FILM 1892: SHOWGIRLS

FILM 1892: SHOWGIRLS

TRIVIA: When the film swept The 16th Annual RAZZIE Awards, Paul Verhoeven turned up in person to accept Worst Director and Worst Picture. He was the first director to ever turn up to collect the Award.

Pamela Anderson, Angelina Jolie, Vanessa Marcil, Denise Richards and Charlize Theronauditioned for the role of Nomi Malone. Richards would be cast in Paul Verhoeven's next film, Starship Troopers (1997).

Kyle MacLachlan denied rumours that he walked out of the premiere - "I sat there and suffered for the whole two hours".

Jenny McCarthy auditioned for the lead and was very much in the running until it was discovered that she couldn't dance.

The filmmakers wanted Madonna to play Cristal Conners and Drew Barrymore to play Nomi Malone. The name card Gaye takes off the mirror when she shows Nomi her table in the dressing room even says "Drew." Barrymore turned the film down because she was uncomfortable with the amount of nudity required.

This film enjoyed huge success in home video market in the United States, generating more than $100 million from video rentals and became one of MGM's top 20 all-time bestsellers.

Elizabeth Berkley was dropped by her agent after the film was released.

Jennifer Lopez told The Hollywood Reporter (2016) that the worst audition of her career occurred when vying for a part in this film.

After this film bombed at the box office and "swept" the 16th Annual RAZZIE Awards, MGM/UA attempted to re-market it as a "Midnight Cult Flick" à la The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). A new print ad, with a leopard-skin patterned background and prominently mentioning the film's seven RAZZIE "Wins" ran in several L.A. area newspapers, promoting midnight showings in West Hollywood in Spring, 1996. Clever though it was, this new marketing gimmick also failed at the time. However, since then, the movie has indeed enjoyed a significant degree of cult following, with fans showing up in Showgirls-themed attire at screenings of the movie. Several influential filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch and Jacques Rivette have professed their appreciation of the movie; screenwriter Joe Eszterhas and director Paul Verhoeven both claim that they frequently meet people who secretly admit that they loved the movie. The critical re-evaluation of the film even inspired author Adam Nayman to write the novel "It Doesn't Suck", in which he makes a case for the movie being an actual masterpiece.

Kyle MacLachlan used a body double.

FILM 1817: HARD TICKET TO HAWAII

FILM 1817: HARD TICKET TO HAWAII

TRIVIA: First collaboration between writer/director Andy Sidaris and actor Rodrigo Obregón, who would appear in almost every one of Mr. Sidaris' subsequent films.

There is a scene where a poster of Malibu Express (1985) is shown in a wall. The movie is a reference to Andy Sidaris' previous movie.

DIRECTOR CAMEO: Andy Sidaris: Whitey the TV director.

FILM 1154: CIAO MANHATTAN

CIAO! MANHATTAN parallels Andy Warhol Factory star Edie Sedgwick's glory days in the late 60's through her inevitable downfall and the tragic addiction that would take her life only weeks after filming wrapped in 1971.

FILM 1106: THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT

TRIVIA: Tom Hanks and Bill Murray were considered for the role of Larry Flynt.

Larry Flynt and his brother Jimmy Flynt are played by real-life brothers Woody Harrelson and Brett Harrelson.

The real Larry Flynt appears as a judge.

One scene involves Hustler's offer of a $1 million reward for bringing JFK's killers to justice. The father of actors Woody Harrelson and Brett Harrelson has long been suspected by conspiracy theorists of involvement in the assassination.

Milos Forman claims Courtney Love showed up to their first meeting while under the influence of drugs. Just when he was going to dismiss her, he realized that Love was perfect for the role of Althea. Forman offered her the role on one condition: that Love would stay clean and undergo regular drug testing during filming. She complied. To this day, Love credits Forman with getting her off drugs which led to a career renaissance.

Courtney Love plays stripper Althea Flynt in this film. Before she was famous, Love was a stripper in real life too.

Courtney Love was arrested several times in Mississippi and Tennessee during filming for wearing her outrageous and revealing costumes in public. While filming a particular scene in a jail, one of the female officers working mistook Love for being a criminal on her way in for booking and handcuffed her.

Despite being portrayed in an Oscar nominated movie Larry Flynt was refused an invitation to the 1997 Academy Awards, so Woody Harrelson brought Flynt to the award shows as his "+1".

The Hollywood mansion shown in the movie was the mansion where the real Larry Flynt lived in the early 1980s.

The real Larry Flynt, when asked who he would like to play him in the movie, picked Michael Douglas.

The character of Doug, one of Larry Flynt's bodyguards in the movie, was bodyguard for the real Flynt at the time the movie was filmed.

The closing argument by Edward Norton was taken verbatim from Alan L. Isaacman's actual closing arguments. Isaacman revealed this in a documentary of the film.

The insurance fees for Courtney Love were so high, the studio would not pay them. Woody Harrelson, the producers (Oliver Stone and Michael Hausman), the director (Milos Forman) and Love paid the fees out-of-pocket.

Patricia Arquette and Mira Sorvino were considered for the role of Althea Leasure.