Although “Fight Club” has a good share of cursing, sex and violence, the studio was generally fine with the film. Except there was one scene that studio brass took umbrage with.
In the original script, Marla and Tyler are lying in bed, post-coitus. Marla says, “I want to have your abortion.”
Fox wasn’t having it.
“[T]hey didn’t want to get into the whole religious right thing. I mean, this movie is the poster child for movies that should be picketed,” said Fincher. The studio begged him to change it, and Fincher agreed, but only on the condition that he wouldn’t change it again.
Fox agreed. Apparently the studio thought it couldn’t get any worse. It did.
In the final cut, Marla gazes at the ceiling and announces, “I haven’t been f***** like that since grade school.”
The line was upsetting enough that, during the world premiere of “Fight Club” at the Venice Film Festival, the guy running the event got up and left.
The line made Pitt and Norton crack up.
“Edward and I were still the only ones laughing. You could hear two idiots up in the balcony cackling through the whole thing,” said Pitt.