Fight Club is directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, and Jared Leto. Fincher considered Edward Norton for the lead role based on his performance in The People vs. Larry Flynt. Norton said the film probed the despair and paralysis people feel from inherited advertising value systems. Brad Pitt said the film is a metaphor for pushing through self-imposed walls to experience pain for the first time. Helena Bonham Carter was cast based on her performance in The Wings of the Dove, and she had her makeup done sloppily to portray her character's apathy.