EXT. STREET IN FRONT OF BUILDING

Jack, gaping at the sight above him, absently gives the Cabbie money. The taxi pulls away. Jack starts toward the building. He pushes through the fray of people, into the...

INT. LOBBY

The DOORMAN sees Jack enter, gives a sad smile, shakes his head. Jack starts for the elevator.

DOORMAN: There's nothing up there.

Jack presses the button. The Doorman moves next to him.

D: You can't go into the unit. Police orders.

The elevator doors open. Jack hesitates. The doors close. Jack heads out the lobby doors. The Doorman follows...

EXT. CONDO BUILDING - CONTINUOUS

Jack walks past SMOKING, CHARRED DEBRIS -- a flash of ORANGE from the Yang table, a CLOCK FACE from the hall clock, part of an arm from the GREEN ARMCHAIR. His feet CRUNCH glass.

J(v): How embarrassing.

D: Do you have somebody you can call?

Jack comes to his REFRIGERATOR lying on its side. He reaches down and takes a note: "MARLA --" and a phone number, from under a BANANA MAGNET.

CLOSE SHOT - JACK'S STOVE

Hissing.

J(v): The police would later tell me that the pilot light might have gone out... letting out just a little bit of gas.

EXT. PAYPHONE - RESUMING

Jack gets to a PAYPHONE. The Doorman follows, watching him.

D: Lots of young people try to impress the world and buy too many things.

Jack picks up the receiver, puts in a quarter. He looks at Marla's number a long moment.

CLOSE SHOT - JACK'S ENTIRE CONDO - KITCHEN AND LIVING ROOM

The SOUND of the HISS...

J(v): The gas could have slowly filled the condo. Seventeen-hundred square feet with high ceilings, for days and days.

EXT. PAYPHONE - RESUMING

Jack replaces the receiver. He pockets Marla's number, digs out a small FILOFAX. He flips through the pages for phone numbers and addresses. Most of the pages are blank.

D: Many young people feel trapped and desperate.

INSERT - CLOSE ON THE BASE OF JACK'S REFRIGERATOR

J(v): Then, the refrigerator's compressor could have clicked on...

Click. KABOOM! SCREEN GOES WHITE.

EXT. PAYPHONE - RESUMING

Jack looks at the Doorman. Tyler's BUSINESS CARD falls from the Filofax. Jack catches it.

D: If you don't know what you want, you end up with a lot you don't.

The Doorman walks away. Jack stares at Tyler's card.

J(v): If you asked me now, I couldn't tell you why I called him.

Jack re-deposits the quarter, dials Tyler's number. It RINGS... and RINGS and RINGS. Jack sighs and hangs up the phone. A moment, then the phone RINGS.

J: Hello?

T(v): Who's this?

J: Tyler?

T(v): Who's this?

J: Uh... I'm sorry. We met on the plane. We had the same briefcase. I'm... you know, the clever guy.

T(v): Oh, yeah.

J: I just called a second ago. There was no answer. I'm at a payphone.

T(v): I star-sixty-nined you. I never pick up my phone. What's up?

J: Well... let me see... here's the thing...

EXT. LOU'S TAVERN - NIGHT

A small building in the middle of a concrete parking lot.

INT. LOU'S TAVERN - SAME

Jack and Tyler sit in the back, with a pitcher of BEER.

J: You buy furniture. You tell yourself: this is the last sofa I'll ever need. No matter what else happens, I've got the sofa issue handled. Then, the right set of dishes. The right dinette.

T: This is how we fill up our lives.

Tyler lights a cigarette.

J: I guess so.

T: And, now it's gone.

J: All gone.

Tyler offers cigarettes. Jack declines.

T: Could be worse. A woman could cut off your penis while you're asleep and toss it out the window of a moving car.

J: There's always that.

T: I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's a terrible tragedy.

J: ...no ...no ...

T: I mean, you did lose a lot of nice, neat little shit. The trendy paper lamps, the Euro-trash shelving unit, am I right?

Jack laughs, nods. He shakes his head, drinks.

T: But maybe, just maybe, you've been delivered.

J: (toasts) Delivered from Swedish furniture.

T: Delivered from armchairs in obscure green stripe patterns.

J: Delivered from Martha Stewart.

T: Delivered from bullshit colors like "Cobalt," "Ebony," and "Fuchsia."

They laugh together. Then, silence. They drink.

J: Insurance'll cover it.

T: Oh, yeah, you gotta start making the list.

J: What list?

T: The "now I get to go out and buy the exact same stuff all over again" list. That list.

J: I don't... think so.

T: This time maybe get a widescreen TV. You'll be occupied for weeks.

J: Well, I have to file a claim...

T: The things you own, they end up owning you.

J: Don't I?

T: Do what you like.

J: (looks at watch) God, it's late. I should find a hotel...

T: A hotel?

J: Yeah.

T: So, you called me up, because you just wanted to have a drink before you... go find a hotel?

J: I don't follow...

T: We're on our third pitcher of beer. Just ask me.

J: Huh?

T: You called me so you could have a place to stay.

