Joe Eszterhas is BACK... and it's about time.
Yes, he's the controversial screenwriter who made his name penning the landmark erotic thriller, BASIC INSTINCT (1992). Other high-profile screenplay he made are FLASHDANCE (1983), JAGGED EDGE (1985), SLIVER (1993) and the much-maligned SHOWGIRLS (1995).
And now he returns from a long hiatus with LUST, in which Scott Steindorff and his Stone Village Productions are producing.
LUST is described as a cross between BASIC INSTINCT and FATAL ATTRACTION, which centers on a 30-year-old beauty who is married and in love with an older Miami-based fashion magazine publisher. But she is seduced by a younger charming playboy on a business trip in Los Angeles. The playboy has an Russian assistant who is in love with him as well. And in this twisted jealous love triangle, she secretly videotapes him and his new lover having sex to show it to her husband. Set against the backdrop of the high-stakes world of real estate brokering in Miami, the movie promises plenty of steamy sex scenes with a dose of suspenseful moments.
“There are a lot twists and turns that only Joe Eszterhas can do,” said Steindorff, one of the producers of THE LINCOLN LAWYER, the legal thriller which starred Matthew McConaughey currently shown in Stateside.
He also added, “There’s reason why he was the top writer for many years: the guy knows how to write. And there hasn’t been a great sexual thriller since UNFAITHFUL.’”
WIth the script ready, Steindorff and Eszterhas plan to look for cast and director in the next few weeks in order to sell the project at Cannes next month. A late summer start is being targeted.
$30 million budget will be poured out independently through Steindorf's private equity.