Brad Pitt received mixed reviews, and many were critical of Pitt's performance. According to Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle", Pitt was unable to "make an audience believe that he knows all the mysteries of death and eternity." Roger Ebert stated "Pitt is a fine actor, but this performance is a miscalculation." In 1999, Pitt portrayed Tyler Durden in "Fight Club", a film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name, directed by David Fincher. Pitt prepared for the part with lessons in boxing, taekwondo, and grappling. To look the part, Pitt consented to the removal of pieces of his
Damned (Palahniuk novel) with his mother's death from lung cancer in 2009. Palahniuk has described the novel as "if "The Shawshank Redemption" had a baby by "The Lovely Bones" and it was raised by Judy Blume." and "it's kind of like "The Breakfast Club" set in Hell." Damned (Palahniuk novel) Damned is a 2011 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. A sequel to the novel, "Doomed", was released in 2013. The novel opens with 13-year-old Madison "Maddy" Spencer waking in Hell, unsure of the details surrounding her death. She believes she died of a marijuana overdose while her celebrity parents were attending the Academy Awards.