Jun 3, 2026 · 2h 19m
Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas details the wild era of gonzo journalism and Hollywood
#2508 - Joe Eszterhas
The conversation offers a rare, first-hand account of the chaotic intersection of 1970s journalism, blockbuster filmmaking, and creative addiction.
- 1Joe Eszterhas shares behind-the-scenes stories from his transition from gonzo journalism to writing Hollywood blockbusters.
- 2The conversation traces how literary icons like Mark Twain laid the groundwork for modern American comedy.
- 3Eszterhas reflects honestly on the dark, historical connection between alcoholism and the creative writing process.
Don't miss
Joe Eszterhas reflects on his early career reporting for Rolling Stone alongside legendary counterculture figures.
The brief
Legendary screenwriter Joe Eszterhas joins the podcast to reflect on his journey from writing blockbuster Hollywood films like Basic Instinct to his early days reporting for Rolling Stone.
Eszterhas dives into his relationships with counterculture icons like Hunter S. Thompson, offering a raw look at the wild, chaotic era of mid-century American journalism.
The discussion shifts to the creative process, examining how literary giants like Mark Twain shaped modern comedy and exploring the destructive relationship between alcoholism and writing.
What was said on this episode
22 statements · 9 positive · 4 negative · 2 mixed · 7 neutral
Eszterhas’s Dogon-carved cane appears exceptionally durable.
“it's been a close companion of mine for many years. It seems to be indestructible.”
Listen at 0:47
Basic Instinct may have helped Zelenskyy confront Putin.
“Maybe it gave him the balls and the wisdom to go after Putin.”
Listen at 3:26
Camille Paglia now regards Basic Instinct as a postfeminist classic.
“has come around and said that the movie is the example. It's a post feminist classic, she says”
Listen at 9:55
Eszterhas believed his Christian scripts could become successful films.
“these could be hit movies because my movies in a lot of cases have been”
Listen at 30:10
The Passion of the Christ succeeded partly because of its realism.
“part of the reason it was such a towering hit was that it was real. It wasn't incense filled.”
Listen at 31:12
Eszterhas portrays Jesus as a Jewish anti-Roman freedom fighter.
“He was a Jewish zealot, a freedom fighter against the Roman Empire. He was crucified by the Romans as a freedom fighter.”
Listen at 32:30
Eszterhas says Mary Magdalene was wealthy and financially supported Jesus.
“Mary Magdalene was a few years older than Jesus and a woman of means who had advised. Advised Roman builders in a city called Seraphim, and then was one of the people who financed Jesus”
Listen at 33:36
Eszterhas says there is no evidence Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.
“There's nothing that says that Mary Magdalene was a hooker of any kind. And then there's no proof for that in any way.”
Listen at 34:21
Eszterhas dates the Gnostic Gospels earlier than the Synoptic Gospels.
“the Gnostic gospels were written 40 years, 30, 40 years after the death of Jesus, whereas the Synoptic gospels, the ones that the churches have accepted, were written 80, 90 years after the death of Jesus.”
Listen at 38:21
Eszterhas says the canonical Gospel authors were not their named figures.
“The people in the church gospels who were named like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were not the people who were in the Gospels”
Listen at 38:46
Available evidence appears to date the Shroud of Turin to the 1300s.
“the evidence, what there is, seems to indicate that it comes from the 1300s.”
Listen at 41:52
Eszterhas attributes his stage-four cancer recovery partly to prayer.
“I felt afterwards that the reason I was able to beat a stage four cancer had to do with my prayer life.”
Listen at 57:44
Smoking while using estrogen birth control can cause blood clots.
“smoking cigarettes and birth control pills for some people can cause blood clots”
Listen at 1:05:01
Hunter Thompson created the gonzo journalism genre.
“Then Hunter took that and created an entire new genre. The gonzo journalism thing was his.”
Listen at 1:20:04
Eszterhas considers Thompson’s 1972 campaign book the best political commentary.
“the campaign book, the 72 Campaign Book, which in my mind is the best political commentary, including all of Teddy White's books.”
Listen at 1:20:36
Thompson might have appreciated aspects of Donald Trump’s style.
“I'm not certain of that. And I think that certainly in terms of his style, he would have liked things about him.”
Listen at 1:22:14
Eszterhas considers Trump the first president to speak directly to blue-collar people.
“he's the first president that didn't talk down, but talked directly to us.”
Listen at 1:23:07
Rogan views masked, lightly trained militarized police as a dangerous precedent.
“it is a very slippery slope. When you give people. And they're trained for seven weeks, they're not trained for very long. They're trained for much less time than police officers, much less time than military. And then you have this military militarized police force that has no identification and they're on the streets.”
Listen at 1:24:06
Rogan claims population counts increase congressional representation regardless of immigration status.
“when you have congressional seats. It's all based on the census. The more people that are in the town, regardless of whether or not they're legal or illegal, you get more congressional seats.”
Listen at 1:33:08
Eszterhas’s reporting forced California’s narcotics chief to resign.
“as a result of the stories, the guy who was the head of the narcotics agency in the state of California had to resign.”
Listen at 1:48:13
Eszterhas says alcohol temporarily quieted intrusive creative thoughts.
“the booze makes it stop so that you could continue your normal familial daily obligations and schedules without having this stuff in your head all the time”
Listen at 2:06:30
Rogan argues entertainment shapes people’s perceptions of reality.
“People think of it as trivial, that entertainment is trivial. I don't think it is at all. It shapes our perceptions of the world.”
Listen at 2:08:48
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.