10 BehindTheScenes Facts About The Making Of Showgirls

10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Making Of Showgirls

Showgirls is one of the most infamous so-bad-it’s-good movies ever made, and its dedicated fanbase needs to learn more about its filming.

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Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls is notorious for becoming the definitive so-bad-it’s-good Hollywood movie debacle. Starring Elizabeth Berkley in her big-screen debut, the film follows a deeply troubled young woman named Nomi Malone as she tries to make it big as an adult entertainer in Sin City. When she arrives and witnesses the cutthroat business practices, excessive drugs, and catty in-fighting, Nomi begins to lose her way.

Showgirls opened on September 22, 1995, losing more than half it’s budget at the domestic box-office by grossing roughly $20 million against a $45 million budget. As the film nears its 25th anniversary, here are 10 behind-the-scenes facts about the making of Showgirls.

10 Paul Verhoeven Directed Showgirls As A Favor

Writer Joe Esztherhas got the idea to write Showgirls while on vacation in Maui, Hawaii. He scratched the premise down on a napkin, received $2 million for the idea, and another $1.7 when Carolco and United Artist greenlit the project.

Despite working with Esztherhas on Basic Instinct three years prior, Paul Verhoeven did not like his Showgirls script and initially passed on it. Verhoven only agreed to make the film as a favor to his friend Esztherhas and to atone for the failure of Crusades, an action movie he was set to make with Carolco and Arnold Schwarzenegger before the studio went nearly bankrupt.

9 Paul Verhoeven Demanded An NC-17 Final Cut

To sweeten the deal, Verhoeven only agreed to direct the film under certain conditions. Verhoeven deliberately set out to make an elicit NC-17-rated movie and signed a contract to receive total control over the final cut of the film. This was unheard of at the time, as most filmmakers try to avoid NC-17 ratings from the get go, since the rating is seen as a box office death sentence.

As a tradeoff, Verhoeven deferred 70% of his normal salary and agreed to only receive the final 30% if the movie was financially successful. While the movie bombed at the box-office, it did slowly gain a cult-following on VHS and DVD.

8 Many Stars Auditioned For The Role Of Nomi Malone

Several high profile actresses were up for the role of Nomi Malone before Verhoeven cast Elizabeth Berkley in the role. Among them include Angelina Jolie, Pamela Anderson, Vanessa Marcil, and Denise Richards. In fact, Jenny McCarthy did so well in her audition that she nearly won the role.

However, when producers learned she couldn’t dance, she fell out of favor. Drew Barrymore was also sought after by producers, but she turned down the role due to the excessive nudity.

7 Charlize Theron Got The Role But Dropped Out

Charlize Theron also auditioned for the role of Nomi Malone in Showgirls. She reportedly did so well in her audition that she was offered the part. However, she was so incensed by the material that she turned down the movie.

Moreover, Charlize Theron immediately fired her agent for sending her on such an audition without informing her of the salacious details. Having already completed 2 Days in the Valley, Theron was adamant that Showgirls was not the direction she wanted her career to head in.

6 Showgirls Has Only Three Ad-Libs

Paul Verhoeven was vehement that his actors stick to the very specific dialogue in the script and refrain from improvising. Verhoeven interviewed several real-life Las Vegas strippers and showgirls and incorporated their lines into the script and wanted the dialogue to remain as authentic as possible.

As such, only three improvised lines occur in the film. They are a bit too colorful to repeat here, but two of the three include slight variations on female anatomy. The other includes the line “she’s no butterfly” changed from “she’s ginchy.”

5 The Rape Scene Was Based On Actual Events

Paul Verhoeven has often lamented the inclusion of the rape scene in Showgirls, which he admits takes a lot of the fun out of the viewing experience. But apparently, the sequence was inspired by real events.

The rape sequence in the film and the culture of Vegas bigwigs absolving those responsible was inspired by a story Esztherhas discovered while working for Rolling Stone in the ’70s. Part of what makes the rape scene so appalling is that it happens to Molly, the only deliberately decent character in the whole movie.

4 The Poster Design Was Based On Art

The sleek image of Elizabeth Berkley revealing a bare leg behind a show-curtain featured on the one-sheet and cover-art of Showgirls was directly inspired by a real-life photograph.

The image is directly modeled after the photograph entitled “Sense” by Czech artist Tono Stano, taken by Stano in 1992. MGM bought the rights to the image for use of a similar image for the Showgirls marketing campaign. The image was also used on the cover of a famous photography book The Body by William A. Ewing.

3 There Were Plans For A Sequel

At the end of Showgirls, Nomi passes a road sign pointing to Los Angeles. This was done to hint at a potential sequel, which Verhoeven and Esztherhas began planning while making the movie. Tentatively titled Bimbos: Nomi Does Los Angeles, the sequel would have explored Nomi’s exploits in Hollywood as she tries to break into the movie business. Just as he did with the infamous rape scene in Showgirls, Esztherhas would have recycled several seedy Hollywood tales he experienced over the years.

When Showgirls bombed at the box-office, Bimbos died. Showgirls did get a sequel in Showgirls 2: Penny’s From Heaven (2011), but it was a direct-to-video bomb that nobody wants to remember. The only thing of note about the sequel is that it stars Rena Riffel, who reprises her role as Penny from the original.

2 Joe Esztherhas’s Post-Release Ruse

When Showgirls garnered negative buzz upon its initial release, writer Joe Esztherhas resorted to some odd tactics to drum up more business. For instance, he took out a full-page ad in Variety claiming the movie had been falsely advertised as a sex movie despite being a morality tale that just so happened to be centered around sex workers.

Eszterhas also encouraged female filmgoers to see the movie to confront the gender power dynamics featured in it. He also caused a stir in an interview when he encouraged underage viewers to sneak into the NC-17 screenings by using fake IDs.

1 Showgirls Got A Razzies Sweep

With at least one nomination in every category, Showgirls set a record (at the time) with 13 Golden Rasberry (RAZZIE) nominations in 1995. In 2000, the film was named Worst Picture of the Decade.

When the film swept all major categories to become the most dishonored movie ever made, Paul Verhoeven became the first filmmaker to attend the ceremony and collect his Worst Picture and Worst Director trophies. RAZZIE founder John Wilson listed Showgirls among the Top Ten Best Bad Movies ever made in his book The Official Razzie Movie Guide.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/showgirls-paul-verhoeven-behind-scenes-facts/

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