Former Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO Bill Mechanic recently spoke to Business Insider to commemorate the 4K re-release of David Fincher’s “Fight Club,” the disastrous box office hit that led to Mechanic’s departure in the fall of 1999. He was Fox’s studio boss from 1994 to 2000, overseeing hits such as Die Hard: Revenge, Independence Day, and Titanic, all of which were the highest-grossing films of their respective years.
However, according to the mechanic, he was unable to make fans of Rupert Murdoch. At the time, Fox was owned by Mr. Murdoch’s news unit. Mr. Mechanic argued that Mr. Murdoch had made his film studio similar to Page Six (which Mr. Murdoch also owned), favoring flashy films over art-driven projects.
“He didn’t think movies existed to be a challenge,” the mechanic said of his boss.
If Murdoch didn’t want to be challenged, there’s no way he would like Fincher’s Fight Club. The film, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk and starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, reportedly infuriated Murdoch with Fincher’s dark and violent vision. The mechanic remembered joining a news unit. In the meeting, “[Rupert]went on the attack. And he said, ‘What kind of sick asshole would make a movie like this?’ I said, “It’s me.” David Fincher. We are not ashamed. ”
“I knew he hadn’t seen the movie yet,” the mechanic added. “That’s probably the relationship when he wanted to get rid of me.”
Mechanic said his troubled relationship with Murdoci was one of the reasons he asked director Fincher if he could include Fox Plaza Tower in the film’s final shot, which depicts the bomb that explodes across the skyline at the end of “Fight Club.”
“David took me through a series of scenes, and I think I was in the actual building talking to him, and I asked David if he could put the Fox building in there as a memorial to Rupert,” the mechanic said. “I realize now that I worked for the wrong person. I think I let them make a movie that shouldn’t have been made. I have to pay for it.”
Variety has contacted Murdoch’s representatives for comment.
“Fight Club” was a huge hit from the beginning, but it wasn’t until it was released on DVD that it became a cult classic. After “Fight Club,” The Mechanic was hit by other failures, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The Beach.” He left Fox in June 2000, a month before the first “X-Men” movie was released in theaters, leaving the studio with one of its biggest franchises. But Mechanic said his bosses thought “X-Men” would be a disaster, and he believes that contributed to his demise at the studio.
“They looked at it and thought, this is a disaster. Why would anyone make a movie out of Marvel Comics?” he said.
Visit Business Insider’s website to read the full “Fight Club” interview with Mechanic.
