Fight Club Page #9

JACK:

...no ...no ...

TYLER:

I mean, you did lose a lot of nice,

neat little sh*t. The trendy paper

lamps, the Euro-trash shelving unit,

am I right?

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

TYLER:

But maybe, just maybe, you've been

delivered.

JACK:

(toasts)

Delivered from Swedish furniture.

TYLER:

Delivered from armchairs in obscure

green stripe patterns.

JACK:

Delivered from Martha Stewart.

TYLER:

Delivered from bullshit colors like

"Cobalt," "Ebony," and "Fuchsia."

They laugh together. Then, silence. They drink.

JACK:

Insurance'll cover it.

TYLER:

Oh, yeah, you gotta start making the

list.

JACK:

What list?

TYLER:

The "now I get to go out and buy the

exact same stuff all over again"

list. That list.

JACK:

I don't... think so.

TYLER:

This time maybe get a widescreen TV.

You'll be occupied for weeks.

JACK:

Well, I have to file a claim...

TYLER:

The things you own, they end up

owning you.

JACK:

Don't I?

TYLER:

Do what you like.

JACK:

(looks at watch)

God, it's late. I should find a

hotel...

TYLER:

A hotel?

JACK:

Yeah.

TYLER:

So, you called me up, because you

just wanted to have a drink before

you... go find a hotel?

JACK:

I don't follow...

TYLER:

We're on our third pitcher of beer.

Just ask me.

JACK:

Huh?

TYLER:

You called me so you could have a

place to stay.

JACK:

No, I...

TYLER:

Why don't you cut the sh*t and ask if

you can stay at my place?

JACK:

Would that be a problem?

TYLER:

Is it a problem for you to ask?

JACK:

Can I stay at your place?

TYLER:

Yes, you can.

JACK:

Thank you.

TYLER:

You're welcome. But, I want you to

do me one favor.

JACK:

What's that?

TYLER:

I want you to hit me as hard as you

can.

JACK:

What?

TYLER:

I want you to hit me as hard as you

can.

Freeze picture.

JACK (V.O.)

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.

JACK:

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.

TYLER:

They're called "cigarette burns."

JACK:

It's called a "changeover." The

movie goes on, and nobody in the

audience has any idea.

TYLER:

Why would anyone want this shitty job?

JACK:

It affords him other interesting

opportunities.

TYLER:

-- Like splicing single frames from

adult movies into family films.

JACK:

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.

TYLER:

One-forty-eighth of a second. That's

how long it's up there.

JACK:

No one really knows that they've seen it.

But they did.

TYLER:

A nice, big cock.

JACK:

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.

JACK:

Tyler also worked as a banquet waiter

at the luxurious Pressman Hotel.

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