The rumors have been circulating for years, sprung from various innuendos dropped by novelist Chuck Palahniuk and director David Fincher. But those guys weren’t serious about turning 1999′s Fight Club — that singularly disorienting head injury of a movie — into a Broadway musical à la Legally Blonde or Young Frankenstein. They were just kidding around, weren’t they? I’m really starting to worry after reading yet another news story this week in which both Palahniuk and Fincher seem to be on board with this idea. Why, why, why?!
Let me make something clear: I love Fincher’s Fight Club. It’s funny, gripping, thought-provoking — one of the past decade’s most essential pieces of pop culture, I’d say. But it’s also extremely dark, disturbing, and weird. It’s violent. It’s cynical. It’s a gigantic mindf—! How on earth could they adapt this for the tourist-heavy audiences that lap up these blockbuster movies-turned-musicals? That MTV News story mentions the possibility that Trent Reznor might write the songs, which soundssorta cool, but that would probably make it even less appealing toGreat White Way crowds. And even if the producers did somehow transform Fight Club into something that the mainstream would find palatable — some goofy, "offbeat" garbage — I’m reasonably sure that I would start crying harder than Edward Norton’s character at a support group.
Look, I’m willing to see how this thing works out, if it actually happens. Who am I kidding? I’d be first in line trying to snag an opening-night ticket, if only so I could mercilessly mock the proceedings in a blog post the next morning. But I really, really hope it doesn’t come to that. (Now, a Broadway musical based on MTV2′s late-night, low-rent battle rap show Fight Klub — that’s a whole other story.) Am I missing something here?
Now that would be *interesting*. How the heck could the plot be adapted into musical form? I wonder what comes after this impeding wreck. Schindler’s List – The Musical? Maybe it is time to start one of them EW galleries. The 30 Movies we never – EVER – want to see turned into musicals. Ever.
Let’s start with Thank You For Smoking.
I absolutely refuse to see anymore Broadway musicals based on movies! This constant recycling of entertainment material has gotten ridiculous! Monty Python and the Holy Grail is probably my favorite comedy of all time, but the show SPAM-A-LOT was terrible!
PINK FLOYD THE WALL is one of my favorite rock albums and cult movies of all time. When I heard that band member Roger Waters was working on a stage production of that album, I shuddered in disgust. I’m so glad he eventually abandoned that project!
I’m going to be the lone dissenting opinion here. If Sweeney Todd can do it, why not Fight Club? Don’t underestimate the musical as art form, and don’t underestimate “the masses.”
Or, I would also love to see it as an over-the-top self-parody– I think that’d be hilarious.
Maybe they’re trying to ride the wave of dark plays/musicals now that “Sweeney Todd” has had another surge of popularity because of the movie? And I think that “Schindler’s List: The Musical” could be a good plot for a Christopher Guest movie.
As for movies to *never* be made into musicals, “Life is Beautiful” just because it was already thisclose to being a musical in the first place. But seriously? “Rashomon,” “Silence of the Lambs,” and “The Shining.” Can you just imagine the “Here’s Johnny” song and dance number?
Angie, Sweeny Todd was a Broadway musical, debuted in 1979, before it was made into a movie. So have a lot of musicals been adapted to film. We’re talking about going the other way.
Wow, way to generalize an entire industry – not all musicals are over-produced, bubblegum-pop messes. Have you ever heard of Sondheim? Adam Guettel? Jason Robert Brown? With the right people behind it, Fight Club could actually be an incredibly effective musical.
What I meant was that if Sweeney Todd, which is also an extremely violent, cynical story, can be a successful musical, so can Fight Club. I don’t see how the fact that it was a film before it was a musical is detrimental, aside from the possibility of upsetting fans of the original film/book.
I don’t really understand people’s critique of turning movies into musicals. Most musicals throughout history are based on source material that has been prevalent in pop culture. Whether that be a novel, straight play, historical event or movie. The problem is people (who have probably only ever seen 2 or 3 musicals) marginalize the genre. Not all shows are Legally Blonde and other gooey fare.
I am not saying I am not skeptical of a Fight Club musical. However, I have been skeptical of quite a few shows that ended up being fantastic. And with the artistic and pop success of shows like Spring Awakening, I definitely think there is room for Trent Reznor on Broadway.
Last thought: Instead of counting the movie that you (in your unartistic and unimaginative minds) think would make a terrible musical, why don’t we be MORE creative and suggest ideas for a great musical????
Kevin, here’s some suggestions for a great musical from my “unartistic and unimaginitive” mind: ANYTHING that can be considered an original (or at least fresh) story idea. Some recent examples would include RENT and AVENUE Q.
Hmm…Rent is more than 10 years old and is actually based on the opera, La Boheme. Avenue Q is a great show, and very original, but the challenge I presented was not to site musicals that have already been created by artistic and imaginative minds, but to suggest new material and new ideas for musicals. My point being that if you cannot think of a great idea for a legitimate musical, what right do you have to bring down other people’s ideas until you have seen them come to fruition?
God, I would love it! Broadway used to feature shows geared towards adults once in a while. Now it’s all Little Mermaid and revivals of old pop songs. Bring on the blood, I say.
No. Just no. Although this does have potential to be our generation’s “Carrie: The Musical”, and by that I mean it becomes so bad that it turns into a cult legend.
This is a funny fight club/aerosmith’s “Don’t wanna miss a thing” mash-up:
I dunno. If both Fincher and Palahniuk sign off on it, there’s absolutely no way it will suck. Then again, if they bow out and production moves forward anyway, the result could be catastrophic. Either way I’ll probably never see it unless it somehow becomes another movie, which would just be… weird.