Editing Joe Eszterhas

{{short description|Hungarian-American screenwriter and author}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Hungarian name|Eszterhás József Antal}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| birth_name   = József Antal Eszterhás
| image        =
| caption      =
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1944|11|23|mf=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Csákánydoroszló]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]]
| occupation   = {{hlist|Screenwriter|author|journalist}}
| education    = [[Ohio University]]
| notableworks = {{plainlist|
* ''[[Flashdance]]''
* ''[[Jagged Edge (film)|Jagged Edge]]''
* ''[[Basic Instinct]]''
* ''[[Showgirls]]''}}
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Gerri Javor|1970|1994|reason=div}}
* {{Marriage|Naomi Baka|1994}}
}}
| children     = 7
}}
'''József Antal Eszterhás''' ({{IPA|hu|ˈjoːʒɛf ɒntɒl ˈɛstɛrhaːʃ|lang}}; born November 23, 1944), credited as '''Joe Eszterhas''', is a [[Hungarian-American]] writer. Born in Hungary, he grew up in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], in the United States. After an early career as a journalist and editor, he entered the film industry. His first screenwriting credit was for the film ''[[F.I.S.T. (film)|F.I.S.T.]]'' (1978). He co-wrote the script for ''[[Flashdance]]'', which became one of the highest-grossing films of 1983, and set off a lucrative and prolific run for his career. By the early 1990s, he was known as the highest-paid writer in Hollywood, and noted for his work in the [[erotic thriller]] genre. He was paid a then-record $3 million for his script ''Love Hurts'', which was produced as ''[[Basic Instinct]]'' (1992), and following its success, news outlets reported he earned seven-figure payouts solely on the basis of two-to-four page outlines.

Eszterhas' screenwriting career experienced a decline over the rest of the decade, with films such as ''[[Showgirls]]'' (1995), ''[[Jade (1995 film)|Jade]]'' (1995), and ''[[An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn]]'' (1997), the latter receiving negative reviews and performing poorly at the box office. He mostly withdrew from Hollywood afterward, though he has since authored several books. His publications include ''[[American Rhapsody (book)|American Rhapsody]]'' (2000), and two volumes of memoirs: ''[[Hollywood Animal]]'' (2004), an autobiography, and ''Crossbearer'' (2008), which detailed his adulthood return to the Catholic faith he was raised in.

==Personal life==
Eszterhás was born in [[Csákánydoroszló]], a village in [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]], to Roman Catholic parents Mária (née Bíró) and István Eszterhás. He was born during [[World War II]], and lived as a child in a [[Displaced persons camps in post–World War II Europe|refugee camp]] in [[Allied-occupied Austria]]. The family later moved to the United States, living first in [[Pittsburgh]] before settling in [[Cleveland]] in 1950, where Eszterhas was raised.<ref name = Dominus>{{cite news|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3663582/The-last-king-of-Hollywood.html|title = The last king of Hollywood|last = Dominus|first = Susan|newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]]|date = March 4, 2007|accessdate = May 4, 2023|url-access = subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/24/movies/from-the-music-box-emerges-the-nazi-demon.html|work=The New York Times|first1=Paul|last1=Chutkow|title=From the 'Music Box' Emerges the Nazi Demon|date=December 24, 1989}}</ref> He attended [[Ohio University]]. He decided to pursue writing as a career after winning a competition in 1966 sponsored by the [[William Randolph Hearst]] Foundation. The prize was awarded at the [[White House]] by then-Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]].<ref name = Atlantic>{{cite news|url = https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/03/want-to-be-a-screenwriter-get-out-of-la/37110/|title = Want to be a Screenwriter? Get out of LA|last1 = Meroney|first1 = John|last2 = Coons|first2 = Sean|magazine = [[The Atlantic]]|date = March 6, 2010|accessdate = May 4, 2023|url-access = limited}}</ref>