J: No, I...

T: Why don't you cut the shit and ask if you can stay at my place?

J: Would that be a problem?

T: Is it a problem for you to ask?

J: Can I stay at your place?

T: Yes, you can.

J: Thank you.

T: You're welcome. But, I want you to do me one favor.

J: What's that?

T: I want you to hit me as hard as you can.

J: What?

T: I want you to hit me as hard as you can.

Freeze picture.

J(v): Let me tell you a little bit about Tyler Durden.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP - FILM FRAME

- And we see it's PORNOGRAPHY.

INT. PROJECTIONIST ROOM - THEATRE - NIGHT

Jack, in the foreground, FACES CAMERA. In the BACKGROUND, Tyler sits at a bench, looking at individual FRAMES cut from movies. Near him, a PROJECTOR rolls film.

Tyler was a night person. He sometimes worked as a projectionist. A movie doesn't come in one big reel, it's on a few. In old theaters, two projectors are used, so someone has to change projectors at the exact second when one reel ends and another reel begins. Sometimes you can see two dots on screen in the upper right hand corner...

Tyler points to the side of OUR FRAME and the TWO DOTS briefly APPEAR ONSCREEN.

T: They're called "cigarette burns."

J: It's called a "changeover." The movie goes on, and nobody in the audience has any idea.

T: Why would anyone want this shitty job?

J: It affords him other interesting opportunities.

T: - Like splicing single frames from adult movies into family films.

J: In reel three, right after the courageous dog and the snooty cag - who have celebrity voices - eat out of a garbage can, there's the flash of Tyler's contribution...

In the AUDIENCE, CHILDREN suddenly start squirming, confused, looking at each other.

A WOMAN abruptly stops sucking her soda straw, feeling vaguely terrible. Her uncomfortable HUSBAND slowly leans back in his seat.

Jack and Tyler watch from the projection booth window.

T: One-forty-eighth of a second. That's how long it's up there.

J: No one really knows that they've seen it. But they did.

T: A nice, big cock.

J: Only a hummingbird could have caught Tyler at work.

INT. LARGE BANQUET HALL - NIGHT

Tyler moves around one of many tables, setting down SOUP BOWLS. Jack stands in the same position, FACING CAMERA.

J: Tyler also worked as a banquet waiter at the luxurious Pressman Hotel.

The GUESTS command the WAITERS with snaps of fingers.

INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR - NIGHT

Jack turns and WE PAN to Tyler, standing by a CART with a giant SOUP TUREEN. His hands are at his open fly and he's in position to piss into the soup.

J: He was the guerrilla terrorist of the food service industry.

T: Don't watch. I can't if you watch.

Jack waits. The SOUND of a STREAM of LIQUID is HEARD.

T: ... Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

J: He farted on meringue; he sneezed on braised endive; and, with creme of mushroom soup, well...

T: Go ahead. Say it.

J: You get the idea.

EXT. PARKING LOT OF TAVERN - RESUMING

Tyler and Jack come out the back door.

J: I don't know about this.

T: I don't know, either. I want to find out. I've never been hit, have you?

J: No. That's a good thing, isn't it?

T: I don't want to die without any scars. How much can you really know about yourself if you've never been in a fight? Come on... you're the only person I've ever asked.

J: Me?

Jack stares at him.

T: Why not you? I'm letting you go first. Do it.

J: This is crazy.

T: Alright, go crazy. Let 'er rip.

J: Where do you want it? In the face?

T: Surprise me.

Jack swings a wide, clumsy roundhouse -- hits Tyler's neck -- makes a dull, flat sound.

J: Shit. Sorry. That didn't count.

T: Like hell. That counted.

Tyler shoots out a straight punch to Jack's chest. Jack falls back against a car. His eyes tear up.

T: How do you feel?

J: Strange.

T: But a good strange.

J: Is it?

T: We've crossed the threshold. You want to call it off?

J: Call what off?

T: The fight.

J: What fight?

T: This fight, pussy.

Jack swings another roundhouse that slams right under Tyler's ear. Tyler punches Jack in the stomach. Tyler and Jack move clumsily, throwing punches. They breathe heavier, drooling saliva and blood, growing dizzier from every impact.

EXT. CURBSIDE - LATER

Jack and Tyler sit on the curb, watching sparse headlights on the nearby freeway. Their eyes are glazed with endorphin - induced serenity. They look at each other, laugh. Look away.

T: If you could fight anyone... one on one, whoever you wanted, who would you fight?

J: Anyone?

T: Anyone.

Jack thinks.

J: My boss, probably. (pause) Who would you fight?

T: My dad. No question.

A long pause as Jack studies Tyler's face.

J: Oh, yeah. (nodding) I didn't know my dad. Well, I knew him, till I was six. He went and married another woman, had more kids. Every six years or so he'd do it again - new city, new family.

T: He was setting up franchises. My father never went to college, so it was really important that I go.

J: I know that.

T: After I graduated, I called him long distance and asked, "Now what?" He said, "Get a job." When I turned twenty-five, I called him and asked, "Now what?" He said, "I don't know. Get married."

