I am a huge fan of Chuck, and I’m sure there are others on here, so I was wondering if anyone knows about the possible movie productions of “Choke” or “Survivor”, I heard they put a pause on survivor after 9/11. Also, what’s everyones favorite book by him?
‘Fight Club’ is my favorite book. I guess ‘Lullabye’ is second.
I’d have to say my favorite was probably “Choke”, although I did enjoy “Invisible Monsters” a lot for some reason.
I saw Fight Club then read Choke and Survivor. I couldn’t read them without thinking that they were being narrated by Edward Norton.
I would like to see Choke made into a movie.
I think the scene of the slacker friend locked in the stockade at the Rennaisance Festival would be funny as hell on film, as well as the scene where the narrator goes ahead and tells all the paranoid old ladies at the nursing home that he’s the one who caused all their problems. “Yes, I 'm your brother and I raped you. I couldn’t help it, you were such a great piece of ass.”
I read on http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/choke.php that Choke has been bought by Banderia Entertainment. Elsewhere on the site, I found that this news had been posted in January of 2003, so maybe they’re running with this even now.
I’ve found websites where people are complaining that Survivor was put on hold, but I can’t really find any official press releases from the studios about it. The website above says that “Chuck says” that it’s been abandoned, at about the same time as the news about Choke.
As for what was my favourite book, I must admit that my opinion of Choke suffered because of when I read it. I started reading Fight Club last December, then moved onto Survivor, then Lullaby, and finally Choke. (I know there’s other books, but I had to stop - too much Chuck!) Since I was kind of in sensory overload by the time I got to Choke, it was almost too much. I found it to be too close to Fight Club, whereas I thought Lullaby and Survivor were really original ideas. All the same, I’d love to see a movie of Choke, and I might even read it again (after some time has passed!). I agree with Knowed Out, that scene from Choke would be awesome on the big screen.
I think Lullaby would be my #1, followed very closely by Survivor.
Not to start a fight (hah ;)) but the book Fight Club the book was a real disappointment to me after the film. I was suprised they managed to make such a great film out of what was there.
I have bought Invisible Monsters and Survivor but haven’t been moved to read them yet. Perhaps you(s) can convince me I should?
I liked Choke, and would very much like to see a film adaptation. Palahniuk really has that whole “economy of language” thing down.
I also enjoyed the stealth application of masonic allegory.
I really wanted to like Choke. I really did. I heard Chuck read a chapter at a local book store and a friend got me an autographed copy for my birthday. Sadly, I couldn’t like it whole-heartedly. The whole Jesus clone plot really left me cold and that was a big enough deal-breaker that despite the stuff in the book I really liked I can’t recommend it. I do recommend Fight Club, though. As much as I liked the movie, I liked the book more and I loved seeing the things that made it into the movie and the stuff that didn’t. My enjoyment of the book was not the slightest bit diminished by being spoiled by the movie. Haven’t read any of his other books.
I haven’t read Invisible Monsters yet, but I heard it’s very strange and it would be impossible to make a movie out of. I just hope any movie they make, that they keep David Fincher as the director. I also read that some people that were signed on for Survivor were Kevin Spacey and Jim Carrey, and Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson to do the score for the film. I have no idea who Jim Carrey would play, maybe Tender Branson himself? Might work might not.
I have to say that Choke is my favorite; it just had so much humor and depraved warmth coming from it. I must say that the ending was telegraphed from pages away but other than that, I loved it.
As for Survivor—eh, I was less than enthralled. A cult of domesticity? That was done in Fight Club. A cult-like worshiped figure? That was done in both Choke and Fight Club.
I just thought it could have been better.
The thing about reading Fight Club for me is that I saw the movie dozens of times before I read the book so it’s like when I was a kid and would buy the novelizations to the Back to the Future movies and so forth; it’s just like reading a movie.
Still good though, but, due to the film, it was ground I’d already been on.
Anybody here go to the Chuck Palahnuik conference in Pennsylvania last month? I heard it was a blast and I was just wondering if anyone went.
Choke: definitely the best poetically, my favorite
Fight club: resonates the best with me in terms of philosophy/male issues.
Invisible monsters: wins high marks for good lurid plot twists and “sorry god, sorry mom”
Survivor: great great story telling, and friggin hilarious.
lullaby: great, but too short. I wanted more.
drools I love the guy
Invisible Monsters is by far my favourite. I did not put that book down, its fucking brilliant. (I dont swear often, but this calls for it!)
Lullaby is sitting on my bookshelf, I dont think its enthralling
I liked survivor, very good book
Fight Club was very good, but compared to the movie it gets a “meh”
I loooooooooved Choke. I was hooked from teh start. Not as good as IM but still damn good.
I’m reading Lullaby (my first) now. It’s clever and funny.
I loved Fight Club, but Survivor was fucking horrible. Is it worth buying the others?
I always hate when I find an author I really like, and then read a book that sucks so bad I have to stop buying his/her books. Kinda like “Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas” by Tom Robbins. What a horrible fucking concept. I couldn’t get through the second chapter.
Fight Club was OK; it suffers in comparison to the movie.
I liked survivor a lot.
Choke was a horrible train wreck of a book.
I stopped reading Palahniuk after that. He’s a trick-and-a-half pony.
I agree that the movie Fight Club is better than the book, but I don’t think that’s the fault of the book. It was a very good book - but (un)fortunately, it was an exceptional movie.
As to my favorite, I would have to say Lullaby (I’ve read that, Choke, and Fight Club - others to follow). It’s tough though - I read Fight Club after I’d seen the movie, so it was all very familiar. If I’d gone in fresh, it’s hard to say how they would’ve compared.
But Lullaby was creative as hell. God bless Chuck, and his mighty pen.
Jeff