Fightstar interrupted, since Simpson was in the midst of a sold-out series of Wembley shows with Busted. "They Liked You Better When You Were Dead", released on 28 February 2005 after a brief UK promotional tour. It was a critical success, though Punknews.org reviewed it negatively. Alex Westaway, the band's lead guitarist and co-lyricist, drew its artwork (based on Edward Norton) for the booklet; the EP's lead single, "Palahniuk's Laughter", was inspired by David Fincher's film "Fight Club" (1999), which in turn was based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. "Palahniuk's Laughter" received heavy rotation on music-video
Edward Norton breaking through with his 1993 involvement in Edward Albee's "Fragments", at the Signature Theatre Company. In his film debut "Primal Fear" (1996), Norton played Aaron Stampler, an altar boy who is charged with the murder of a Roman Catholic archbishop and is defended by Martin Vail (Richard Gere). The film is an adaptation of William Diehl's novel. Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote: "Norton gives a performance that's fully the equal of Gere's – he's as slyly self-effacing as Gere is slyly ostentatious." Alison Macor of "The Austin Chronicle", in review of the film, wrote, "Norton's performance and the well-paced