Chuck Palahniuk time while working for Freightliner. After initially publishing it as a short story (which became chapter 6 of the novel) in the 1995 compilation, "Pursuit of Happiness", Palahniuk expanded it into a full novel, which, contrary to his expectations, the publisher was willing to publish. While the original hardcover edition of the book received positive reviews and some awards, it had a short shelf life. Initially, Palahniuk struggled to find a literary agent and went without one until after the publication of "Fight Club". After he began receiving attention from 20th Century Fox, Palahniuk was signed by actor and literary
Brad Pitt a critical failure. Later that year he led as Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in the Jean-Jacques Annaud film "Seven Years in Tibet". Pitt trained for months for the role, which demanded significant mountain climbing and trekking practice, including rock climbing in California and the European Alps with his co-star David Thewlis. The film received mostly negative reviews, and was generally considered a disappointment. Pitt had the lead role in 1998's fantasy romance film "Meet Joe Black". He portrayed a personification of death inhabiting the body of a young man to learn what it is like to be human. The film