Joe Eszterhas facts for kids

József Antal Eszterhás (born November 23, 1944), known as Joe Eszterhas, is a Hungarian-American writer. He was born in Hungary. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

He started his career as a journalist. Later, he began writing for movies. His first movie script was for F.I.S.T. (1978). He helped write Flashdance, a very popular movie from 1983. This made his career very successful. By the early 1990s, he was known as one of the highest-paid writers in Hollywood. He was paid a lot for his script Love Hurts, which became the movie Basic Instinct (1992). After this, he earned large amounts of money just for short story ideas.

Later in the 1990s, his movie writing career slowed down. Films like Showgirls (1995) and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997) did not do well. After this, he mostly stopped working in Hollywood. He has since written several books. These include American Rhapsody (2000) and his life stories Hollywood Animal (2004) and Crossbearer (2008).

Early Life and Family

Eszterhas was born in Csákánydoroszló, a village in Hungary. His parents were Mária and István Eszterhás. He was born during World War II. As a child, he lived in a refugee camp in Allied-occupied Austria.

His family later moved to the United States. They first lived in Pittsburgh. In 1950, they settled in Cleveland, where Joe grew up. He went to Ohio University. He decided to become a writer after winning a competition in 1966. The prize was given at the White House.

When Eszterhas was 45, he learned something about his father. His father had worked with the Arrow Cross Party government in Hungary during World War II. This group had supported Nazi Germany. His father had also created anti-Jewish propaganda. After learning this, Joe stopped talking to his father. They never made up before his father died in 2001.

Eszterhas had a daughter in 1967 who was adopted. They met again in 1996. He had two children with his first wife, Gerri Javor. They divorced in 1994. That same year, he married Naomi Baka. They have four sons. As of 2022, Eszterhas lives in Bainbridge Township, Ohio. He and his wife moved there in 2001. They felt it was a better place to raise their children.

Political Views

Eszterhas has said he is an "independent centrist." This means he doesn't always vote for one political party. He has voted for both Democrats and Republicans for president. He supports Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. He also strongly supports Israel.

Journalism Career

Eszterhas started his writing career at the Dayton Journal Herald. Then he moved to The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. He was one of the first reporters to cover the Kent State shootings in 1970. He and another journalist, Michael Roberts, reported on the story for three months. Their work became a book called Thirteen Seconds: Confrontation at Kent State. Eszterhas later worked for Rolling Stone magazine.

One of his articles for The Plain Dealer led to a lawsuit. He wrote about a bridge collapse. He described an interview with a widow, Margaret Cantrell. But he had not actually spoken to her. The story contained mistakes. Cantrell sued for invasion of privacy and won. The case, Cantrell v. Forest City Publishing (1974), was important for privacy laws.

Eszterhas was nominated for a National Book Award in 1974. This was for his book Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse. A movie executive read the book and thought it would make a good film. This encouraged Eszterhas to start writing movie scripts.

Screenwriting Success

Eszterhas' first movie script was F.I.S.T. (1978). He also worked on the script for Flashdance in 1983. He wrote the screenplays for Jagged Edge and Betrayed.

In 1989, Eszterhas wanted to leave his talent agency. The agency chairman, Michael Ovitz, tried to stop actors from working with Eszterhas. Eszterhas wrote a strong letter against these actions. Copies of the letter were shared in Hollywood. Many people felt it helped to reduce the agency's power.

A script Eszterhas wrote, originally called Love Hurts, was bought for a record $3 million in 1990. This script became the movie Basic Instinct. It was directed by Paul Verhoeven. When it came out in 1992, Basic Instinct earned over $400 million. This success made Eszterhas one of the most sought-after screenwriters. Some reports say he earned $26 million for his scripts in the 1990s.

The next year, Eszterhas worked with Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone again for the film Sliver. Sliver was not as successful and received negative reviews. Eszterhas then wrote Showgirls, also directed by Paul Verhoeven. Showgirls (1995) was not well-received by critics and did not do well at first. It won a Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst Screenplay." However, the film later became popular on home video. It earned over $100 million from rentals.

Another film, Jade, was released three weeks later. It also had low earnings and bad reviews. Having two movies that did not do well in the same year affected Eszterhas' reputation.

In 1997, Eszterhas wrote two more films: Telling Lies in America and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn. Burn Hollywood Burn did not do well at the box office. It won several Golden Raspberry Awards, including "Worst Picture" and "Worst Screenplay."

After 1997, many of Eszterhas' scripts were not made into films. However, Children of Glory, a Hungarian film based on his screenplay, was released in 2006. This film is about the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and a famous water polo match. Children of Glory was shown at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival.

Working with Mel Gibson

In 2011, actor-director Mel Gibson asked Eszterhas to write a movie script. It was to be a historical film about Judah and the Maccabees. This project caused some discussion.

By April 2012, the project was canceled. Eszterhas said it was because of Gibson's behavior. Gibson said the script was not good. Eszterhas later wrote a book, Heaven and Mel, about his experiences working with Gibson.

Other Works

Eszterhas has written several popular books. Hollywood Animal is about his life as an immigrant and then a powerful writer in Hollywood. His book The Devil's Guide to Hollywood was published in 2006.

His book Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith came out in 2008. It tells the story of his return to his faith. In 2002, he publicly apologized for making smoking seem cool in his films.

Eszterhas also wrote Heaven and Mel. This book describes his experiences with Mel Gibson.

Filmography

• F.I.S.T. (1978)
• Flashdance (1983)
• Blue Thunder (1983) – uncredited rewrite
• Jagged Edge (1985)
• Big Shots (1987)
• Hearts of Fire (1987)
• Betrayed (1988)
• Checking Out (1988)
• Music Box (1989)
• Basic Instinct (1992)
• Nowhere to Run (1993)
• Sliver (1993)
• Showgirls (1995)
• Jade (1995)
• One Night Stand (1997)
• Telling Lies in America (1997)
• An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)
• Children of Glory (2006)

Books

• 13 Seconds: Confrontation at Kent State, 1970, with Michael Roberts
• Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse, 1973
• Nark!, 1974
• American Rhapsody, 2001
• Hollywood Animal, 2004
• The Devil's Guide to Hollywood, 2006
• Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith, 2008
• Heaven and Mel, 2012

See also

In Spanish: Joe Eszterhas para niños