J: Same here.

T: A generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is the answer we really need.

Another pause. Jack feels his bleeding lip, smiles.

J: We should do this again sometime.

Tyler cracks a smile, give a sidelong glance to Jack.

EXT. PAPER STREET - NIGHT

A street sign: "PAPER STREET." A PAPER MILL sits on one side, facing a lone HOUSE on the other. The rest of the land is grass and weeds. It's a grand, old three-story, long abandoned. Tyler leads Jack toward it.

J: Where's your car?

T: What car?

J(v): I don't know how Tyler found the house, but he'd been there for half a year.

INT. PAPER ST. HOUSE - ENTRANCE -- NIGHT

Tyler leads Jack through the FRONT DOOR...

J(v): It looked like it was waiting to be torn down. Most of the windows were boarded up.

INT. PAPER ST. HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - MOMENT LATER

Tyler and Jack climb CREAKY STAIRS to the 2ND FLOOR LANDING.

J(v): None of the doors locked. The stairs were ready to collapse. I didn't know if he owned it or he was squatting.

Tyler opens the door to a ROOM...

INT. ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Jack enters, sits on the creaky BED. Dust drifts upwards.

J(v): Neither would have surprised me.

INT. SHOWER - MORNING

Jack turns on the water. LOUD VIBRATIONS from the walls. Water spits in starts.

J(v): Nothing worked. The rusty plumbing leaked. Turning on a light meant another light in the house went out.

EXT. LOU'S TAVERN PARKING LOT - NIGHT

All the tavern's lights are off. Tyler and Jack FIGHT. FIVE GUYS stand around watching.

INT. PAPER ST. HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING

Jack, his face showing NEW BRUISES AND CUTS, makes coffee with a wire-mesh strainer. Tyler shuffles in, wearing a flannel bathrobe. He spears pieces of bread on a fork, starts roasting them over a burner.

J(v): There were no neighbors. Just warehouses and the paper mill. The fart smell of steam, the hamster cage smell of wood chips.

EXT. PAPER ST. HOUSE - NIGHT

Jack sits watching as Tyler SWINGS an old GOLF CLUB -- THWACK -- sends a golf ball soaring down the desolate street.

J(v): At night, Tyler and I were alone for half a mile in every direction.

EXT. LOU'S TAVERN PARKING LOT - NIGHT

All the lights are off. TEN GUYS YELL, standing around Jack and Tyler, who FIGHT. THREE CARS are parked in the lot.

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

Jack sits on basement stairs, watching as Tyler, knee-deep in water, works at an open FUSEBOX, flipping breakers in a certain order, showing Jack how it's done.

J(v): When it rained, we had to kill the power. By the end of the first month, I didn't care about TV. I didn't mind the warm, stale refrigerator.

INT. READING ROOM - NIGHT

CANDLES BURN. Tyler and Jack are seated across from each other on the buckled floor, reading MAGAZINES. Rain DRIPS from the ceiling. No furniture. THOUSANDS of MAGAZINES.

J(v): The previous occupant had been a bit of a shut-in.

T: (of magazine) Hum.

J: What?

T: Oh, a new riot control grenade... (reading) "...the successful combination of concussive, 3000 foot-candle flash-blasts and simultaneous high-velocity disbursement of...blah, blah, blah..."

Tyler begins RIPPING the ARTICLE from his magazine.

J: ("Reader's Digest") "I am Joe's Lungs." It's written in first person. "Without me, Joe could not take in oxygen to feed his red blood cells." There's a whole series - "I am Joe's Prostate."

T: "I get cancer, and I kill Joe."

Tyler tosses his article in a pile of other articles, chooses another magazine.

J: What are you reading?

T: Soldier of Fortune. Business Week. New Republic.

J: Show-off.

EXT. LOU'S TAVERN PARKING LOT - NIGHT

All the lights are off. Jack and Tyler stand amidst FIFTEEN GUYS around TWO GUYS FIGHTING. The crowd YELLS MORE WILDLY than before. In the background are EIGHT PARKED CARS.

J(v): I should have been haggling with my insurance company. I should have been looking for a new condo...

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

Jack walks along. He stops, looking at a CHURCH with SUPPORT-GROUP-PEOPLE milling around the entrance, drinking coffee and sodas. Marla's there, amongst them, smoking.

J(v): .... I should have been upset about my nice, neat, flaming little shit.

Jack's face shows no reaction. He continues to walk.

J(v): But I wasn't.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING

Jack, in work clothes, interlocks his fingers and POPS his knuckles, picks up a saucepan with coffee and sips. Tyler, in waiter's uniform, comes to have Jack straighten his tie.

J(v): Most of the week, we were Ozzie and Harriet.

Jack picks up his briefcase and walks out the door.

J(v): But, Wednesday night, ever Wednesday night...

EXT. LOU'S TAVERN PARKING LOT - NIGHT

All the lights are off. No one around, but there are at least TWENTY-FIVE CARS parked in the full lot.

