1986: 9 ½ Weeks, Mickey Rourke & Zalman King (Erotic 80s Part 9) / by Karina Longworth

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Billed as the hottest Hollywood film since Last Tango, 9 ½ Weeks was considered to have missed the mark by everyone who made it – including director Adrian Lyne, stars Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger, producer/writer Zalman King and his wife, writer Patricia Knop. Today we’ll talk about why this intoxicating and troubling film is worth a second look, how to square away the arguably feminist finished product from a production process that robbed Basinger of agency, and we’ll explore the film Rourke and King re-teamed on as a re-do, Wild Orchid. We’ll also talk about Rourke’s “bad boy” persona, and his problematic relationship with his second wife and co-star, supermodel Carre Otis. 

Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke in 9½ Weeks (1986)

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:
Nine and a Half Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair by Elizabeth McNeill

Beauty, Disrupted: The Carre Otis Story, by Carre Otis

People Are Talking About: Kim Basinger by David Denby, Vogue, April 1986

Making it Big in 9 ½ Weeks, Interview Magazine, March 1985, Vol 15 Iss 3 

Mickey Rourke, Playboy, February 1987

Vision Skeds Wild Orchid as ‘High-Class Erotic Pic by Hy Hollinger, Variety, May 12, 1988

Paradise Lust, People Magazine, June 15, 1992

King Comments, Hollywood Reporter, May 9, 1988

Just for Variety, Variety,  Feb 11, 1994

The Cutting Edge by Pat H. Broeske, LA Times, Feb. 16, 1986

Profile of Zalman King by Nancy Griffin, Premiere Magazine, September 1991

Former French Models Come Forward With Abuse Allegations Against Gerald Marie, NPR Morning Edition, Sept. 10, 2021

Who Was the Real Woman Behind “Nine and a Half Weeks? by Sarah Weinman, The New Yorker, Nov 30, 2012

Leading Man Named Zalman, New York Times, Feb 28, 1971

This Lady-Killer Bites by Janet Maslin, New York Times, April 28, 1990

‘Wild Orchid’ Makes Its Sex Seem Ludicrous by Michael Wilmington, LA Times, April 30, 1990

Hollywood Report by Martin A. Grove, The Hollywood Reporter, May 2, 1990

Before ‘Fifty Shades,’ How ‘9 1/2 Weeks’ Director Put S&M Onscreen by Seth Abramovitch, Feb 12, 2015 

How '9 1/2 Weeks' Pushed An Actress To The Edge by Nina Darnton, New York Times, March 9, 1986

Orchid Sex Scenes Might Be Pirated by James Ulmer, The Hollywood Reporter, August 10, 1989

Take One, People Magazine, May 1, 1989

X Marks it Hot, Variety, March 28, 1990

True Love, Newsweek, April 23, 1990

Kim Basinger Cover & Interview, Interview Magazine, Feb 1986

Orchid Producers Sue Rourke, Otis, The Hollywood Reporter, June 20, 1990

The Last Anti-Hero, By Patrick Goldstein, LA Times, Feb. 24, 1991

Patricia Louisiana Knop Dies: Screenwriter For ‘9 1/2 Weeks’ And ‘Wild Orchid’ Was 78 By Bruce Haring, Deadline, August 16, 2019

‘Wild Orchid’ Star Carré Sutton Sues Former Elite Modeling Agency Execs Over Rape Accusations by Daniel Goldblatt,  August 12, 2021

Mickey Rourke ex Carré Sutton sues Former Elite Models Boss Over Alleged Rape by Ben Feuerherd, NY Post, August 13, 2021 

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Music:

The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.  

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: 

"Rumoi Night" - Kokura Station

"Quindi Cavern" - LufaQuest

"Tower of Mirrors" - TinyTiny Trio

"Kestral" - Kajubaa

"Pxl Cray" - The Fence

"Gruman's Thorn" - Kajubaa

"The Kishner Method" - Kajubaa

"Pxl Eventuat" - The Fence

"Gamboler" - Pglet

"Kamilah" - Sunflower

"Nightride" - Kajubaa

"WestDesert" - LufaQuest

"Zeriba Village" - LufaQuest

"Kind of Regret" - Synapse

Mickey Rourke and Carre Otis, c. 1980s

Credits:

This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.

Our editor this season is Evan Viola. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Mickey Rourke, photographed by Helmut Newton, c. 1980’s