Hollywood Animal

He spent his earliest years in post-World War Two refugee camps. He came to America and grew up in Cleveland - stealing cars, rolling drinks, battling priests, nearly going to jail. He became the screenwriter of the world-wide hits Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge and Flashdance.

He also wrote the legendary disasters Showgirls and Jade. The rebellion never ended, even as his films went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the box office and he became the most famous - or infamous - screenwriter in Hollywood. Joe Eszterhas is a complex and paradoxical figure- part outlaw and outsider combined with equal parts romantic and moralist.

More than one person has called him "the devil". He has been referred to as "the most reviled man in America". But Time asked- "If Shakespeare were alive today, would his name be Joe Eszterhas?" and he was the first screenwriter picked as one of the industry's 100 Most Powerful People.

But there are many more layers to this extraordinary work. It is the story of an Hungarian street kid who survives a life filled with obstacles and pain - a chronicle of a love affair that is sensual, glorious, and unending - an excruciatingly detailed look at a man facin.