Perhaps that's the payoff you get after finishing a book like this: An immense sense of relief that we don't have to live lives as horrible as that of Joe Eszterhas among people as awful as those Hollywood beasts he describes. That we can stay home with our family and our trivial domestic cares, and not have to participate in the kind of million-dollar madness that keeps those coke-fuelled maniacs doing whatever it is they do.
It also brings home a twinge of guilty satisfaction: Hey, for all their money, for all their glamour, for all their show-biz razzmatazz, they live pretty sordid lives, these people. Whew. There but for the grace of God...
On the other hand, if you're an aspiring screenwriter, then you might derive more than just satisfaction and relief from this book. You might actually get some insights.
For instance, the fact that someone like Eszterhas not only survived, but thrived, is itself a lesson worth learning—it takes a shark to swim with the sharks. And from his own bio, it's evident that Eszterhas is the Great White of Hollywood screenwriters. Which makes his biography something like what the biography of Jaws would be to other sharks! It's a Must Read, if you have even the slightest interest in Hollywood films, lifestyles, or in how insane Americans can be in general, and movie people in particular.
Check it out. And I can guarantee that after you finish reading it, you'll never want to eat lunch in that town again!
Edited: PC
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
Ashok,
Nice post! I think Eszterhas's work is a guilty pleasure at best. I was watching BASIC INSTINCT on cable the other night: couldn't take my eyes off Sharon Stone, of course. But the thing is no one in that movie (except that fat guy that gets whacked) is worth rooting for.
In the end, I didn't care if Stone shoved an icepick into Michael Douglas or not. Many of E's films feature the same unlikeable characters. Still, they are compelling enough to watch. THAT is the Hollywood where you don't want to eat lunch, but at least you can have a martini!
Cheers!
2 - Ashok K. Banker
That's a pretty accurate description of this book as well - a guilty pleasure. And like his characters, he comes across as a guy you don't really care that much about too. On the other hand, that also means he's a damn honest writer, so...
Make mine a tomato juice, shaken, not stirred!
3 - DrPat
Ashok, I just asked my spouse to read your post, to understand why I watch my copy of Showgirls every so often...
It's not Gina Gershon nearly nude, I swear!
4 - Victor Lana
Dr. Pat,
Still amazed how good that "bad" film can be. Guilty pleasure all the way.
5 - Ashok K. Banker
>It's not Gina Gershon nearly nude, I swear!
How boring can you get? I mean, come on. Really? Why would any man want to watch Gina Gershon nearly nude...or Elizabeth Berkley? Unless, of course, it's 'research' for Turkeys Worth Watching Again...and Again...and Again...and...
Ahem. I won't show _my_ spouse this post now!
6 - alethinos59
As a scriptwriter with two scripts in front of 3 A-List actors as I write this I can tell you that the Biz is ugly...
But that isn't why most of us write...
It is hell trying to get something sold. It is more hell trying to be able to have some control over what happens after that... It is hell if the critics aren't thrilled with it... It is a BIT easier to write and sell the next piece...
But you're doing it because you LOVE movies... That's what drives you.
There are evil nasty bastards in every business...
As far as Joe E goes... I read the book. The man is repulsive at best. To be honest I was never impressed with any of his work. There are far better writers out there...
He reminds me of a certain kind of male, which might as hell have a banner over his head:
HI! I AM AN UGLY SONOFABITCH INSIDE BUT YOU'RE GONNA TAKE ME LIKE I AM CUZ I DON'T CHANGE FOR NOBODY.
Of course any good writer could edit that down to one word:
prick.
There are a lot of great writers out here... Hollywood would be a lot better off if more of THEIR work ended up on the screen.
Alethinos
7 - DrPat
"Why would any man want to watch Gina Gershon nearly nude...?"
For the same reason we always used to give for reading Playboy: for the story, of course. Character development. Interaction of lost souls in the desert.
[fingers crossed behind back...]
8 - Ashok K. Banker
>But you're doing it because you LOVE movies... >That's what drives you.
I used to talk myself into it with the same argument, but then I realized, I loved movies, yes, but I don't love making them, and the crap that goes into making them. So now I enjoy watching movies--and I really enjoy them much more now that I'm not writing any scripts--and leave the crap to other people.
From what I've seen and heard, though, most people in the movie biz have only a vague fuzzy recollection of their early love for movies (they even refer to movies from their childhood or youth) and have grown so distant from the current scene that all they can think about is grosses and points and meetings and power games.
I'll stick to watching them, thank you! The movies and the movie makers.
9 - Temple Stark
Books Editor Pat picked this his pick of the week. Go HERE to find out why. and thank you very much.