that was not
Fincher's, but in a way, it's in keeping with the film's deceptive character.
Ficher's soap-based marketing was brilliant, as was the concept of marketing
the picture to UFC and wrestling enthusiasts, the exact opposite demographic
that the film and novel were aiming at.
Due to poor preparation and
communication behind the scenes, the film was lost at sea. A picture with that
kind of funding deserved a high-profile release date. The initial goal was to
start in July of 1999 . In that
slot, it could serve as counterprogramming to the action films and also
maximize the college and high school kids being on Summer break and tap its key
audience. Because of the film's anarchist undertone, the Columbine
Massacre was mentioned. The picture was eventually given an October 15th
release date, which is the cinematic equivalent of being given a pocket knife
before a gunfight. Fight Club was deprived of all of the resources it required
to thrive, and as a result, its domestic box office performance was
disappointing.
Fight Club was a difficult,
time-consuming project. When you think about it, it's a perfect fit. The film
isn't entirely tame by today's standards, but it's also not quite as violent
as it appeared in 1999. Many projects (such as Mr. Robot from the United
States) owe a tremendous homage to David Fincher's peculiar masterwork.
IMAGE REFERENCES
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/976546eb87bbb07c57273b06340349877ad45f07/10_0_1728_1037/master/1728.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=86fdcae373f6b619d3e5bf54387b2116
https://cdn.onebauer.media/one/media/620a/7ef3/4a7c/a965/ef5d/7eca/fight-club-ending.jpg?format=jpg&quality=80&width=1400&ratio=16-9&resize=aspectfill
https://www.yardbarker.com/media/a/3/a3bc60ada3444f3bd56c4e4bbc9bc88dac831170/600_wide/norton-pitt-went-method-one-scene.jpg
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment