Courtney Love in a podcast this week claimed that, even before the film received a green light, Edward Norton had his then fiancee replace Love, however right after that Brad Pitt canceled the idea altogether, the reason being her refusal to let Brad Pitt do a Kurt Cobain biopic.
Pitt and Gus Van Sant were talking to her about doing a more X-rated version of Brokeback Mountain. But talks broke down when Pitt commandeered a meeting to pitch Love on his Cobain movie. “I went nuclear,” Love said. “I don’t do Faust. Who the fuck do you think are?” Love said that after the meeting, Pitt got Love booted from Fight Club.
She went on to recount the conversation the two of them had, saying she told him, “I don’t know if I trust you, and I don’t know that your movies are for profit. They’re really good social justice movies, but…if you don’t get me, you kind of don’t get Kurt, and I don’t feel like you do, Brad.”
Love said that after she rejected the idea of Pitt playing Cobain, she was fired from Fight Club, and the role of Marla went to Helena Bonham Carter. However the veracity of this is doubtful as a well placed source later claimed that Love only auditioned for the role once, she never received the offer, You cannot be fired for a job you didn’t get. It’s common knowledge that roles are not decided by other actors but by the director.”