J(v): ... we were finding something out: we were finding out, more and more, that we were not alone.

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

A SLIDE SHOW progresses, run by a chipper salesman, WALTER. Jack sits, deadpan, with a PUFFY LIP and a BRUISED cheek.

J(v): Thursday mornings, all I could do was think about next week.

Boss gives Jack a dubious look. Walter's next SLIDE: a COMPUTER SCREEN.

WALTER: The basic premise of cyber-netting your office is -- make things more efficient.

BOSS: Can I get the icon in cornflower blue?

W: Absolutely.

Walter continues, his sales pitch drowned out by Jack's V.O.:

J(v): Walter, the Microsoft account exec. Walter, with his smooth, soft hands. Maybe he was thinking about the free-range potluck he'd been to last weekend, or his church-group car-wash fund-raiser. Or, probably not.

Walter moves to Jack and slaps him in the shoulder.

W: I showed this already to my man here. You liked it, didn't you?

Jack smiles. His teeth are RED with BLOOD. They GLOW eerily in the dim light.

J(v): You can swallow a pint of blood before you get sick.

W: Jesus, I'd hate to see what happened to the other guy.

Jack keeps the smile frozen on his face.

J(v): Screw Walter. His candy-ass wouldn't last a second Wednesday night.

EXT. LOU'S TAVERN - NIGHT

Out of silent darkness, HEADLIGHTS appear from all directions. CARS PULL UP and park in the already-packed lot. YOUNG MEN get out and march into the tavern...

INT. LOU'S TAVERN - SAME

The men, including Jack and Tyler, enter and stand against the back wall, waiting. The bartender, IRVINE, calls out:

IRVINE: Drink up people. We're closing.

Irvine flicks on the LIGHTS. Drunken customers squint and get the message. They plop down money, leaving.

J(v): It was right in everyone's face. Tyler and I just made it visible.

Irvine hits a button and the JUKEBOX loses power. Members of the waiting army begins to share secret looks. Finally, one buy locks the door. Two other guys close the blinds.

J(v): It was on the tip of everyone's tongue. Tyler and I just gave it a name.

INT. TAVERN BASEMENT - SAME

A BOMB-SHELTER. Concrete walls. One BARE BULB above, Tyler standing directly beneath it.

T: Welcome to fight club.

The guys mill around, finding partners. Everyone brims with eagerness, but tries to act cool. CHATTER gets LOUDER. Everyone spreads out, forming a circle, Tyler at center.

J(v): Every week, Tyler gave the rules that he and I decided.

PEAKING CHATTER, till Tyler raises his arms and the CHATTER DIES. A couple of COUGHS, FEET SHUFFLING, then, SILENCE.

T: The first rule of fight club is - you don't talk about fight club. The second rule of fight club is - you don't talk about fight club. The third rule of fight club is - when someone says "stop" or goes limp, the fight is over. Fourth rule is - only two guys to a fight. Fifth rule - one fight at a time. Sixth rule - no shirts, no shoes. Seventh rule - fights go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule - if this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight.

Tyler steps back. A short guy, RICKY, and a GOATEED MAN take off shirts and shoes and step to the center.

J(v): This kid, Ricky - supply clerk - couldn't remember whether you ordered pens with blue ink or black ink ...

The two fighters circle, then begin throwing PUNCHES...

J(v): But Ricky was a god for ten minutes last week when he trounced an actuary twice his size.

Harder, faster PUNCHES between the two. SWEAT flies. SHOUTS become DEAFENING. Ricky's getting the best of Goateed Man, POUNDING him...

J(v): Sometimes all you could hear were flat, hard packing sounds over the yelling, or the wet choke when someone caught their breath and sprayed...

GOATEED MAN: (spittle-lipped) Ssssstop... !

INT. OFFICE PARK RESTAURANT - DAY

Jack, eating lunch, watches the BROKEN-NOSED WAITER with a GOATEE - from the above fight - converse with a MAITRE D'.

J(v): Even if I could tell someone they had a good fight, I wouldn't be talking to the same man.

The Goateed Waiter approaches Jack and sets a refill soda down on the table. The two of them briefly make eye contact.

J(v): Who you were in fight club is not who you were in the rest of the world.

INT. PHOTOCOPY ROOM - DAY

Jack stands over a copy machine, hit by flashes of light. He glances over his shoulder, watches Ricky, wearing an apron, push a supply cart. Ricks nods at Jack.

J(v): You weren't alive anywhere like you were there. But fight club only exists in the hours between when fight club starts and when fight club ends.

INT. JACK'S OFFICE - DAY

Jack, playing SOLITAIRE on his computer, daubs blood from his mouth with a handkerchief. Boss, passing by the doorway, looks in at Jack, irritated.

BOSS: What are you getting yourself into every week?

Jack keeps playing Solitaire. Boss enters, folds his arms.

J(v): After fight club, everything else in your life gets the volume turned down. You can deal with anything.

BOSS: Have you finished those reports?

J: (handing him reports) Yes.

J(v): The people who had power over you have less and less.

