Chuck Palahniuk upon the death of a patient to whom he had grown attached. Palahniuk began writing fiction in his mid-30s. By his account, he started writing while attending workshops for writers that were hosted by Tom Spanbauer, which he attended to meet new friends. Spanbauer largely inspired Palahniuk's minimalistic writing style. When he attempted to publish his novel, "Invisible Monsters", publishers rejected it for being too disturbing. This led him to work on his most famous novel, "Fight Club", which he wrote as an attempt to disturb the publisher even more for rejecting him. Palahniuk wrote this story in his spare
The Settlement (1999 film) The Settlement (1999 film) The Settlement is a 1999 film directed by Mark Steilen, starring John C. Reilly and William Fichtner. The film was screened at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in April 1999. Pat (John C. Reilly) and Jerry (William Fichtner) work on the fringes of the insurance industry in what are called "viatical settlements," which allow terminal patients the option of cashing in their life insurance policies before death for a reduced payment. In the 1980s, with AIDS cutting short what might have been long and healthy lives, business is booming for Pat and Jerry's firm, Viable