When Eszterhas was 45, he learned that his father had concealed his [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|World War II collaboration]] in Hungary's [[Arrow Cross Party]] government after the [[Operation Margarethe|German occupation of Hungary]] and that he had "organized book burnings and had produced anti-Semitic propaganda."<ref name="Crossbearer"/>{{sup|{{small|p.201}}}} Eszterhas later described his father's anti-Semitic pamphlets as "like the Hungarian version of ''[[Mein Kampf]]''." After this discovery, he cut his father out of his life entirely, never reconciling before his father's death in 2001.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sharon|last=Waxman|author-link=Sharon Waxman|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/movies/in-a-screenwriter-s-art-echoes-of-his-father-s-secret.html|title=In a Screenwriter's Art, Echoes of His Father's Secret|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 18, 2004|access-date=December 20, 2019}}</ref> He paid for his father's care in later years but was not present at his death, saying in 2024 that "There are moments these many years later that I deeply regret that, and other moments that I'm proud of myself for not going".<ref name = Goldman>{{cite news|title = Joe Eszterhas Sure Cleaned Up|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/magazine/joe-eszterhas-sure-cleaned-up.html|date = February 5, 2012|last = Goldman|first = Andrew|magazine = [[The New York Times Magazine]]|page = 10|accessdate = May 4, 2023|url-access = limited}}</ref><ref name = Careful>{{cite news|url = https://www.thewrap.com/thewrapbook-joe-eszterhas-music-box-war/|title = Be Careful What You Write, It Can Break Your Heart|last = Eszterhas|first = Joe|date = February 22, 2024|accessdate = November 5, 2024|work = [[TheWrap]]}}</ref>

Eszterhas had a daughter in 1967 who was put up for adoption at birth. They reunited in 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.cleveland.com/lifestyles/2008/08/how_a_daughter_given_up_at_bir.html|title = How a daughter given up at birth learned her father was Joe Eszterhas|date = August 14, 2008|accessdate = May 4, 2023|last = Jindra|first = Christine|newspaper = [[The Plain Dealer]]}}</ref> Eszterhas had two children with his first wife, Gerri Javor. The couple divorced in 1994 after nearly 24 years of marriage.<ref name=":0" /><ref name = Disclosure>{{Cite web |title=Full disclosure |url=https://joeunchained.com/full_disclosure |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809015637/https://joeunchained.com/full_disclosure |archive-date=August 9, 2016 |access-date=July 6, 2016 |website=joeunchained.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/eszterhas-joe-1944-josef-antony-eszterhas-joseph-eszterhas|title = Eszterhas, Joe 1944- (Josef Antony Eszterhas, Joseph A. Eszterhas)|website = [[Encyclopedia.com]]|publisher = [[Cengage]]|accessdate = May 4, 2023}}</ref> That year, he married Naomi Baka, an Ohio native, and they had four sons.<ref name=":1" /><ref name = Atlantic/> {{As of|2022}}, Eszterhas lives in the Cleveland suburb of [[Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio|Bainbridge Township, Ohio]].<ref name = Simakis/><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.avclub.com/basic-instinct-joe-eszterhas-interview-sharon-stone-mic-1848676250|title = Basic Instinct's Joe Eszterhas on that famous interrogation scene, and the film's lasting impact|last = Simon|first = Brett|date = March 30, 2022|accessdate = May 4, 2023|work = [[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref> After previously living in [[Malibu, California]], he and his wife moved to Bainbridge in 2001, as they felt it provided a better environment to raise their children in.<ref name = Dominus/><ref name = Guthmann>{{cite news|url = https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Forget-his-story-of-sex-and-glitz-worthy-of-a-2797552.php|title = Forget his story of sex and glitz worthy of a movie. Joe Eszterhas says he's really living the life now.|date = February 12, 2004|accessdate = May 3, 2023|last = Guthmann|first = Edward|newspaper = [[The San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> During his first marriage, he was a resident of [[Tiburon, California]].<ref name=Disclosure/>

