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Joe Eszterhas’s tenure as the hottest screenwriter in town ended with two notorious 1995 flops: the NC-17 rated Showgirls (directed, like Basic Instinct, by Paul Verhoeven) and Jade (produced, like Sliver, by Robert Evans), We’ll analyze why these films failed to connect with audiences in 1995, and, more importantly, why the media at the time seized on them as major embarrassments for the industry.

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

“Joe Eszterhas Opens Up The infamous screenwriter of ''Showgirls'' participates in a 'tell-all'' interview By Dana Kennedy, Updated August 12, 1994

“Crossing the Abyss Between TV and Films” by Bernard Weinraub, NYTimes, April 16, 1995 

“Joe Eszterhas” by Erik Hedegaard, Details Magazine, May 1995

“The Ticket to Stardom? Write a Hit Movie” NYTimes, May 21, 1995 

“Dole’s Attacks Fail to Curb Hollywood on Sex, Violence : Media: Two months later, most of the industry is still pushing the limits. But subtle signs of a chill can be found” by Robert W. Welkos And Daniel Howard Cerone, La Times, July 30, 1995

“First Major Film With an NC-17 Rating Is Embraced by the Studio by Bernard Weinraub, NYTimes, July 21, 1995 

“Lap Dancing with Joe Eszterhas” By Mary Gaitskill, Mirabella, September 1995 

Elizabeth Berkley on Late Show, 1995

‘Showgirls’ and NC-17: Grin and Bare It : Movies: MGM/UA uses the controversial rating to its marketing advantage with free videos, provocative billboards and other promotional teases By Claudia Puig, LA Times, Sept. 16, 1995 

“The Naked Truth About ‘Showgirls’” by Kenneth Turan, LA Times, Sept. 22, 1995 

Showgirls Review by Janet Maslin, NYTimes, Sept. 22, 1995 

Showgirls Review by Roger Ebert, September 22, 1995 

“Crowds, Skepticism Greet ‘Showgirls’ : Movies: Controversial NC-17 film about a nude dancer earns $8.3 million on opening weekend. But viewers find furor based more on hype than heat” by Robin Rauzi, LA Times, Sept. 25, 1995 

“Girls! Girls! Girls!” by Svetkey, Benjamin and Natale, Richard, Entertainment Weekly. September 29, 1995 

“'Showgirls' makes its mark on Hollywood – The sexy new Elizabeth Berkley flick spurs a slew of upcoming stories about the world of exotic dancing” by Benjamin Svetkey, Entertainment Weekly, September 29, 1995

“Showgirls” by Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, October 6, 1995 

Jade Review, Roger Ebert, October 13, 1995 

“Friedkin’s ‘Jade’ Mines Familiar Territory” by Kenneth Turan, LA Times, Oct. 13, 1995 

“Jade” by Brian Lowry, Variety, Oct 16, 1995 

“The Showgirl’s Net: Bad Reviews, Agent Woes, $100,000 : Movies: Elizabeth Berkley is 

Catching The Heat, But Director Paul Verhoeven Accepts Some Of The Blame” by Claudia Puig, LA Times, Oct. 11, 1995 

“Jaded Instincts” by Quentin Curtis, Independent on Sunday, November 5, 1995

“Joe Eszterhas disappoints critics” by Anne Thompson, Entertainment Weekly, November 10, 1995 

“Linda Fiorentino’s Dirty Little Secret” By Lynn Darling, Esquire, November 11, 1995 

“Not Your Average” Joe By Maureen Orth, Vanity Fair April 1996 

“Joe Eszterhas: The Playboy Interview” Playboy, April 1998

“Joe Eszterhas: How did a B-movie screenwriter become an A-list celebrity?” by David Plotz, Slate, March 15, 1998 

“Round Table: Showgirls.” Film Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Spring 2003), pp. 32-46

“The fate of the $26m scripts Joe Eszterhas sold in the 90s” by Simon Brew, Den of Geek, July 16, 2015 

“‘Showgirls’: Paul Verhoeven on the Greatest Stripper Movie Ever Made. For the camp classic's 20th anniversary, the director remembers "the most elegant movie I've ever done" by Jennifer Wood, Rolling Stone, September 22, 2015 

Bob Dole, Hollywood, and ‘Mainstreaming of Deviancy,’ 1995 Blog 

Hollywood Animal: A Memoir by Joe Eszterhas

The Friedkin Connection by William Friedkin 

Leading Lady: Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker by Stephen Galloway

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Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.