The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. Maybe writing about the movie Fight Club is alright, though. The 1999 film starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt is considered by many to be a cult classic masterpiece. The film’s theme focuses on the role of consumerism and commercialism in our everyday lives, and how we are shaped by these forces.
In a nod to that theme, director David Fincher intentionally placed a Starbucks cup in just about every scene of the movie. In an interview with Empire magazine, Fincher explained that this artistic decision served as a way of showing the pervasive presence of commercialism.
Fincher remembers how successful Starbucks was when the company first arrived in Los Angeles, with seemingly two or three stores on every block. While he has no personal grudge against Starbucks, he believes that the future becomes bleak when one company can monopolize an entire industry to such an extent. “I think they’re trying to do a good thing. They’re just too successful,” Fincher told Empire.
Starbucks didn’t mind being used in the film. “Starbucks read the script, they knew what we were doing, and they were kind of ready to poke a little fun at themselves,” Fincher said. However, although the company was willing to let Fincher display their coffee cups in nearly every scene, they understandably wouldn't allow him to use their name on the coffee shop that gets destroyed in the film.
Let's talk about Fight Club:
- Brad Pitt purposely had his front teeth chipped by a dentist for his role in Fight Club.
- Brad Pitt’s character uses fake aliases as he attends support group meetings, all of which are the names of film characters portrayed by Robert DeNiro.
- Edward Norton and Brad Pitt attended soap-making classes at the California boutique Auntie Godmother for their soap-making scenes in Fight Club.