Jack looks at Boss. Reflexively, Jack's tongue plays with his teeth.

J(v): By this point, I could wiggle most of the teeth in my jaw.

EXT. STREET - DUSK

Tyler and Jack walk, both smoking cigarettes.

J(v): A guy came to fight club for the first time, his ass was a wad of cookie dough. After a few weeks, he was carved out of wood.

J: If you could fight any celebrity?

T: Alive or dead?

J: Doesn't matter.

T: Hemingway. You?

J: Shatner. William Shatner.

They reach a BUS STOP as a BUS arrives, tossing their cigarettes, getting on board...

INT. BUS - DUSK

The bus is crowded. As Tyler and Jack walk toward the back, Jack studies the faces of OTHER PASSENGERS...

J(v): We all started seeing things differently. Wherever we went.

They hold hand grips. Jack looks up at an ADVERTISEMENT; a CALVIN KLEIN ad featuring a tan, bare-chested MUSCLE STUD.

J(v): I felt sorry for all the guys packing into gyms, trying to look like what Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger said they should.

Tyler looks at Jack, looks at the C.K. advertisement.

T: Self-improvement is masturbation. Self-destruction is the answer.

A MAN in a suit KNOCKS Tyler's shoulder as he passes. The Man takes a handle, close by. Jack's pissed, staring at the man, who stares back.

J: (to Tyler, so the Man can hear) You could take him.

Tyler looks to Jack, glances over his shoulder at the Man. Tyler casually picks a small scab off Jack's nostril.

T: The trick is not to care.

Tyler stares forward.

INT. TAVERN BASEMENT - NIGHT

Tyler HITS the floor, stomach first. HIS OPPONENT lands on top of him, grappling, trying for a CHOKE HOLD. The surrounding CROWD, Jack included, SCREAMS at them...

Tyler and the Opponent wrestle desperately, and Tyler flips his attacker, gets on top, sprawling to pin him. Tyler turns -- starts reining PUNCHES into the Opponent's GROIN...

CUT TO:

Jack lands a couple of BLOWS to HIS OPPONENT'S stomach - brings up a left uppercut that smashes the Opponent's jaw. Tiny spatters of BLOOD adorn the walls, along with sweat.

Jack catches sight of a swollen-faced Tyler, watching appreciatively, a smile growing slowly on his face.

J(v): Fight club wasn't about winning or losing. It wasn't about words.

The Opponent recovers, throws a headlock on Jack. Jack snakes his arm into a counter headlock. They wrestle like wild animals. The crowd CHEERS maniacally.

J(v): They hysterical shouting was in tongues, like at a Pentecostal church.

Onlookers kneel to stay with the fight, cheering LOUDER. The Opponent SMASHES Jack's head to the floor, over and over.

J: ... stop...

J(v): When the fight was over, nothing was solved, but nothing mattered.

Everyone moves in as the Opponent steps away. Tyler pushes through the crowd. Others lift Jack up. They turn their attention to the floor, to a BLOOD MASK of Jack's face - similar to the TEAR MASK on BOB'S SHIRT.

T: Cool.

Jack limply shakes his Opponent's hand.

OPPONENT: How about next week?

J: Look at me. How about next month?

Everyone helps Jack walk. He's sweating, bleeding, smiling.

J(v): Afterwards, we all felt saved.

INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM - NIGHT

A NURSE tends to Jack while Tyler watches.

T: He fell down some stairs.

The Nurse doesn't look at Tyler, just keeps tending to Jack.

J: I fell down some stairs.

J(v): Sometimes Tyler spoke for me.

J(v): Afterwards, we all felt saved.

INT. PAPER ST. HOUSE - BATHROOM - MORNING

Tyler and Jack share the cracked MIRROR. Tyler's clipping at his hair with blunt, ill-suited SCISSORS. Jack's brushing his teeth, spitting out pink foam.

J(v): Fight club became the reason to cut your hair short and trim your fingernails.

T: Any historical figure.

J: Okay... Ghandi.

T: Good answer.

J: You?

T: Abe Lincoln. Big reach. Skinny guys fight till they're burger.

Jack reaches in his mouth, exploring, pulls - yanks a TOOTH. Jack looks at it. Tyler puts scissors down, done.

T: Remember, even the Mona Lisa's falling apart.

Jack drops the tooth in the sink with Tyler's hair.

INT. PAPER ST. HOUSE - KITCHEN - LATE AFTERNOON

Jack enters, buttoning his shirt. The PHONE RINGS.

J: Hello?

INTERCUT WITH...
INT. MARLA'S BUILDING, HALLWAY - SAME

Marla's in the HALL, on the PAYPHONE, twisting the phone cord around her neck.

M: Where have you been the last few weeks?

J: Marla?

Jack looks through the archway and sees Tyler, in his gummy flannel bathrobe, doing sit-ups. Jack leans, cups the phone.

J: (quietly) How did you find me?

M: The forwarding number. I haven't seen you at any support groups.

J: That's the idea -- we split them.

M: You haven't been going to yours.

J: I found a new one.

