Joe Eszterhas

Writing

Joe Eszterhas

Born 1944-11-23 · Csakanydoroszlo, Hungary

József Antal Eszterhás (Hungarian: [ˈjoːʒɛf ɒntɒl ˈɛstɛrhaːʃ]; 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. (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), 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 (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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe Eszterhas, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Acting credits

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn poster
3.9

Filmmaker Alan Smithee finds himself the unwilling puppet of a potentially bad big budget action film, for which he proceeds to steal the reels, and leaves the cast and crew in a frenzy.

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn

1998

You Don't Nomi poster
5.9

Released in 1995, Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls was met by critics and audiences with near universal derision. You Don't Nomi traces the film's redemptive journey from notorious flop to cult classic, and maybe even masterpiece.

You Don't Nomi

2021

Jackie Chan: My Story poster
6.3

Jackie Chan is one of the world's biggest action stars, famed for his wacky sense of humor, remarkable martial arts techniques, and willingness to perform incredible stunts without the use of doubles -- or a net. This video takes a personal look at Chan as he works on screen projects in Hollywood and Beijing and candidly discusses his life and work.

Jackie Chan: My Story

1998

Prüdes Hollywood - Laster, Lust und Leidenschaft im Film poster
6.5

In recent years, Hollywood productions have turned away from sensuality. Is the sex scene on the verge of extinction or reinvention? Alongside film professionals and researchers, this documentary deciphers a trend that speaks volumes about the evolution of the industry and our societies.

Prüdes Hollywood - Laster, Lust und Leidenschaft im Film

2025

Carolco, un rêve hollywoodien poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Carolco, un rêve hollywoodien

2026

Basic Instinct: Sex, Death & Stone poster
3.8

A documentary about the Paul Verhoeven's cult classic Basic Instinct.

Basic Instinct: Sex, Death & Stone

2020

The First Film poster
6.2

Leeds born filmmaker David Nicholas Wilkinson's thirty three year quest to prove that the worlds film industry started in Leeds, Yorkshire, England in 1888.

The First Film

2015

The Tobacco Conspiracy poster
6.0

The tobacco industry's conspiratorial efforts to market their products in the face of public health facts and public opposition.

The Tobacco Conspiracy

2006

Behind the camera

Basic Instinct poster
6.9

Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.

Basic Instinct

1992

Showgirls poster
5.6

Fresh to Las Vegas with no connections, Nomi Malone takes a job as an exotic dancer. Her talents are quickly noticed by Cristal, a headlining dancer who senses an opportunity to bolster her own act. But Nomi won’t play second fiddle and soon begins her venomous path to the top, ruthlessly backstabbing anyone who gets in her way.

Showgirls

1995

Sliver poster
5.6

A woman moves into a Manhattan apartment, where she learns that the previous tenant's life ended under mysterious circumstances.

Sliver

1993

Flashdance poster
6.5

Alex Owens, a young woman juggling between two odd jobs, aspires to become a successful ballet dancer. Nick, who is her boss and lover, supports and encourages her to fulfil her dream.

Flashdance

1983

Nowhere to Run poster
6.6

Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.

Nowhere to Run

1993

Jade poster
5.5

When a prominent art dealer is found murdered, the man's death leads to an intriguing investigation steeped in sex, corruption and crime. District Attorney David Corelli gets assigned to the case and discovers that a key suspect is his ex-lover Katrina Gavin, a beautiful psychologist who has settled down with his old friend and peer. As Corelli gets deeper into the case, he uncovers dark secrets with far-reaching implications.

Jade

1995

Jagged Edge poster
6.2

After a wealthy heiress is murdered in her beach house, her devastated husband becomes the prime suspect. He hires a lawyer who hasn’t taken a criminal case in years, and as they work together, a complicated romance develops amidst the trial.

Jagged Edge

1985

F.I.S.T. poster
6.5

Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.

F.I.S.T.

1978

F.I.S.T. poster
6.5

Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.

F.I.S.T.

1978

Music Box poster
7.1

A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.

Music Box

1989

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn poster
3.9

Filmmaker Alan Smithee finds himself the unwilling puppet of a potentially bad big budget action film, for which he proceeds to steal the reels, and leaves the cast and crew in a frenzy.

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn

1998

Betrayed poster
6.1

An FBI agent posing as a combine driver becomes romantically involved with a Midwest farmer who lives a double life as a white supremacist.

Betrayed

1988

Children of Glory poster
6.8

During the ill-fated Hungarian revolution of 1956, Karcsi Szabo, star player on the water polo team, is torn between his love for a revolutionary student and his training for the Melbourne Olympics.

Children of Glory

2006

Telling Lies in America poster
5.8

A 17-year-old boy becomes friends with Billy Magic, the radio DJ he idolizes, and eventually slips into the payola and corruption of the entertainment world.

Telling Lies in America

1997

Big Shots poster
6.6

Following the death of his father, a suburbanite runs away from home and winds up on Chicago's South Side. After being mugged, the boy befriends a young hustler and, after stealing a gangster's car, the two embark on an adventure down south in search of the hustler's estranged father.

Big Shots

1987

Checking Out poster
4.4

When his best friend dies of a heart attack, Ray Macklin becomes a man obsessed with his own mortality. Convinced that all his aches and pains are an indication of his imminent death, Ray's life turns into a slapstick farce of health-crazed anxiety and hypochondria.

Checking Out

1988

Hearts of Fire poster
4.1

A reclusive musician, once a huge rock star, takes a young female protegee. While on a tour she meets a younger, more popular rocker and switches her loyalties.

Hearts of Fire

1987

No artwork available
NR

Plot TBA; will feature the return of crime novelist Catherine Tramell and introduces her daughter Jezebel.

Untitled Basic Instinct Reboot

The Impact poster
NR

The Impact is a fascinating tapestry of interwoven stories from diverse voices around the world; at times moving and profound, at others hilarious and irreverent, but always asking ‘what would we do in our final moments?’ A multi-cultural and global reflection of pop culture’s vision of the apocalypse…

The Impact

2022