Бойцовский клуб

           Oldtheater,newtheater,toshipamovietothenexttheater,Tylerhastobreakthemoviebackdowntotheoriginalsixorsevenreels. Thesmallreelspackintoapairofhexagonalsteelsuitcases. Eachsuitcasehasahandleontop. Pickoneup,andyou’lldislocateashoulder. 

           Theyweighthatmuch. 

           Tyler’sabanquetwaiter,waitingtablesatahotel,downtown,andTyler’saprojectionistwiththeprojectoroperator’sunion. Idon’tknowhowlongTylerhadbeenworkingonallthosenightsIcouldn’tsleep. 

           Theoldtheatersthatrunamoviewithtwoprojectors,aprojectionisthastostandrighttheretochangeprojectorsattheexactsecondsotheaudienceneverseesthebreakwhenonereelstartsandonereelranout. Youhavetolookforthewhitedotsinthetop,right-handcornerofthescreen. Thisisthewarning. Watchthemovie,andyou’llseetwodotsattheendofareel. 

           "Cigaretteburns,"they’recalledinthebusiness. 

           Thefirstwhitedot,thisisthetwo-minutewarning. Yougetthesecondprojectorstartedsoitwillberunninguptospeed. 

           Thesecondwhitedotisthefive-secondwarning.Excitement. You’restandingbetweenthetwoprojectorsandtheboothissweatinghotfromthexenonbulbsthatifyoulookedrightatthemyou’reblind. Thefirstdotflashesonthescreen. Thesoundinamoviecomesfromabigspeakerbehindthescreen. Theprojectionistboothissoundproofbecauseinsidetheboothistheracketofsprocketssnappingfilmpastthelensatsixfeetasecond, tenframesafoot,sixtyframesasecondsnappingthrough,clatteringGatling-gunfire.