In the film, Wilson played Mitch Martin, a heartbroken lawyer who finds a fresh start as the unexpected “godfather” of the Lambda Epsilon Omega fraternity
Credit: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Richard Forman/Dreamworks Llc/Kobal/Shutterstock
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Luke Wilson revealed Old School was pitched to him as a somewhat comedic take on the gritty drama Fight Club
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Wilson noted similarities between his character’s wardrobe and Edward Norton’s in Fight Club during filming
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Old School, directed by Todd Phillips, also starred Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn as members of the fraternity
Luke Wilson is recounting how the 2003 comedy Old School was first pitched to him.
The film centered on a trio of frustrated 30-somethings who launch a fraternity at Harrison University in order to both relive their college heyday and prevent Mitch Martin (played by Wilson) from being evicted from the house he’s renting near campus.
Wilson, 54, spoke on a recent episode of the Out of Order podcast where he was asked whether it was true the film was initially presented to him as a somewhat fictional version of 1999’s Fight Club.
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Credit: Richard Forman/Dreamworks Llc/Kobal/Shutterstock
“At the time, and I always kind of kept that in mind,” Wilson said, acknowledging that even his wardrobe was in a similarly “drab color” to Edward Norton’s in Fight Club.
Wilson continued: “I remember [Old School director Todd Phillips] saying that back then, and I always thought it was like a funny concept and I just thought there were kind of a few similarities [between the two films].”
In Old School, Wilson played Mitch, a heartbroken lawyer who finds a fresh start as the unexpected “godfather” of the Lambda Epsilon Omega fraternity.
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Old School also starred Will Ferrell as the iconic Frank “The Tank,” a newly married man who joins the frat while trying to find himself and repair his marriage.
Vince Vaughn played Bernard Campbell, who pushes Mitch to launch the fraternity and relive his glory days, all while being married with young kids.
Fight Club is a grittier drama starring Norton as a man who can’t sleep and becomes disaffected by life. When he meets Brad Pitt‘s character, Tyler Durden, he discovers someone with all the charisma his own character lacks, and they form a fight club that spirals out of control. The movie was directed by David Fincher and based on the 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk.
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