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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:
“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
“Lap Dancing with Joe Eszterhas” By Mary Gaitskill, Mirabella, September 1995
Elizabeth Berkley on Late Show, 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
“Girls! Girls! Girls!” by Svetkey, Benjamin and Natale, Richard, Entertainment Weekly. September 29, 1995
“Base Instinct” Newsweek, September 24, 1995
“People” by Belinda Luscombe, TIME, Sept. 25, 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
“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
“Round Table: Showgirls.” Film Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Spring 2003), pp. 32-46
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.
Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:
Vik Fence Lardha - The Fence
Mill Wyrm - Potions
True Blue Sky - Bitters
Tessalit - Azalai
Stock Still - Reflections
One Quiet Conversation - K2
Launch Code - Kittyhawk
Song at the End of Times - Limoncello
Chai Belltini - Vermouth
Chams Pacer - Lemon Jelly
Thumbscrew - Sketchbook 2
Deixa - Orange Cat
Metropolis Calling - Kittyhawk
Smooth Edges - Lemon Jelly
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.