Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

‘Fight Club’ author Chuck Palahniuk has a new film coming thanks to Kickstarter


With just two days left in its Kickstarter campaign, the film adaptation of Lullaby, a book by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk, has surpassed its base fundraising goal by nearly $100,000. With the film now guaranteed to be a go, Digital Trends caught up with its producer, Josh Leake, to find out what it takes to bring a Palahniuk novel to the screen. The quick answer, it would seem, is a lot of money — and no small amount of luck.

There is no major studio attached to Lullaby, a fact that Leake was quick to bring up. “It’s not something most studios want to touch, just based on subject matter,” Leake says. Like much of Palahniuk’s other works, Lullaby deals with some pretty dark stuff, including a string of mysterious infant deaths. “This isn’t a story that’s going to resonate with Disney.”

Leake is based in Portland, Oregon, where Palahniuk spent much of his life, and is a filmmaker and the founder of the Portland Film Festival. In the festival’s first year, the headline draw was a short film based on Palahniuk’s Romance, a short story that had been published in Playboy. Leake and Romance director Andy Mingo would go on to form Mindpollen, an independent studio, through which they eventually found themselves in a position to option the rights to Lullaby.

Leake and Mingo looked to Kickstarter to fund the project, partially to avoid the hassle of trying to find a studio that would take it on, and partially because they wanted to begin production as soon as possible. “There is some intelligence to optioning something and taking five years to get it done, but I prefer to fast track and get on with the next project,” says Leake.

Chuck-Palahniuk-Lullaby-Team
(From left to right) Chuck Palahniuk, Andy Mingo, and Josh Leake. Deneb Catalan / Mindpollen
Deneb Catalan / Mindpollen

With this being Leake’s first attempt at raising money through Kickstarter, there were many variables in play. On one hand, they had Palahniuk’s sizable and dedicated fan base, boosted by the fact that Palahniuk is a screenwriter on the project. On the other hand, they lacked the A-list talent required to really bring in large amounts of money. They decided to start with a modest base goal of $250,000, with the hope of getting more.

The project was helped out by mentions in major entertainment media, including Entertainment Weekly and Indiewire. It was also a featured project on Kickstarter. Leake says the process of running and promoting a crowdfunding campaign involved much more work than he realized. “It sucks, but it worked,” he says. “For nearly six months before the campaign launch, Andy, Chuck, and I met every day.”

Leake said it won’t be a problem to make the movie with the amount of money they have, but the team would really like to be able to attract strong talent to the project, and that means being able to pay for it. But, at the end of the day, “the difference between a good film and a bad film isn’t the budget, and I think we have a pretty incredible story,” says Leake.

Filming is set to begin sometime between October of this year and February 2017, depending on the availability of talent. Leake can’t disclose who they’ve reached out to, but he’s visibly excited about what he describes as a couple of potentials.

At the time of writing, Lullaby has raised more than $337,000. Interested backers can support the project for as little as one dollar. Incentives include sneak peeks at Palahniuk’s upcoming Fight Club 2 graphic novel, Lullaby swag, and the chance to be “virtual producer” with voting rights on certain aspects of the production.

Daven Mathies
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Daven is a contributing writer to the photography section. He has been with Digital Trends since 2016 and has been writing…
Best Camera Deals: Save on Canon, Panasonic, Nikon, and GoPro
fujifilm x t4 review set 2 dm 1

Whether you're looking for the best digital cameras or the best travel cameras, there are a ton of options out there, sometimes too many options, especially for those who aren't familiar with the photography world. Luckily, we've done a lot of legwork for you and collected a range of great camera deals across the spectrum, so even if you want something more sports-oriented, like a GoPro, there are a couple of deals for those too. So, let's jump right into it.
Today's Best Camera Deals
One of our favorite deals is the Canon EOS Rebel T7 going for $400, as it's one of the better DSLR cameras on the market, and it has a reasonably budget-friendly price on it, making it a great starter camera. Of course, if you've been in the game for a while and are looking for a powerful upgrade, the Sony Alpha 7R IV is one of the best full-frame cameras on the market, and while it still costs a hefty $3,200, that's still $300 off the usual $3,500 price tag. That said, if you're looking for something more portable and action-oriented, you can't go wrong with the GoPro HERO11 Black Mini, although if you're a professional content creator, the GoPro HERO9 Black 5K is probably the one to go for instead.

Do I Need a DSLR or a Mirrorless Camera?
Like most things, this really depends on what you're trying to do. Mirrorless cameras have fewer internal moving parts, which generally means they can capture images quicker, so if you're taking pictures of action-packed stuff like sports or animals in the wilderness, a mirrorless camera is a great option. On the other hand, DSLR cameras are great for low-light conditions and are great for anything from portraits to landscapes. DSLRs are also cheaper and have much better battery life, as well as having a decade or two worth of lenses to choose from.

Read more
How to blur a background in photos
A person photographed with iPhone 11's portrait mode.

Introducing a background blur to your photos can draw attention to a specific subject, such as an individual in a portrait or an item in a still life, while also adding a professional flair to your image. This beautiful background blur, also known as bokeh, can be achieved even after shooting your photo, thanks to advances in editing software. This guide will walk you through the process on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS.

Read more
How to download Instagram photos (5 easy ways)
Instagram app running on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Instagram is amazing, and many of us use it as a record of our lives — uploading the best bits of our trips, adventures, and notable moments. But sometimes you can lose the original files of those moments, leaving the Instagram copy as the only available one . While you may be happy to leave it up there, it's a lot more convenient to have another version of it downloaded onto your phone or computer. While downloading directly from Instagram can be tricky, there are ways around it. Here are a few easy ways to download Instagram photos.

Read more