Here’s a selection of the different types of people involved with screenwriting: writers, consultants and teachers.

Just one hour of your time watching/listening to these videos may provide you with years of expert knowledge.

Christopher Volger

Michael Hauge

Joe Eszterhas

Julian Friedmann

Callie Khouri

Linda Seger

Blake Snyder

5 stars*****

You recognize it’s a gigantic creature when you pick up the book, all 728 pages.

I wouldn’t normally pick up a book so large for fear of wearing my hands out holding this object, but in this case, it was worth turning every page.

Some people live ordinary lives and others people live like Joe Eszterhas and what a life he’s lived. From his early years in a post world war refugee camp, to growing up a Hungarian in America to becoming the world’s top paid screenplay writer.

In between he nearly went down the life in jail route, but steered away just in time.

He appears to have a lot of time for his first wife even though he admits to treating her so poorly. He clearly has so much love for his second wife that he’s a changed man.

He pulls no punches telling us what growing up was like and the relationship with his father, while good in the younger years, became the barrier of his life.

He gives punches all over Hollywood as he realises that while he tries to stay outside of the Hollywood animal instincts, he becomes one of them. He joins in their games and explains why the rest of the world, outside of Hollywood, should stay where you are if you don’t want to get into a life of lies, untruths and bewilderment. In fullness of time it’s easy to see why Hollywood didn’t want Joe; he stood up to the suits.

Joe has given consistent proof of his ability to write and he was well paid for it. He took on the top studios and told them what he expected, and often got it. They stabbed him in the back when they could, but he expected it.

He has given us several first class screenplays which have been made into movies while several other gems remain hidden away in studio desks, never to see the light of day.

It’s good to see that Joe stood by his upbringing; if you treat him well, he treats you well, but if you cross him don’t ever expect to stay on his Christmas card list.

His book couldn’t be cut; I would guess there’s much more he didn’t tell us, like how so many struggling screenplay writers have to accept low thousands, even hundreds for their work, when he made millions. How they can’t fight back because they haven’t enough food in the fridge this week.

The book covers his life, fights, wins and problems in graphic detail, with bar room language to match. I can only guess it must all be the truth and cleared by his lawyers as he names the names, often without holding back telling us what occurred. Sharon Stone must still be a friend…

His life story will, surely, be made into a movie at some stage; but will he write the screenplay?

(DVD 2006)

3 stars***

Basic Instinct was a spine-chilling movie, with a masterful screenplay by Joe Eszterhas. It also had one of those strange endings: it kept the audience talking and thinking – just who did commit the murders and if it was Catherine Tramell, then why didn’t she get to spend her due time in the county jail. Planned open endings usually mean there’s more to follow. These days we’d call it a franchise; a licence to print pounds and dollars.

Unfortunately, without the same writer and director we had to wait fourteen years for the follow up. There was good news though; Sharon Stone was up for another outing. Which bring us to Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction. I thought the movie needed one more watch to see if it was as poor as the critics panned it.

The start of the movie has zero to do with the conclusion of part one so we know we’re on different ground here; London to be exact, but without those usual shots of red buses, red telephone boxes, the houses of parliament and Nelson in his square with his favourite birds.

Had Stan Collymore left for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson’s guidance, he almost certainly would have missed the opportunity to have Sharon Stone take his middle finger, wet it and do what she does with it, but his football career would have gone into overdrive and he’d have been a national hero, not just the hero of Southend for his one season’s exploits and the year at Nottingham Forest where his team mates didn’t share the enthusiasm for his generous goal scoring antics. I digress. Perhaps Stan proves why drivers (Sharon Stone here) shouldn’t orgasm while driving a car at over one miles an hour.

Sharon Stone owns the part of the writer turned (maybe) murderer. She’s around mid to later forties in this performance, but has the body of a twenty year old – a hot twenty. She mixes both charm and possession of anyone she talks to. It’s unfortunate that the casting doesn’t work with David Morrissey. He’s a quality actor, but he just doesn’t gel with Sharon Stone.The main detective is another good actor, but his part doesn’t come together, either.

Leora Barish and Henry Bean have completed a mammoth task with this screenplay. It spends a lot of time being in the past, but just enough of a different story line to be in the future. The critics attacked the script for being too obvious, but the twist (or was it) at the end is movie magic. I don’t care how many clever people tell me they guessed it; I didn’t. Anyone that can write the line “Don’t take it so hard — even Oedipus didn’t see his mother coming” deserves recognition.

The DVD brings a few standard extras; the making of the movie where each actor or crew member tells you that everyone, darling, was brilliant. For some reason, some copies are released as a ‘cut’ version. Better to go rent or download the uncut verison; it’s not even soft porn so there’s no reason to panic.

The deleted scenes are a rare mixture. You can see why some have been deleted, but others would have fitted in well. Presumably they were cut to keep the timing down.

There’s a collection of other scenes cut from the movie that are all over the internet under the title of ‘Basic Instinct 2, promo’. I bet you’ve typed it already while reading further. They show some sex scenes that were cut from the final movie. You can see why; you don’t need Catherine Tramell having a bisexual/lesbian relationship in front of her potential target in every film and the office desk is for work related activities, sometimes.

Now if you’ve come back from your Goole search and watched the promo you’ll know why the scenes were cut; they simply didn’t fit. A new character would need incorporating into the screenplay much earlier.

The reason the movie was put down by so many was in comparison to the original. It wasn’t a patch on the previous brilliance, but on its own it stands out as a good thriller. Sharon Stone does exactly as she’s asked even if it comes across as too strong and all her lines have at least two meanings. She is high class. The screenplay is an excellent stand alone read. Forget the first movie and treat Risk Addiction by itself.

Rumour has it that there won’t be a Basic Instinct 3, but Sharon Stone would like keep the flow going by returning as director. Does that mean she’ll keep her clothes on?