===Political views===
Eszterhas has described himself as an "independent centrist", whose votes for president have included [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] [[Bill Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]], [[Independent politician|Independent]] [[Ross Perot]], and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] [[George W. Bush]] and [[Donald Trump]].<ref name = Simakis/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/joe-eszterhas-trump-is-an-a-hole-but-im-still-not-voting-for-hillary-exclusive-video/|title = Joe Eszterhas: Trump Is an 'A–hole,' but I'm Still Not Voting for Hillary (Exclusive Video)|last = Waxman|first = Sharon|author-link=Sharon Waxman|website = [[The Wrap]]|location=Los Angeles|date = July 20, 2016}}</ref> He is a supporter of Hungarian [[prime minister of Hungary|prime minister]] [[Viktor Orbán]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 29, 2019 |title=Joe Eszterhas has found God and Viktor Orbán |url=https://hungarianfreepress.com/2019/06/29/joe-eszterhas-has-found-god-and-viktor-orban/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=Hungarian Free Press |language=en-US}}</ref> He has described himself as a staunch supporter of Israel.<ref name = Careful/>

==Journalism==
Eszterhas began his career with a stint at the ''[[Dayton Daily News|Dayton Journal Herald]]'',<ref name = Disclosure/> before moving to ''[[The Plain Dealer]]'' in Cleveland, where he was one of the first reporters to cover the [[Kent State shootings]] in 1970.<ref name = Lepore>{{cite news|title = Blood on the Green|url = https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/04/kent-state-and-the-war-that-never-ended|magazine = [[The New Yorker]]|page = 71|date = May 6, 2020|accessdate = May 4, 2023|last = Lepore|first = Jill|authorlink = Jill Lepore|url-access = limited}}</ref><ref name = Simakis>{{cite news|url = https://www.cleveland.com/onstage/2016/07/joe_eszterhas_clevelands_homeg.html|title = Joe Eszterhas, Cleveland's homegrown firebrand, ready for RNC 2016 with his 'Unchained' website|last = Simakis|first = Andrea|newspaper = [[The Plain Dealer]]|date = July 16, 2016|accessdate = May 4, 2023}}</ref> He and fellow ''Plain Dealer'' journalist Michael Roberts spent the next three months reporting on the story, and their work was published as the book ''Thirteen Seconds: Confrontation at Kent State''.<ref name = Lepore/> Eszterhas later joined the staff of ''[[Rolling Stone]]''.<ref name = Dominus/>

One of Eszterhas' articles for ''The Plain Dealer'' was the subject of a lawsuit. He had covered the aftermath of the collapse of a bridge across the Ohio River.<ref>{{cite news|first=Joe|last=Eszterhas|newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer|The Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine]]|date=August 4, 1968|page=32, col. 1|title=Legacy of the Silver Bridge}}</ref> It included a supposed interview of Margaret Cantrell, the widow of one of the fatal victims of the collapse. Months after the accident, he and a photographer visited her home. She was not there at the time, but he talked to the children as the photographer took photos. His Sunday magazine feature focused on the family's poverty and contained several inaccuracies. Eszterhas had made it seem as though he had spoken to her, describing her mood and attitude in the story. Cantrell filed suit for invasion of privacy, and won a $60,000 judgment.<ref name=":0" /> The decision was overturned in the Court of Appeals on [[First Amendment]] grounds but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the original award.<ref name="The Supremes">{{cite court|vol=419|opinion=245|court=U.S. (1974)|litigants=Cantrell et al. v.Forest City Publishing Co. et al.|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3235360769901328913}}</ref> ''Cantrell v. Forest City Publishing'' (1974) is one of only two [[false light]] cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Doyle|first1=Michael|title=False Light, Camera, Action|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/02/false-light-camera-action.html|website=Slate|date=February 25, 2004|access-date=June 14, 2024}}</ref>

Eszterhas became a [[National Book Award]] nominee for his nonfiction work ''Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse'' in 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalbook.org/nba1975.html#.WDih8vmLTIU|title=National Book Awards – 1975|website=National Book Foundation|access-date=November 25, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909065656/http://www.nationalbook.org/nba1975.html|archive-date=September 9, 2011|publisher=nationalbook.org}}</ref> A studio executive who read the book contacted Eszterhas, telling him that it was "very cinematic" and suggested he could be a screenwriter. This motivated him to change careers and start writing scripts.<ref name = Atlantic/>

==Screenwriter==
Eszterhas' first produced [[screenplay]] was ''[[F.I.S.T. (film)|F.I.S.T.]]'', directed by [[Norman Jewison]]. Eszterhas contributed to the script of 1983's ''[[Flashdance]]'', and wrote the screenplays for ''[[Jagged Edge (film)|Jagged Edge]]'' and ''[[Betrayed (1988 film)|Betrayed]].''

