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Hollywood Animal (Abridged): A Memoir Audiobook
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(3.03) - 260 listener ratings
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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.
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"Who would have thought that Hollywood's most famous sleaze merchant was possible of cranking out an excellent memoir contrasting his time as a down-on-his-luck immigrant with the glory days of sketching plots on cocktail napkins and selling said napkin for millions of dollars? Apparently it occurred to Joe Eszterhas, because he wrote the book."
— Brian (4 out of 5 stars)
Hollywood Animal Listener Reviews
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" This is a terrible, terrible book I could not stop reading. Look for it in a future Silly Show-Biz Book Club entry. "
— Nathan, 2/4/2014 -
" Entertaining, although extremely long. I started skipping the chapters about his childhood as it goes 1 chapter: childhood, 1 chapter: career, alternating. He comes across as a bit of an asshole to be frank but it is very readable. "
— Cathal, 1/21/2014 -
" The most amazing fact: Joe Eszterhas hit Anastas Mikoyan with a rotten tomato. "
— Aaron, 1/19/2014 -
" Guh. Mixed feelings about this. The book is self-serving and self-aggrandizing even for a Hollywood memoir, that distinguished body of literature that sadly dominates a healthy portion of real estate on my bookshelf. The author's ego is fucking gigantic. Oh, and he goes on about 200 pages too long. And yet-the dirt is dished, so I am satisfied. Best anecdote: Marlon Brando, when people came to visit him in Fiji, liked to have his visitors poop in a jar. He had a whole wall full of the jars in his Fiji compound! I tell this story to everyone I know, and then I do my Marlon Brando impression asking someone to poop in a jar. It's hilarious. "
— Adam, 1/18/2014 -
" Struggling with this. Someone once said about Eszterhas that it was obvious that English wasn't his first language. They were right. Dreadful, overblown account from the most overpaid and overwrought screenwriter in history. I felt dirty reading it (and not in a good way). "
— Ed, 1/14/2014 -
" Eh--I tried to read it. Really I did. Honest. But despite the fact that the cover proclaims it to be "absolutely first rate, poignantly heartfelt" I couldn't do it. The friend who gave it to me didn't want it back and said I could BookCross it. So I am. "
— bookczuk, 11/18/2013 -
" He tells it like it was and pulls no punches. It was a riotous read. "
— Kerry, 11/17/2013 -
" He is indeed a Great story teller "
— Tanja, 9/10/2013 -
" Actually, i didn't really enjoy Eszterhas' writing. Some bits were good, but it wasn't one of the books I just loved reading, not one of those that I can't put down, yet I don't want to finish too soon because it's so good. somewhere in between 2 and 3 stars. "
— Julia, 8/30/2013 -
" The inside-Hollywood stuff is a hoot, but giant dollops of overly sentimental autobiographical drivel make this a chore at times. "
— Paul, 6/20/2013 -
" Difficult to read because of the high amount of made up clap trap, but worth wading through to get some actual stories of both Eszterhas' Cleveland history as well as his journey through the film industry's jungle. Makes me glad I never made in in the business. "
— Nina, 8/10/2012 -
" incredible! he was always a joke to me but the way he tells these stories and the dynamicism and emotional arcs made me go back and see his work again (still crap, but well done for that genre crap they are) - one of the best things i've experienced in a while "
— hirtho, 6/21/2012 -
" Captures Hollywood's crazy culture, and does a great job of revealing Esterhas infidelities and bouts w/cancer. "
— Dev, 2/12/2012 -
" Joe Eszterhas is a opinionated, outspoken, and brilliant writer, so this memoir about his beginnings in Hollywood is very entertaining. I actually think that I prefer this book to his Devil's Guide to Hollywood. I began to lose interest towards the end, though. He gets preachy. "
— Natalie, 9/16/2011 -
" Fascinating -- if you love the gossip mags and want to be glad you never aspired to be a movie star, you'll love this book! "
— Lori, 4/14/2011 -
" Such a great book-very entertaining-the guy is a total egoist but his book is pretty interesting. There a pretty crazy things in there about some stars like Sharon Stone, Glenn Close, etc. I really like Glenn Close though so it was kinda sad that her appearance was so torn apart though:( "
— Jillian, 9/19/2010 -
" Interesting for Hollywood gossip but more so for the audacity and honesty of Eszterhas as a lying, selfish, cheating husband. "
— Megan, 9/4/2010 -
" Sounds like he has some great Hunter S. Thompson and Sharon Stone anecdotes. Not that I'm a huge fan of either of them. But Joe's got humor in spades... "
— Jayna, 4/1/2009 -
" Eh--I tried to read it. Really I did. Honest. But despite the fact that the cover proclaims it to be "absolutely first rate, poignantly heartfelt" I couldn't do it. The friend who gave it to me didn't want it back and said I could BookCross it. So I am. <br/> "
— bookczuk, 1/28/2009 -
" He tells it like it was and pulls no punches. It was a riotous read. "
— Kerry, 11/18/2007 -
" Sounds like he has some great Hunter S. Thompson and Sharon Stone anecdotes. Not that I'm a huge fan of either of them. But Joe's got humor in spades... "
— Jayna, 9/21/2007 -
" Fascinating -- if you love the gossip mags and want to be glad you never aspired to be a movie star, you'll love this book! "
— Lori, 9/15/2007 -
" The inside-Hollywood stuff is a hoot, but giant dollops of overly sentimental autobiographical drivel make this a chore at times. "
— Paul, 8/17/2007
About Joe Eszterhas
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, and Showgirls. 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.
About Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian is an actor, playwright, and novelist of Armenian descent. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his play Talk Radio, and is the recipient of Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear Award, several Obie Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is also the author of three novels.