Jozsef Antal Eszterhas, credited as Joe Eszterhas, is a Hungarian-American writer.
25 Facts About Joe Eszterhas
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Joe Eszterhas was born in Hungary, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
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Joe Eszterhas's credits include Flashdance, Jagged Edge, Basic Instinct and Showgirls.
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Joe Eszterhas has written books, such as American Rhapsody, Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith, and an autobiography titled Hollywood Animal.
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Joe Eszterhas was born during World War II, and lived as a child in a refugee camp in Allied-occupied Austria.
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Joe Eszterhas decided to pursue writing as a career after winning a competition in 1966 sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
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Joe Eszterhas had a daughter in 1967 who was put up for adoption at birth.
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Joe Eszterhas had two children with his first wife, Gerri Javor.
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Politically, Eszterhas has described himself as an "independent centrist", whose votes for president have included Democrats Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Independent Ross Perot, and Republicans George W Bush and Donald Trump.
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Joe Eszterhas is a supporter of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban.
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Joe Eszterhas began his career with a stint at the Dayton Journal Herald, before moving to The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, where he was one of the first reporters to cover the Kent State shootings in 1970.
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Joe Eszterhas had covered the aftermath of the collapse of a bridge across the Ohio River.
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Joe Eszterhas was not there at the time, but he talked to the children as the photographer took photos.
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Joe Eszterhas had made it seem as though he had spoken to her, describing her mood and attitude in the story.
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Joe Eszterhas became a National Book Award nominee for his nonfiction work Charlie Simpson's Apocalypse in 1974.
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Joe Eszterhas contributed to the script of 1983's Flashdance, and wrote the screenplays for Jagged Edge and Betrayed.
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In 1989, Joe Eszterhas planned to leave Creative Artists Agency because an old friend was restarting his agency.
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Joe Eszterhas penned a letter to Ovitz blasting him for his tactics.
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Joe Eszterhas next wrote the screenplay for Showgirls, his second collaboration with director Verhoeven.
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Jade, whose script Joe Eszterhas sold in the wake of Basic Instinct's success, was released three weeks later to low grosses and negative reviews.
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In 1997, Joe Eszterhas produced two films, both of which he wrote: Telling Lies in America and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn.
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Joe Eszterhas later wrote a book, Heaven and Mel, about his experiences working with Gibson.
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Joe Eszterhas has written several best-selling books, including Hollywood Animal, an autobiography about politics in Hollywood, which superimposes his life as a young immigrant in the United States on his life as a powerful Hollywood player.
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Joe Eszterhas admitted smoking four packs of Salem Light cigarettes a day, as well as drinking heavily.
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Joe Eszterhas wrote a book about his experiences with Mel Gibson and anti-Semitism, titled Heaven and Mel, wherein he portrays Gibson as a man fueled only by hatred, prone to violent outbursts.