The promised harmony collapsed during the February 1988 shoot. Eszterhas said David Leland began altering the screenplay while filming, adding subplots and reshaping characters in ways the writer regarded as repellant, insulting to women, and fundamentally hostile to the tone of his black comedy. After seeing a rough cut, Eszterhas claimed he 'loathed' several of Leland's changes and accused HandMade Films of siding with the director. The dispute escalated beyond ordinary script notes: Eszterhas wrote an angry letter to Warner Bros., the American distributor, threatening to remove his name from the picture. According to his account, Warner Bros. pressured HandMade to take the film out of Leland's hands, after which Leland removed most of the material Eszterhas objected to and the writer restored his credit. Eszterhas later called it the worst experience he had ever endured watching one of his projects be changed, emphasizing that the betrayal occurred on a small independent production rather than under the famously controlling machinery of a major studio. The film received only minimal distribution, bombed at the box office, and became sufficiently obscure that Jeff Daniels later joked that 'six people saw' it.
Preparing the daily feature…
AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1980s
The Writer Threatens to Remove His Name From Checking Out After a Bitter Rough-Cut Battle
Joe Eszterhas and David Leland / 1980s
The promised harmony collapsed during the February 1988 shoot. Eszterhas said David Leland began altering the screenplay while filming, adding subplots and reshaping characters in ways the writer regarded as repellant, insulting to women, and fundamentally hostile to the tone of his black comedy. After seeing a rough cut, Eszterhas claimed he 'loathed' several of Leland's changes and accused HandMade Films of siding with the director. The dispute escalated beyond ordinary script notes: Eszterhas wrote an angry letter to Warner Bros., the American distributor, threatening to remove his name from the picture. According to his account, Warner Bros. pressured HandMade to take the film out of Leland's hands, after which Leland removed most of the material Eszterhas objected to and the writer restored his credit. Eszterhas later called it the worst experience he had ever endured watching one of his projects be changed, emphasizing that the betrayal occurred on a small independent production rather than under the famously controlling machinery of a major studio. The film received only minimal distribution, bombed at the box office, and became sufficiently obscure that Jeff Daniels later joked that 'six people saw' it.
The daily feature is taking an intermission. There’s still an entire archive to explore.