In 1989, Eszterhas planned to leave [[Creative Artists Agency]] because an old friend [[Guy McElwaine]] was restarting his agency.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Orth |first=Maureen |author-link=Maureen Orth |date=April 1996 |title=NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1996/4/not-your-average-joe |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Michael Ovitz]], then the chairman of CAA, threatened to prevent CAA actors from acting in Eszterhas' future projects. Eszterhas penned a letter to Ovitz blasting him for his tactics. Copies of the letter were circulated around Hollywood and the missive was credited with loosening the stranglehold of power that CAA had on the entertainment industry.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 23, 2012 |title=I am a human being |url=http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/10/i-am-human-being.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026000333/http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/10/i-am-human-being.html |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |access-date=June 26, 2017 |website=Letters of Note}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Masters |first=Kim |author-link=Kim Masters |date=August 25, 2016 |title=Kim Masters: My Battles With CAA's Michael Ovitz and the Truce That Never Was |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/kim-masters-my-battles-caas-922022/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Easton |first=Nina J. |date=October 19, 1989 |title=The Letter That's Shaking Hollywood : Movies: A million-dollar screenwriter takes on powerful talent agent Michael Ovitz. |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-19-ca-323-story.html?_ga=2.219384281.1369754618.1656739208-1308657366.1656644589 |access-date=July 2, 2022}}</ref>

A [[spec script]] Eszterhas wrote originally titled ''Love Hurts'' became the subject of a bidding war amongst various production companies in Hollywood, eventually selling for a then-record $3 million in 1990.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |author=Brew |first=Simon |date=July 16, 2015 |title=The fate of the $26m scripts Joe Eszterhas sold in the 90s |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/joe-eszterhas/36185/what-happened-to-26m-of-screenplays-joe-eszterhas-sold-in-the-1990s |access-date=June 6, 2017 |website=[[Den of Geek]]}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Eller |first=Claudia |date=May 19, 1994 |title=Sale of Eszterhas Script Scores a Screenwriters' Breakthrough |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-19-fi-59577-story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=July 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404173011/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-19-fi-59577-story.html |archive-date=April 4, 2022}}</ref> The project eventually materialized into ''[[Basic Instinct]]'', directed by Dutch filmmaker [[Paul Verhoeven]]. Released in 1992 to more than $400 million at the box office, ''Basic Instinct'' and its success led to Eszterhas becoming one of the most sought-after screenwriters at the time.<ref name=":2" /> By some reports, he earned a total of $26 million for the scripts he wrote in the 1990s.<ref name = :2/><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.filmconnection.com/blog/2022/08/31/how-much-do-screenplays-sell-for/|title = How Much do Screenplays Sell For?|work = Film Connection|date = August 31, 2022|accessdate = July 13, 2023}}</ref>

The following year, Eszterhas re-teamed with ''Basic Instinct'' star [[Sharon Stone]] for the film ''[[Sliver (film)|Sliver]]''. ''Sliver'' did not replicate the box-office success of the former and was critically derided.<ref name=":2" /> Eszterhas next wrote the screenplay for ''[[Showgirls]]'', his second collaboration with director Verhoeven. ''Showgirls'', which debuted in 1995, was seen as a critical and financial disaster, winning the year's [[Golden Raspberry Award]] for "Worst Screenplay". Despite the negative press, the film enjoyed cult success in the [[home video]] market, generating more than $100 million from video rentals<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 22, 2015 |title='Showgirls': Paul Verhoeven on the Greatest Stripper Movie Ever Made |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/showgirls-paul-verhoeven-on-the-greatest-stripper-movie-ever-made-54740/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611131729/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/showgirls-paul-verhoeven-on-the-greatest-stripper-movie-ever-made-54740/ |archive-date=June 11, 2020 |access-date=July 2, 2022 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> and becoming one of [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]'s top twenty all-time bestsellers.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 28, 2007 |title=Showgirls (official site) |url=http://www.mgm.com/title_title.php?title_star=SHOWGRLS |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428172642/http://www.mgm.com/title_title.php?title_star=SHOWGRLS |archive-date=April 28, 2007 |access-date=November 25, 2010 |website=[[MGM]]}}</ref> ''[[Jade (1995 film)|Jade]]'', whose script Eszterhas sold in the wake of ''Basic Instinct''<nowiki/>'s success,<ref name=":4" /> was released three weeks later to low grosses and negative reviews.<ref name=":2" /> The one-two punch of back-to-back [[box-office bomb]]s in the same year saw Eszterhas' reputation as the highest-paid screenwriter take a hit.<ref name=":2" />

