Brad Pitt knew his greatest movie when he starred in it, even if audiences hated it
One person’s trash can often be another’s treasure, a sentiment Brad Pitt took to heart when the movie he called the best he’d ever made generated a reaction from audiences that could generously be described as somewhat detestable.
Art is subjective and entirely within the eye of the beholder, so the actor was well within his rights to go against the grain. It was also very helpful that he wasn’t far off the mark, either, even if the first crop of viewers exposed to a film that would eventually gain classic status weren’t of a similar mind.
Since he finally managed to shake off his pretty boy image and find himself taken seriously as an actor, Pitt has always favoured a risk or two. Because he’s Brad Pitt, he knows that a couple of smaller-scale passion projects aren’t going to affect his stardom in the grand scheme of things, which gives him the leeway to stretch himself when he’s not relying on his megawatt charm and superstar charisma to put butts in seats.
After finding a kindred spirit in David Fincher when they first worked together on Seven, it was only a matter of time before they collaborated again. There was a sense of irony to be found, however, with Pitt on the hunt for commercial success after his previous film, Meet Joe Black, had underperformed.
Studio 20th Century Fox also believed Fight Club would fare better at the box office with a major name attached, so Pitt was paid a handsome $17.5 million for his efforts. The end result was a withering takedown of consumerism and toxic masculinity, albeit one that didn’t live up to expectations in terms of ticket sales and struggled to gain a foothold in the public consciousness until after its theatrical run.
Of course, the movie is now regarded as one the best Pitt and Fincher have ever been involved with, vindicating his bulletproof optimism. During the world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, though, the response was muted. The leading man recalled to The Ringer how “the guy running the festival got up and left,” while Edward Norton admitted “it got booed” by those in attendance.
Fortunately, that didn’t knock Pitt’s confidence, after he told his co-star, “That’s the best movie I’m ever going to be in.” Negativity be damned, the A-lister was sure that Fight Club was the highlight of his career thus far, even if that would have placed him firmly among the minority given the incessant booing and walkouts that greeted Fincher’s acerbic assault on modern society the first time it was screened to the public.
In Pitt’s mind, he’d never been in anything better than Fight Club, and he couldn’t have cared less that those around him made it vocally clear they disagreed.
