Author Chuck Palahniuk first came up with the idea for the novel after being beaten up on a camping trip when he complained to some nearby campers about the noise of their radio. When he returned to work, he was fascinated to find that nobody would mention or acknowledge his injuries, instead saying such commonplace things as "How was your weekend?" Palahniuk concluded that the reason people reacted this way was because if they asked him what had happened, a degree of personal interaction would be necessary, and his workmates simply didn't care enough to connect with him on a personal level. It was his fascination with this societal 'blocking' which became the foundation for the novel.
(at around 38 mins) In the short scene when Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are drunk and hitting golf balls, they really are drunk, and the golf balls are sailing directly into the side of the catering truck.
After the copyright warning, there is another warning on the DVD. This warning is from Tyler Durden, and is only there for a second. "If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this is useless fine print is another second off your life. Don't you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all who claim it? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think everything you're supposed to think? Buy what you're told you should want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned... Tyler"
Brad Pitt says he did not want his parents to see the movie, but he could not convince them not to watch it. They changed their minds after watching the chemical burn scene.
Edward Kowalczyk: (at around 1h 55 mins) Member of Live plays the waiter who serves The Narrator and Marla with the line, "Sir, anything you want is free of charge, sir."
Kevin Scott Mack: (at around 21 mins) Digital Domain visual effects supervisor is the terrified guy with glasses in the plane crash scene.
Christie Cronenweth: (at around 19 mins) Director of Photography Jeff Cronenweth's sister, appears in the film as the airline check-in attendant who tells The Narrator he is three hours early for his flight.