In 1997, Eszterhas produced two films, both of which he wrote: ''[[Telling Lies in America]]'' and ''[[An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn]]''. ''Burn Hollywood Burn'', which is about a director named [[Alan Smithee]] who films a big-budget bomb and then tries to destroy it, flopped at the box office. It won several [[Golden Raspberry Award]]s, five of them awarded to Eszterhas himself: [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture|Worst Picture]] (Eszterhas was the film's uncredited producer), [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay|Worst Screenplay]], [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song|Worst Original Song]], and both [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star|Worst New Star]] and [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor|Worst Supporting Actor]] for a brief on-screen cameo.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 22, 1999 |title=Raspberry for Spice Girls as anti-Oscars handed out |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/mar/22/julianborger |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=[[the Guardian]] |language=en}}</ref>

The failure of ''Burn Hollywood Burn'' further affected Eszterhas' career: none of the screenplays he wrote between 1997 and 2006 were produced. However, ''[[Children of Glory]]'', a [[Hungarian language]] film based upon his screenplay, was released in 2006. The film focuses upon both the [[1956 Hungarian Revolution]] and the [[Blood in the Water match]] at the [[1956 Melbourne Olympics]]. ''Children of Glory'' was entered by invitation in the official section of the 2007 [[Berlin Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=January 26, 2007 |title=International premiere for Children of Glory |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/72542/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |website=Cineuropa |language=en}}</ref>

===Feud with Mel Gibson===
In 2011, it was announced actor-director [[Mel Gibson]] had commissioned Eszterhas to write a screenplay: a historical biopic on [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah]] and the [[Maccabees]], titled ''M.C.K.B.I.''<ref name="thewrap MCKBI">{{cite web |last=Waxman |first=Sharon |author-link=Sharon Waxman |date=April 16, 2012 |title=The Joe Eszterhas 'Maccabees' Script: Bloody Butchery, Heroic Jews |url=https://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/joe-eszterhas-maccabees-script-bloody-butchery-heroic-jews-exclusive-37021 |access-date=August 8, 2012 |website=[[TheWrap]] |location=Los Angeles}}</ref> The film was to be distributed by [[Warner Bros.]] The announcement generated controversy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 9, 2011 |title=Jewish Leaders Slam Mel Gibson, Warner Bros. for Judah Maccabee Movie (Exclusive) |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/news/jewish-leaders-slam-mel-gibson--warner-bros--for-judah-maccabee-movie--exclusive-.html |access-date=June 16, 2020 |website=[[Yahoo! Entertainment]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In a 2008 interview, Eszterhas wrote that "Mel shared the mind-set of [[Adolf Hitler]]."<ref name="Crossbearer">{{cite book|title=Crossbearer: a memoir of faith|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York City|year=2008|first=Joe|last=Esztherhas|isbn=978-0-312-38596-5|oclc=213300974|url=https://archive.org/details/crossbearermemoi00eszt}}</ref>

In a February 2012 interview with Andrew Goldman of ''[[The New York Times]]'', Goldman said to Eszterhas: "[Gibson's] film ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]'' was widely considered anti-Semitic. Then, during a 2006 arrest for drunken driving, he ranted that 'the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.' Is he the right director [for the film about Judah Maccabee]?" Eszterhas replied: "Adam Fogelson, Universal Pictures' chairman, said to [Gibson], 'Why do you want to do this story?' Mel said, 'Because I think I should.' I liked that answer very much." When asked about their shared Catholic faith, Eszterhas said of Gibson, "In my mind, his Catholicism is a figment of his imagination."<ref name = Goldman/>

