Courtney Love has revealed that she was officially cast as Marla Singer alongside Brad Pitt and then-boyfriend Edward Norton in David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club.
However, around the same time, Brad Pitt and director Gus Van Sant pitched their Kurt Cobain movie idea to him. After turning down the biopic, the singer was fired from Fight Club. And for her, it’s no coincidence.
“They both phoned and it was like the mouth of hell had opened up, oh my. “We want to make a film regarding Kurt”. Twenty-two years later, I still blame myself for not having the shark instinct to say ‘Sure’ and fuck off later,” she said when appearing on the WTF podcast with Mark Maroon.
“Edward (Norton) comes home, he starts sobbing… And he thinks he has no power. My landline rang, it was David Fincher. And I knew it was going to be him…And he fired me because I wouldn’t let Brad play Kurt.”
Courtney Love said she had never seen Fight Club but thought her replacement, Helena Boham Crater, was a “genius”.
Regarding David Fincher and Brad Pitt’s Kurt Cobain biopic idea, the Hole singer made it clear that their idea was separate from Last Days, Gus Van Sant’s 2005 film inspired by the Nirvana frontman, who died in 1994. at the age of 27.
She added that Brad Pitt had not given up on his film project regarding her late husband and that she had a Zoom with him in 2020 because he wanted to produce a biopic through his company Plan B.
“My friend (director) Cameron Crowe, I don’t think he really meant it at the time, (but he said) ‘Brad Pitt was put on this Earth to hunt you down for Kurt’, which has been going on ever since 1996…”, commented Courtney Love.
Recalling her last refusal, she claimed to have replied to Brad Pitt: “I don’t know if I trust you and I don’t know if your films are for profit. They’re great social justice movies, but… If you don’t understand me, you don’t understand Kurt and I don’t think you do, Brad.”
Courtney Love said she wanted to make a film regarding her late husband but planned to work with other people.