M: Really?

J: It's for men.

M: Like testicular cancer?

J: Look, this is a bad time...

M: I've been going to debtor's anonymous. You want to see some truly fucked up people?

J: I'm just on my way out...

M: Me too. I got a stomach full of Xanax. I took what was left of a bottle. Might've been too much.

Jack looks exasperated, turns TO LOOK INTO THE CAMERA.

J(v): Picture yourself watching Marla Singer throw herself around her crummy apartment.

M: This isn't a for-real suicide thing. This is probably one of those cry-for- help things.

J(v): This could go on for hours.

J: So you're staying in tonight?

M: Do you want to wait to hear me describe death?

Jack puts the handset on top of the phone, still off the hook, walks out the back door.

MARLA'S VOICE: Do you want to listen and see if my spirit can use the telephone?

Thru the archway: Tyler leans to look in, curious.

INT. BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT

GRUNTS of PLEASURE and EXERTION. Glimpses of TORSOS, ASSES, LEGS, ARMS, BREASTS, and FEMALE HAIR, all DRENCHED in SWEAT. Sheets RIP. Bodies hit the FLOOR. Insane GRUNTING and LAUGHING. A flash of MARLA'S FACE.

CUT TO:
INT. JACK'S BEDROOM - SUNRISE

Jack sits up in bed, looks around the room.

INT. 2ND FLOOR LANDING

Jack steps out of his room. The neighboring door is closed.

J(v): Tyler's door was closed. I'd been living here two months, and Tyler's door was never closed.

INT. BATHROOM - SAME

Jack stares into the TOILER, looking at SIX USED CONDOMS.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING

Jack sits at the table, sips coffee, read Reader's Digest. He hears FOOTSTEPS approaching.

J: You're not going to believe what I dreamt last night.

Marla walks in, straightening her dress, looks like she's been raped by a hurricane. Jack's jaw drops.

M: I can hardly believe anything about last night.

Marla goes to pour coffee. She takes a swig, GARGLES and SPITS it in the sink. She gives Jack a lascivious smile.

J: What are you doing here?

M: What... ?

J: What the hell are you doing here?

Marla stares at him a beat, then drops the cup in the sink.

M: Fuck you.

Marla shoves open the door to the backyard and walks out. Jack gets up, watches her stomp away.

Jack turns and -- Tyler is at his shoulder, staring after Marla. He's in his usual sweatpants. He grins at Jack, then moves away, pours himself coffee. Jack, smoldering, slumps at the table and picks up Reader's Digest. Tyler puts his foot on a countertop, does stretching exercises.

T: She's a piece of work. Get this - I come in here last night, the phone's off the hook...

Jack pretends to read, quickly glances at Tyler. TYLER'S VOICE FADES...

J(v): I already knew the story before he told it to me.

INT. KITCHEN - LATE AFTERNOON (FLASHBACK)

Tyler enters, gently lifts the handset and listens.

M(v): (from handset) I'll tell you when I'm floating out of my body.

Tyler smiles.

J(v): How could Tyler, off all people, think it was a bad thing that Marla Singer was about to die?

INT. MARLA'S - 8TH FLOOR LANDING - LATE AFTERNOON (FLASHBACK)

Tyler, a wry smile on his face, ambles up the stiars, looking at the rotting walls. He reaches the top of the stairs and heads for Marla's room. Before he can knock, Marla's hand shoots out and grabs him...

INT. MARLA'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS (FLASHBACK)

Marla pulls Tyler inside and shuts the door. Her drugged eyes look him over.

M: You got here fast.

She staggers and sits on the bed. She slides off, along with the blanket and sheets, to the floor.

M: The mattresses are all sealed in slippery plastic.

She tries to focus her eyes on Tyler.

M: Did I call you?

Tyler studies her with cynical curiosity, looks at a DILDO lying atop a dresser. Marla follows his gaze.

M: Don't worry. It's not a threat to you.

SIRENS and vehicles SCREECHING outside can be HEARD; doors opening and SLAMMING; running FOOTFALLS.

M: Oh, no! Somebody called the cops...

She gets to her feet, grabs Tyler, pulls him out the door.

INT. HALLWAY (FLASHBACK)

Marla LOCKS her door, then pulls Tyler toward the STAIRCASE. COPS and PARAMEDICS charge up with oxygen and medical kits. Marla and Tyler flatten against the wall to let them pass.

COP: 8-G! Where's 8-G?

M: (pointing) End of the hall.

The rescuers keep running.

M: (calling after) The girl who lives there used to be a charming, lovely girl, but she's lost faith in herself...

COP: Miss Singer, let us help you! You have every reason to live!

Marla yanks Tyler's arm, heading down the stairs.

M: She's a monster! Infectious human waste! Good luck trying to save her!

INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT (FLASHBACK)

Tyler makes coffee. Marla slouches against the refrigerator.

M: If I fall asleep, I'm done for. You're gonna have to keep me up all night.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING (RESUMING)

Tyler chuckles, shakes his head.

T: Unbelievable, huh?