By April 2012, Warner Bros. had canceled the Maccabee project; the film's last draft was dated February 20, 2012.<ref name="thewrap MCKBI" /> Eszterhas claimed the break was caused by Gibson's violent outbursts and anti-Semitism,<ref name="wrap">{{cite web|work=[[The Wrap]]|location=Los Angeles|url=https://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/joe-eszterhas-letter-mel-gibson-36949|title=Joe Eszterhas' Letter to Mel Gibson|date=April 11, 2012|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=March 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304055300/https://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/joe-eszterhas-letter-mel-gibson-36949/|url-status=dead}}</ref> while Gibson blamed a bad script.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tmz.com/2012/04/11/mel-gibson-hate-jews-joel-eszterhas-macabees|title=Eszterhas and Gibson part ways on Maccabees|website=[[TMZ]]|date=April 11, 2012}}</ref> Eszterhas later wrote a book, ''Heaven and Mel'', about his experiences working with Gibson.<ref name="avclub heaven and mel">{{cite web |last1=Rabin |first1=Nathan |author-link1=Nathan Rabin |date=August 21, 2012 |title=Joe Eszterhas' ''Heaven And Mel'': proof he and Mel Gibson deserve each other |url=https://www.avclub.com/joe-eszterhas-heaven-and-mel-proof-he-and-mel-gibson-1798233053 |access-date=September 20, 2016 |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |location=Los Angeles}}</ref>

==Other works==
Eszterhas has written several best-selling books, including ''Hollywood Animal'', an autobiography about politics in Hollywood,<ref>
{{Cite book
  | last = Eszterhas
  | first = Joe
  | title = Hollywood Animal
  | publisher = Alfred A. Knopf
  | year = 2004
  | isbn = 0-375-41355-3
  | url = https://archive.org/details/hollywoodanimalm00eszt
  }}
</ref> which superimposes his life as a young immigrant in the United States on his life as a powerful [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] player. His book ''The Devil's Guide to Hollywood'' was published in September 2006.<ref name="hollywood">
{{Cite book
  | last = Eszterhas
  | first = Joe
  | title = The Devil's Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter as God!
  | publisher = (U.K. edition) Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd.
  | year = 2006
  | isbn = 978-0-7156-3670-1}}
</ref>

His book ''Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith'' was published in 2008.<ref name="Crossbearer"/> It tells the story of his return to the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and his new-found devotion to God and family after surviving a [[throat cancer]] diagnosis in 2001. Eszterhas admitted smoking four packs of Salem Light cigarettes a day, as well as drinking heavily.<ref name = Disclosure/> He underwent surgery to remove 80% of his larynx, and had a trachea fitted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 6, 2009 |title=Joe Eszterhas |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2009/02/06/february-6-2009-joe-eszterhas/2170/ |access-date=June 16, 2020 |website=[[Religion & Ethics Newsweekly]] |publisher=[[PBS]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2002, he publicly apologized for glamorizing smoking in his films, making this apology in part due his own cancer diagnosis and feeling guilty afterwards.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3581820/A-smoking-star-is-a-loaded-gun.html |  work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | title=A smoking star is a loaded gun | first=Ian | last=Ball | date=August 22, 2002 | access-date=April 2, 2018 | archive-date=August 21, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821191846/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3581820/A-smoking-star-is-a-loaded-gun.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Eszterhas wrote a book about his experiences with [[Mel Gibson]] and [[anti-Semitism]], titled ''Heaven and Mel'', wherein he portrays Gibson as a man fueled only by hatred, prone to violent outbursts.<ref>Eszterhas, Joe (2012). ''Heaven and Mel'', Amazon Kindle Single. [https://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Mel-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B0087PTQ96/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340821598&sr=8-1&keywords=heaven+and+mel ASIN B0087PTQ96]</ref> Among many damning statements is Eszterhas' claim that while staying at Gibson's Costa Rican estate to work on a script, he became so afraid that he slept with a golf club in his hand.<ref>Joe Eszterhas' interview on ''[[The Howard Stern Show]]'', June 27, 2012</ref>

