The studio wanted Matt Damon or Sean Penn for the narrator while Fincher wanted Norton; Norton was also up for The Talented Mr. Ripley, Man on the Moon and Runaway Jury in a casting merry-go-round.
An alternate universe where Damon does Fight Club and Norton does The Talented Mr. Ripley is fun to imagine, though Damon's Ripley is one of his best roles.
Norton and Damon competed for The Rainmaker, Coppola steered Norton to American History X, and Damon has said he was devastated to miss Primal Fear; Scent of a Woman went to Chris O'Donnell.
Damon brings relatability and Norton a cerebral quality; Damon could have played either part, Pitt only Tyler, and Norton not Tyler.
Leo was a little young post-Titanic but this would have been his dream part a few years later; Pitt's casting works because he is who guys daydreamed of being.
David O. Russell was approached to direct and declined; one producer wanted Russell Crowe as Tyler, but senior producer Linson wanted Pitt.
Crowe was about to go on his Gladiator-Insider-Beautiful Mind run and would have crushed the part with an Aussie hooligan authenticity, though Pitt is still preferred.
Fincher's first choice for Marla was Janine Garofalo; she reportedly accepted, then was dropped as not right for the role at Norton's urging, framed as the birth of the behind-the-scenes Norton monster.
Per Variety, Sarah Michelle Geller was sought but was doing Buffy; the studio wanted Reese Witherspoon, whom Fincher thought too young, and then Courtney Love, who was dating Norton, before landing on Bonham Carter.
Marla is said to have Courtney Love meets Joan Crawford energy, leading to a tangent about loving the band's 90s songs.
Fincher wanted Radiohead to score the film; it would have been eerier and more somber than the Dust Brothers' electronic score, not necessarily better, though the movie needs the Dust Brothers' energy.
Norton worked 129 days on the film, over four months.
Julie Louis Dreyfus and Winona Ryder as Marla candidates from the research are doubted as made-up IMDb trivia.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 00:48:26Read transcript

Ebert gave the film two stars, calling it visceral and hard-edged, a thrill ride masquerading as philosophy, and was disappointed a promising first act pandered to macho sensibilities and trickery.
He later acknowledged the film was beloved by most, not by him; the hosts are not surprised, since the second half turned many stomachs, especially the Jared Leto scene.

Recasting Couch

Reese Witherspoon as Marla

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:14:59Read transcript

Reese Witherspoon as Marla is revisited; she reportedly turned it down, and it is the part she was always wanted for, as hinted by Freeway.
She would definitely have been Oscar-nominated.
Angelina Jolie is floated, leading to sliding-doors jokes about the Aniston-Jolie triangle, but the preference returns to Witherspoon.
She is a little young, but at that stage she would have fully committed to escape the teen-star image, unlike Wild.

Pitt's chipped teeth; ear prosthetic; Meat Loaf's fat harness; misfired $20 million marketing; Rosie O'Donnell forgiven on commentary; EW's top DVD; Norton smoking; Starbucks refusal; UFC tapes; orgasm recordings; replaced abortion line; salary gap

In the discussion (12)

Approx. transcript time · 01:17:39Read transcript

Pitt had pieces of his front teeth chipped off for the role and restored after filming.
The makeup artist studied mixed martial arts on pay-per-view and designed an extra ear, inspired by Tyson-Holyfield.
Meatloaf wore a 90-pound fat harness, and reportedly eight-inch lifts in scenes with Norton, which is doubted.
Fox marketing executives ran a $20 million campaign selling it as a fight movie rather than a smart one.
On the DVD commentary Pitt called Rosie O'Donnell's actions forgivable.
Entertainment Weekly's 2001 list of 50 essential DVDs ranked it first; Boogie Nights would be the choice for greatest DVD.
Norton refused to smoke in Rounders but smoked here.
Starbucks allowed product placement but not the coffee-shop destruction, hence the renamed shop.
Fincher and the cast studied UFC tapes.
Pitt and Bonham Carter spent three days recording orgasm sounds.
Laura Ziskin made Fincher cut Marla's abortion line; he agreed on condition she could not veto the replacement, the grade-school line.
Pitt was paid $17.5 million and Norton $2.5 million.

Picking Nits

Too little facial damage; mismatched Tyler injuries; Marla staying; police inaction

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:24:58Read transcript

There should be far more facial damage, such as broken orbital bones leaving double vision.
Tyler's face damage does not match the narrator's; the twist is less important than The Sixth Sense's.
Why Marla stays with this maniac is questioned, as is what she does besides stealing laundromat clothes to sell.
Police do not shut down the house, though cops are in the fight clubs and Project Mayhem.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Narrator's name is Jack; anti-hero origins; MMA ruining Fight Club; Fight Club doping; Reddit and Twitter replacing Fight Club; NBA players in Fight Club; Tyler Durden cult of personality

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:26:21Read transcript

The narrator's name is considered answered as Jack, per the original screenplay, Norton's commentary and press materials.
The movie did not create the anti-hero, since most viewers see Norton's character as a nice guy.
MMA training would have ruined Fight Club by 2004, with chokes replacing punches; a doping controversy and a Players' Tribune retirement are joked about.
Reddit and Twitter absorbed the space for cultish devotion and anonymous fighting.
Famous players could join; Kevin Durant, Kyrie, Bobby Portis and a Balkan fight club are joked about.
The Trump-Tyler Durden cult-of-personality parallel: tapping loneliness and offering an alternate path that leads nowhere.