J(v): He was obviously able to handle it.

Tyler stands across from Jack, gets a cigarette from a pack.

T: I mean, this girl... uh, you're not into her or anything... ?

J: No. Not at all.

J(v): I am Jack's Raging Bile Duct.

Tyler lights his cigarette.

T: You're sure?

J: Yeah, I'm sure.

T: Good. This chick was up on the table with her legs in the stirrups before the doctor even walked in the room. The things that she said... I've never heard a woman talk like that...

INT. TYLER'S ROOM - NIGHT (FLASHBACK)

Tyler smokes, post-coital. Marla puts her lips to his ear.

M: (whispering) I want to have your abortion.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING (RESUMING)

Tyler laughs, shakes his head. Jack's gripping his Reader's Digest just a little too tight.

J(v): How could Tyler not go for that? Night before last, he was splicing sex organs into "Little Mermaid."

Tyler sits, studies Jack's face.

T: You're okay with this?

J: I'm fine.

J(v): Put a gun to my head and paint the wall with my brains.

Tyler smokes.

T: She is a wild, twisted bitch. Stay away from that one.

J: Oh, and my pace is more librarians.

T: Hey... don't knock librarians.

J: Marla doesn't need a lover. She needs a case worker.

T: She needs an exorcist. This isn't love. This is sport-fucking.

J(v): She'd invaded my support groups, now she's invading my home.

T: Listen... do me a favor... sit here a minute...

Tyler pulls out a closer chair, motions to it. Jack puts down his Reader's Digest and moves to that chair.

J: What?

T: You've gotta understand something about me. I have a little rule, okay? Don't ever talk to her about me. Ever. I can't stand that kind of shit.

Tyler fixes Jack with a friendly, but firm stare.

T: If you ever say anything about me or about what happens here in this house, to her or anyone -- I will find out. And you'll never see me again. Promise me.

J: Okay.

T: Promise you won't.

J: Yes, I promise.

T: Promise?

J: I said I promise!

T: That was three times you promised.

Tyler smiles, gets up and leaves. Jack sits smoldering.

J(v): If only I had wasted a couple of minutes and gone to watch Marla die, none of this would have happened.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Jack watches TV at HIGH VOLUME. SOUNDS of SEX from upstairs.

INT. JACK'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Jack lies calmly on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Sounds of THUMPS and CRASHES from beyond the wall.

MARLA'S VOICE: (muffled through wall) Miserable fucking discharge!

J(v): I could've moved to another room, one on the third floor -- so I wouldn't have heard them. But I didn't.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

SOUNDS of RAIN. Jack flips FUSES off, then walks upstairs.

INT. 2ND FLOOR LANDING - SAME

Jack walks, HEARS Marla SCREAM in orgasm. He reaches the landing. Tyler's door is ajar. Jack peeks in...

Marla's legs are sprawled on the bed. The door PUSHES OPEN WIDER -- Tyler, naked, stands CLOSE TO CAMERA.

T: What are you doing?

Jack steps back.

J: I... uh... just going to bed.

Tyler scratches his head, wears a RUBBER GLOVE.

T: You want to finish her off?

J: Uh... nah...

Jack continues toward his room.

INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT

Jack brushes his teeth.

J(v): I became the calm, little center of the world. I was the Zen master.

CLOSE UP - COMPUTER MONITOR

Haiku is BEING TYPED in a trendy, italicized font. "Worker bees can leave Even drones can fly away The queen is their slave"

J(v): I wrote little haiku poems.

INT. JACK'S OFFICE - DAY

Jack's clothes are PERMANENTLY STAINED with BLOOD. He sits in Zen pose, cigarette in mouth, finishes typing Haiku.

J(v): I faxed them around to everyone.

He hits "SEND," gets the "ERROR CHIME" SOUND. He presses this key over and over. Boss enters.

BOSS: Is that your blood?

J: Some of it, yes.

Boss stares at Jack like he's from Mars.

BOSS: Take the rest of the day off. Come back tomorrow with clean clothes. Get yourself together.

INT. HALLWAY - SAME

Jack's leaving, looks like a war casualty, passing COWORKERS who coldly stare at him. His face is totally passive.

J(v): I got right in everyone's hostile little face. Yes, these are bruises from fighting. I'm comfortable with them. I am enlightened.

EXT. PAPER STREET - SUNSET

Jack walks toward the HOUSE.

J(v): You give up the condo life, give up all your flaming worldly possessions, go live in a dilapidated house in the toxic waste part of town...

INT. TYLER'S KITCHEN - SUNSET

Jack walks in. SOUNDS of VIOLENT SEX and a POLAROID CAMERA from upstairs. Pieces of PLASTER fall from the ceiling.

J(v): ... and you come home to this.

TYLER'S VOICE: (laughing) You fucking slut!!

MARLA'S VOICE: Thank you, sir, may I have another! Thank you sir, may I have another... !

Jack rolls his eyes, takes off his pants. He runs water in the sink, finds a tiny bit of SOAP and scrubs at the blood stains. The PHONE RINGS. He answers it.