==Filmography==
* ''[[F.I.S.T. (film)|F.I.S.T.]]'' (1978) – received fee of $85,000 for the script<ref name="joe">{{Cite news |author=Kilday |first=Gregg |date=April 2, 1977 |title=Stallone Wins Heavyweight-Purse |page=b6 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> but a record price of $400,000 for the novelization<ref>{{Cite news|title=FILM CLIPS: Tony Bill's Open Door Policy|author=Lee, Grant.|date=May 28, 1977|work=Los Angeles Times|page=b6}}</ref>
* ''[[Flashdance]]'' (1983)
*''[[Blue Thunder]]'' (1983) – uncredited rewrite in five days; Eszterhas claims he came up with the ending
*''Pals'' (early 1980s)
* ''[[Jagged Edge (film)|Jagged Edge]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Big Shots (film)|Big Shots]]'' (1987) – sold for $1.25 million
* ''[[Hearts of Fire]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Betrayed (1988 film)|Betrayed]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Checking Out (1989 film)|Checking Out]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Music Box (film)|Music Box]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Basic Instinct]]'' (1992) – received $3 million
* ''[[Nowhere to Run (1993 film)|Nowhere to Run]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Sliver (film)|Sliver]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Showgirls]]'' (1995) – sold for $2 million<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |author=Dowd |first=Maureen |author-link=Maureen Dowd |date=May 30, 1993 |title=Bucks and Blondes: Joe Eszterhas Lives The Big Dream: Joe Eszterhas Lives the Dream |page=H9 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/30/movies/film-bucks-and-blondes-joe-eszterhas-lives-the-big-dream.html |access-date=July 2, 2022}}</ref>
* ''[[Jade (1995 film)|Jade]]'' (1995) – paid $1.5 million for a two-page outline plus $400,000 to executive produce<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Romano |first=Lois |date=November 11, 1992 |title=Paramount & Eszterhas: Not Your Basic Movie Deal |page=B3 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/11/11/the-reliable-source/8edb9ee5-8d88-4dc6-9f0a-2ce1821be866/ |access-date=July 2, 2022}}</ref>
*''[[One Night Stand (1997 film)|One Night Stand]]'' (1997) – paid a record $2.5 million for a four-page outline, with an additional $1.5 million to be paid once filming had started.<ref name="ons">{{cite news |last=Eller |first=Claudia |date=October 14, 1994 |title=COMPANY TOWN Top Dollar for Movie Idea Screenwriter Eszterhas Gets a Record-Setting Deal |page=1 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-14-fi-50204-story.html |access-date=July 2, 2022}}</ref> Eszterhas' original script was changed so much he took his name off
* ''[[Telling Lies in America]]'' (1997)
* ''[[An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Children of Glory]]'' (2006)

==Books==
*''13 Seconds: Confrontation at Kent State'', Dodd: Mead 1970, with Michael Roberts
* ''Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse'', New York: Random House, 1973, {{ISBN|0-394-48424-X}}, {{oclc|650572}}.
*''Nark!'', San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books, 1974
* ''[[American Rhapsody (book)|American Rhapsody]]'',  Vintage, 2001, {{ISBN|978-0-375-41144-1}}, {{oclc|44602385}}
* ''[[Hollywood Animal]]'', Alfred A. Knopf, 2004, {{ISBN|0-375-41355-3}}, {{oclc|52858561}}.
* ''The Devil's Guide to Hollywood'', 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-312-35987-4}}, {{oclc|65207145}}.
* ''Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith'', St. Martin's Press, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-312-38596-5}}, {{oclc|213300974}}.
* ''Heaven and Mel'', Amazon Kindle Single, 2012, {{ASIN|B0087PTQ96}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|390}}
* [http://www.slate.com/id/1856/ "Joe Eszterhas: How did a B-movie screenwriter become an A-list celebrity?"] (1998) in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''
* [https://www.christianpost.com/news/man-behind-basic-instinct-showgirls-reveals-faith-in-new-book.html "Man Behind 'Basic Instinct,' 'Showgirls' Reveals Faith in New Book"] (2008) in ''[[The Christian Post]]''
* {{YouTube|4o4V2pVNsqA|Joe Eszterhas on Screenwriting}}

{{Joe Eszterhas}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Joe Eszterhas
|list1 =
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor}}
}}
{{Flashdance}}
{{Basic Instinct}}
{{Authority control}}

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