Joe Eszterhas

Infobox Writer
name = Josef Eszterhas


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birthdate = birth date and age|1944|11|23|mf=y
birthplace = Csákánydoroszló, Hungary
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occupation = Screenwriter, author
nationality = American
period = 1974-present
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website = http://www.joeeszterhas.com/

Josef Eszterhas (born November 23, 1944) is a Hungarian-American writer, known for his screenplays for the films "Basic Instinct" and "Showgirls". He has also written an autobiography called "Hollywood Animal".

Screenwriting and fame

Eszterhas' first screenplay to be produced was "F.I.S.T.", directed by Norman Jewison, and although it was stated by star Sylvester Stallone that he himself rewrote the majority of the film, Eszterhas denies this assertion, and Stallone's lack of screenwriting credits suggests he may have been exaggerating. He then contributed to the script of 1983's highly successful "Flashdance". Other films he wrote include "Jagged Edge", "Jade", "Betrayed", and "Sliver".

Eszterhas re-entered the limelight in 1992, writing the screenplay for the major hit "Basic Instinct". The screenplay resulted in his being accused of homophobia and misogyny, although he supported changes made to the film's dialogue requested by gay rights groups. He was paid three million dollars for the screenplay (the highest amount of money paid for a screenplay at the time). In 1995, he wrote "Showgirls". His screenplay won that year's Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay. Eszterhas' own explanation of the failure of that film, according to his recent book"The Devil's Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter as God!" St Martin's Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-312-35987-4. p.242] was that it was ruined by the sexual affair between its director and its female star.

He turned his eye to producing following "Basic Instinct", making two films in 1997, both of which he wrote. The first one, "Telling Lies in America", was generally well-regarded by critics and audiences, but was not a great box office success. The second was the flop "An Alan Smithee Film Burn Hollywood Burn", which won several Golden Raspberry awards, of which Eszterhas won two: another Worst Screenplay and one for Worst Supporting Actor (a cameo in which a caption described him as a "penile implant"). Afterwards, the Worst Screenplay award was renamed "The Joe Eszterhas Dis-Honorarial Award".

None of Eszterhas's screenplays were produced from 1997 to 2006; his latest project, "Children of Glory", was released in 2006 (it was also entered by invitation in the official section of 2007 Berlin Film Festival). He currently has an estimated twenty-five unproduced screenplays (that he sold to studios or production companies but were never made into films), which have so far earned him a combined total of over thirty million dollars. He has also written several best-selling books, including "American Rhapsody" about politics in Hollywood and an autobiography ["Hollywood Animal"; Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. ISBN 0-375-41355-3] which superimposes his life as a young World War II refugee in America on his life as a powerful Hollywood player. A third book, "The Devil's Guide to Hollywood", was published in September 2006."The Devil's Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter as God!" (U.K. edition) Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd, 2006. ISBN 978-0715636701.]

Early forays into journalism

Prior to his involvement with screenwriting, he was a reporter with the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" and, later, a senior editor from 1971 to 1975 for "Rolling Stone". [http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/joe-eszterhas/early-forays-in-journalism.html"Joe Eszterhas - Biography of Joe Eszterhas"] ]

During his stay at the "Plain Dealer", he gained his first touch of notoriety due to his handling of color photos of Vietnam's My Lai Massacre, which depicted American soldiers murdering Vietnamese civilians. Although he was annoyed at his newspaper’s apparent lack of belief in the authenticity of the photos, the paper permitted Eszterhas to try and sell them for $125,000. Some media outlets, however, used the photos without permission, causing the photos to decline in value. He ended up receiving only $20,000 from "Life" magazine.

Another touch of notoriety concerned a "Cleveland Plain Dealer" editor who singlehandedly sailed a small sail boat from the United States to England. The "Plain Dealer" would not sponsor the editor's trip. However, as the gentleman neared the culmination of his trip, the "Plain Dealer" chartered an airplane to fly low and drop "Cleveland Plain Dealer" sweat shirts to the editor. According to the account Eszterhas wrote, the editor retrieved the sweat shirts and when he saw what they were, tossed them overboard. Eszterhas was subsequently relieved of his duties at the newspaper.

He became a screenwriter when "Rolling Stone" moved its offices from San Francisco to New York City, because he did not want to leave California.

Personal life

Eszterhas was born in Csákánydoroszló, Hungary, and raised as a young child in a refugee camp in Austria. Eventually his parents moved to New York City, and then to poor immigrant neighborhoods in Cleveland, where he spent most of his childhood.

His mother had a mental illness which estranged her from the family while he was entering adolescence. His father, Istvan Eszterhas, was a Roman Catholic newspaper editor and author, and was later revealed to have worked for the pro-Nazi Hungarian government by writing anti-Semitic literature. He did not face deportation, however.

Eszterhas attended Ohio University, but did not graduate. He became a National Book Award nominee for his nonfiction work "Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse" in 1974.

In 1996, Eszterhas was reunited with his estranged daughter, Suzanne Perryman, who was adopted at birth. Though he and Perryman felt an instant connection, both held back - she was awed by his renown and did not want him to think she wanted anything; he because of his own insecurities. Father and daughter stayed in touch for a while, then lost contact for about four years.

After Eszterhas gave up the Hollywood lifestyle in the late 1990s, he moved back to Bainbridge (small suburb of Cleveland) with his wife and four sons, who are all in grade school (two other children with a previous wife were grown). A month after the move, Eszterhas was diagnosed with throat cancer. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic removed 80 percent of his larynx, put a tracheotomy tube in his throat, and told him he must quit drinking and smoking immediately.

At age 56, after a lifetime of wild living, Eszterhas knew it would be a struggle to change his ways. It was during the summer of 2001 that Eszterhas reached a breaking point and for the first time since he was a child, he prayed: "Please God, help me." Since that moment, Eszterhas went from doubting if he could make it through life without tobacco and alcohol, to knowing that he could "defeat myself and win." He has been faithfully attending Catholic Mass on Sundays ever since, and is still recovering from throat cancer. He has also since become an outspoken campaigner against smoking in films. The New Jersey anti-tobacco youth group REBEL awarded him the Fight the Good Fight award in 2004.

In 2001, after not having talked for four years, Eszterhas and his estranged daughter got in touch with each other once again. Around then, Perryman saw Eszterhas on TV talking about his battle with throat cancer, and she called him. Since then, their bond has grown stronger. They became even closer after Perryman's two daughters were diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, a degenerative condition that weakens the body's cells and attacks major organs. Today, Eszterhas describes their relationship as "still a work in progress."

Other works

Back in 2004, Eszterhas wrote the best-selling, raw, salacious tell-all "Hollywood Animal" in which he described in shameless detail his sexcapades with Hollywood actresses and nasty battles with Hollywood execs.

His latest book, "Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith," was published on September 2, 2008 by St. Martin's Press. The release tells the story of his spiritual conversion and his newfound devotion to God and family.

Footnotes

External links

*
* [http://www.slate.com/id/1856/ Article] in " Slate"
* [http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/other/1217752259317541.xml&coll=2 Article] in " The Plain Dealer"
* [http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080829/man-behind-basic-instinct-showgirls-reveals-faith-in-new-book.htm Article] in "The Christian Post"