J: Yeah. Speaking.

INTERCUT WITH...
INT. POLICE STATION - OFFICE

A cop, DETECTIVE STERN, refers to a file.

DETECTIVE STERN: This is Detective Stern with the arson unit. We have some new information about the "incident" at your condo.

J: Yes?

Det. STERN: I don't know if you're aware... your front door -- it seems someone sprayed freon into the lock, then tapped it with a chisel to shatter the cylinder.

J: No, I wasn't aware...

J(v): I am Jack's Cold Sweat.

Det. STERN: Does this sound strange to you?

J: Yes, sire, strange. Very strange.

Jack starts to sweat, scrubs his pants obsessively.

Det. STERN: The dynamite...

J: Dynamite?

Det. STERN: Yes. It left a residue of ammonium oxalate and potassium perchloride. Do you know what that means?

J: What does that mean?

Det. STERN: It means it was homemade.

J: This is... really a shock...

Det. STERN: Whoever set this homemade dynamite could've blown out the pilot light days before the explosion. The gas, it seems, was just a detonator.

J: Who do you think could've done this?

Det. STERN: I'll ask the questions, son.

T: (whispering in Jack's ear) Tell him...

Jack almost leaps out his skin, startled; looks to see Tyler standing right next to him.

J: Huh?

T: (overlap w/below) "The liberator who destroyed my property has re-aligned my paradigm of perception."

J: Shhhhhh! (into phone, overlap w/above) I don't know what to make of this, sir, I really don't...

Det. STERN: Do you know anyone who'd have the expertise or motive to do something like this?

T: "I reject the basic assumptions of civilization, including material possession."

Jack pushes Tyler away, cups the receiving.

J: (into phone) No. No, sir. I loved that condo. I loved every stick of furniture. The lamps, the chairs, the rugs, were me. The dishes were me. The plants were...

J(v): I'd like to thank the academy...

Det. STERN: Well, if any ideas come to you, give me a call. In the meantime, don't leave town. I may need to bring you in for questioning.

END INTERCUT

Jack hangs up. Tyler shrugs.

T: Could be worse. You could be cursed with the three terrible Karmas. You could be beautiful, rich and famous.

Jack turns away, continues to scrub his pants. Marla's FOOTSTEPS can be HEARD coming downstairs...

Jack really grinds the soap against the pants, splashing water. He turns, sees Marla enter. Tyler is GONE. Marla lights a cigarette.

J(v): Except for their humping, Tyler and Marla were never in the same room.

M: I got this dress at a thrift store for one dollar.

J: (keeps scrubbing) Worth every penny.

J(v): My parents pulled this exact act for years -- one came in, the other disappeared.

Marla begins a slow, exotic dance, moving very close to Jack. She lifts her dress dangerously high, dancing close to Jack's body, almost touhcing.

M: (seductive) It's a bridesmaid's dress. Someone loved it intensely for one day, then tossed it. Like a Christmas tree -- so special, then, bam -- it's abandoned on the side of the road, tinsel still clinging to it...

Jack becomes very aware of having no pants on, presses against the counter. Marla pulls her hemline further up.

M: Like sex crime victims, underwear inside-out, bound with electrical tape.

J: (coldly) It suits you.

She leans in very close to Jack's ear, whispers hoarsely:

M: You can borrow it sometime.

Jack takes a step away, keeps scrubbing. Marla blows smoke in his face. Jack takes her cigarette and throws it in the sink. Marla backs away, fed up, storms out, going UPSTAIRS.

T(O.S.): Get rid of her.

Jack turns to see Tyler in the doorway.

J: You get rid of her.

T: (pointing at Jack) Don't mention me.

Marla's FOOTSTEPS are coming DOWNSTAIRS. Jack looks to the archway, then back at -- Tyler's GONE. Marla enters, shoes and balled up clothing under one arm, looking for something on the junk strewn table.

J(v): I'm six years old again, passing messages between my parents.

J: I, uh... think you should go now.

Marla ignores, still searching the table, tossing things, pushing other things off to the floor.

J: It's time for you to leave.

M: Don't worry, I'm leaving.

Marla finds what she wanted, a pack of cigarettes. She moves up into Jack's face.

M: You're such a nutcase, I can't even begin to keep up.

J: Goodbye.

She laughs, spins on her heels. As she exits the back door, she sings "This Merry-Go-Round" from "Valley of the Dolls." Jack watches her through the kitchen window.

T(O.S.): Nice work.

Jack turns. Tyler's right behind him. Through the window, Marla can be seen walking away. Tyler picks up the remnant of SOAP Jack's been using, holds it up to Jack.

T: To make soap, first we have to render fat.

Jack looks at Tyler.




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FIGHT CLUB (Бойцовский клуб) >>>
by Jim Uhls.. based on a novel by Chuck Palahnuik.. 2/16/98
Брэд Питт (Тайлер Дарден)
Эдвард Нортон (Джек)
Хелена Бонэм Картер (Марла) другие звезды на
mstars
Скачать сценарий: fight_club.zip
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