Joe Eszterhas had everything Hollywood could offer. A combination of insider and rebel, he saw and participated in the fights, the deals, the backstabbing, and all the sex and drugs. But here, in his candid and heartwrenching memoir, we see the rest of the story: the inspiring account of the child of Hungarian immigrants who, against all odds, grows up to live the American Dream. Hollywood Animal reveals the trajectory of Eszterhas's life in gripping detail, from his childhood in a refugee camp, to his battle with a devastating cancer. It shows how a struggling journalist became the most successful screenwriter of all time, and how a man who had access to the most beautiful women in Hollywood ultimately chose to live with the love of his life in a small town in Ohio. Above all, it is the story of a father and a son, and the turbulent relationship that was an unending cycle of heartbreak. Hollywood Animal is an enthralling, provocative memoir: a moving celebration of the human spirit.
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He spent his earliest years in post WWII–refugee camps. He came to America and grew up in Cleveland—stealing cars, rolling drunks, battling priests, nearly going to jail. He became the screenwriter of the worldwide hits Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge, and Flashdance. He also wrote the legendary disasters Showgirls and Jade. The rebellion never ended, even as his films went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the box office and he became the most famous—or infamous—screenwriter in Hollywood.
Joe Eszterhas is a complex and paradoxical figure: part outlaw and outsider combined with equal parts romantic and moralist. More than one person has called him "the devil." He has been referred to as "the most reviled man in America." But Time asked, "If Shakespeare were alive today, would his name be Joe Eszterhas?" and he was the first screenwriter picked as one of the movie industry's 100 Most Powerful People. Although he is often accused of sexism and misogyny, his wife is his best friend and equal partner. Considered an apostle of sex and violence, he is a churchgoer who believes in the power of prayer. For many years the ultimate symbol of Hollywood excess, he has moved his family to Ohio and immersed himself in the midwestern lifestyle he so values.
Controversial, fearless, extremely talented, and totally unpredictable, the author of the best-selling American Rhapsody and National Book Award nominee Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse has surprised us yet again: he has written a memoir like no other.
On one level, Hollywood Animal is a shocking and often devastating look inside the movie business. It intimately explores the concept of fame and gives us a never-before-seen look at the famous. Eszterhas reveals the fights, the deals, the extortions, the backstabbing, and the sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll world that is Hollywood.
But there are many more levels to this extraordinary work. It is the story of a street kid who survives a life filled with obstacles and pain . . . a chronicle of a love affair that is sensual, glorious, and unending . . . an excruciatingly detailed look at a man facing down the greatest enemy he's ever fought: the cancer inside him . . . and perhaps most important, Hollywood Animal is the heartbreaking story of a father and son that defines the concepts of love and betrayal.
This is a book that will shock you and make you laugh, anger you and move you to tears. It is pure Joe Eszterhas—a raw, spine-chilling celebration of the human spirit.
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Joe Eszterhas is the author of American Rhapsody and Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse, which was nominated for the National Book Award. His fifteen films include Basic Instinct, Flashdance, Jagged Edge, Telling Lies in America, Showgirls, Sliver, Jade, Music Box, Betrayed, F.I.S.T, and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn. He lives in Bainbridge Township, Ohio, with his wife and four sons. He is also the father of two grown children from his first marriage.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Screenwriters 101,
By
This review is from: Hollywood Animal (Paperback)
Fairly slow going as screenwriters are apparently not necessarily great book authors, but interesting insight into how Hollywood really works - or doesn't, as the case may be. I found that far more interesting than who the author had sex with.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating backstory,
By
This review is from: Hollywood Animal (Paperback)
I read this to hear about Hollywood and scriptwriting game, however, I ended up very intrigued by the backstory concerning the author's parents. If you are interested in scriptwriting or film-making, then this book is four or five star. However, a friend of mine without such interests really struggled with this book and ultimately didn't finish it. Joe Eszterhas has lead a life which many would judge him for, but that doesn't stop it from being interesting.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The best 'give-up-smoking' book on the market!,
By Mezzanine (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hollywood Animal (Paperback)
When Joe Esterhasz gets to about page 600 he reveals he has cancer of the oesophagus because of his smoking, drinking lifestyle. The book, at that moment, takes on a surreal tone and you realise the irony of what has gone before. It is a great work, not a great literary work but as a detailed picture drawn by a talented although slightly eccentric screenwriter who manages to alienate more people (according to the book) than most. Sometimes the detail is self-indulgent and unnecessary, such as the over-done italicised love letters/diaries of his second wife. I must admit I could have done without most of those but for the most part, and for the lifestyle 'don't smoke' warning, and for the Hollywood gossip, this is worth a read, especially if you like stories about movie directors lusting after starlets...who doesn't?
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4
books
cite this book:
- Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer by Tom Shone in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Jack: The Great Seducer by Edward Douglas in Back Matter
- The Disappearing Liberal Intellectual by Eric Lott in Back Matter
- Roots Too: White Ethnic Revival in Post-Civil Rights America by Matthew Frye Jacobson in Back Matter
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