Pretty Woman, Sleeping with the Enemy and Julia Roberts in the early 90s (Erotic 90s, Part 2)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The first blockbuster about sex of the 90s, Pretty Woman both reinvigorated Richard Gere’s career, and turned Julia Roberts into the biggest female movie star of the era. We’ll dissect the gender politics of this fantasy about love between a streetwalker and a corporate villain, analyze its lasting appeal, and trace the wild rollercoaster ride of the first few years of Roberts’ movie stardom. Virtually unknown before 1989, within a year of Pretty Woman’s release Roberts was considered the most bankable woman in movies, a controversial icon of 90s womanhood and, eventually, a romantic antihero whose performances and personal life were put on a pedestal by a breathless media, only to be swiftly knocked down.

Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, 1990

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

“Steel Magnolia: Julia Roberts” by Sheryl Kornman, Vogue, Sept 1988

“Julia Roberts: She’s Fahn” by Jack Olsen, Village View, Oct 10, 1988

“Pretty Picture” The Hollywood Reporter, April 2, 1989

“3000 Woos ‘007’” LA Herald Examiner, April 12, 1989

“Steel Belle” by Jan Stuart, ELLE, Nov 1989

“Answered Prayers” by Alan Richman, GQ, Dec 1989

“Pretty Woman” Variety Movie Reviews, Jan 1, 1990, Issue 1 

“Julia Roberts Faces a Test Character” by Myra Forsberg, NYTimes, March 18, 1990

“No Gritty Woman” by Pat H. Broeske, LA Times, March 18, 1990

“Pretty Woman” by Henry Sheehan, The Hollywood Reporter, March 19, 1990

Pretty Woman Review by Thomas Doherty, Cineaste, 1990, Vol. 18, Issue 1 

“Just for Variety” March 21, 1990

“Julia Roberts — Living Life in the Fast Lane” by Patrick Goldstein, LA Times, March 23, 1990

“High-Rolling Boy Meets Streetwalking Girl” by Janet Maslin, NYTimes, March 23, 1990 

“Pretty Woman” by Roger Ebert, March 23, 1990

“Revising a Script” LA Times, March 25, 1990

“Film: Get Rich, Get Happy?” by Julie Salamon, WSJ, March 29, 1990

“Woman of Character” by Tom Christie Vogue, April 1990

“What the Beauty And the Beasts Have in Common” by Vincent Canby, NYTimes, June 3, 1990

“50 Most Beautiful People in the World” People Magazine, Summer 1990 

“Suddenly, Julia” by Robert Palmer, AMERICAN FILM July 1990

“Bold Success For Modest Pretty Woman” Variety, July 18, 1990

“Pretty Woman’ Finds Best Friend in Profits” by Geraldine Fabrikant, NY Times, July 21, 1990

“Gross Comparison” People, September 17, 1990

“Stocks and the Bonds That Tie” by Amy Taubin, Village Voice, Dec 14, 1990

“Women in the Dark: of Sex Goddesses, Abuse, and Dreams” by Gloria Steinem, MS. Magazine, January/February 1991

“Barefoot Girl with Cheek” by Johanna Schneller  GQ, Feb 1991

“Sleeping with the Enemy” by Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter, Feb 2, 1991 

“Sleeping with the Enemy” Variety, Feb 4, 1991

“Passion Prey” by Lawrence Toppman LB Press-Telegram, Feb 8, 1991

“A Sleek, Gorgeous and Empty ‘Enemy” by Sheila Benson, LA Times, Feb 8, 1991

“ShoWest Showers Honoress With Thanks For Strong B.O.” Variety  Feb 11, 1991

“New Thrills for Pretty Woman” by Rochard Corliss, TIME, Feb 11, 1991

“Americana Gothic” by Georgia Brown.Village Voice, Feb 21, 1991

“Julia in Love” People Magazine, Feb 25, 1991

“Faces and Places” by Holly Millea, US, March 21, 1991

“Sleeping with the Enemy” by Marilyn Moss, Box Office, April 1991

“Julia, Kiefer Make it Official” by Liz Smith, April 30, 1991

“Miss Roberts Regrets” by Louise Lague, People Magazine,  July 1, 1991

“Morning Report: Hold the Champagne” LA Times, June 12, 1991

“Wedding of the Year that Never Was” Press-Telegram wire Services, June 14, 1991

“Morning Report: An Irish Break” Los Angeles Times, June 17, 1991

“Winners, Losers” Variety, June 17, 1991

“The Woes of ‘91” The Ten Most Important Films of a Troubled Year” by John H. Richardson, PREMIERE Feb, 1992

“The 100 dumbest things Hollywood’s done recently” Movieline, July 1993

“Getting in High Gere” by Bruce Fretts, Entertainment Weekly, Oct. 18, 1996 

“Primal Gere” by John Powers, Vogue; Vol. 187, Iss. 11, Nov 1, 1997 

“Speaking of Roberts” Variety September 27, 2007

“10 Set Secrets You Didn’t Know: Pretty Woman Turns 30” People Magazine, March 2020

Please note: as an Amazon Associate Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

Julia Roberts at the 1990 Golden Globes Awards

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: 

The Killjoy Brothers - Kittyhawk
Cicle Vascule - Cicle Kadde
Upbeat Hot Hip Hop - Royalty Free Dum Track
Kamilah - Sunflower
Single Still - Vermouth
Waltz for Zakaria - Chocolate
Chai Belltini - Vermouth
Le Marais - The Sweet Hots
Mill Wyrm - Potions
Metropolis Calling - Kittyhawk
Launch Code - Kittyhawk
Junca - Orange Cat
Neon Drip - RadioPink
Will be war soon? - Kosta T
Daymaze - Orange Cat
JoDon - Orange Cat

Julia Roberts in Sleeping with the Enemy, 1991

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.

1988: Prologue: Porn, Feminism & the folly of NC-17 (Erotic 90s, Part 1)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Erotic 80s began with a prologue about the short-lived heyday of the X rating, pornography, and feminism. Erotic 90s begins with a prologue about the disastrous rollout of NC-17 –the X rating’s replacement  – and the evolving state of both porn and feminism at the dawn of the 90s. Topics include David Lynch, Harvey Weinstein, “pro-porn” feminism, “the new morality,” video stores, Magic Johnson, date rape and much more.

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

“Burning Desires: Sex in America. Part One: The World’s First Safe-Sex Orgy” by Steve Chapple and David Talbot, Playboy, April 1989

“Movies” by Bruce Williamson, Playboy, April 1989

“How We Play The Game” by Lillian B. Rubin. MS, May 1989

“Ziplash: A Sexual Libertine Recants” by Erica Jong. MS, May 1989

“Nice Girls Do (Or Want To)” by Katie Monagle. MS, May 1989

“Women: It’s now, it’s trendy, it’s codependency!” By Cynthia Heimel. Playboy, May 1990

“Almodovar Film's X Rating Is Challenged in Lawsuit” by Andrew L. Yarrow, NYTimes, May 24, 1990

“Sex is Back! A field report on the end (at last) of the ice age” by Michael Kelly, Playboy, May 1990

“The Death And Rebirth Of Ms.” - The Washington Post, MS, July/August 1990

“Judge Upholds X Rating For Almodovar Film” by Glenn Collins, NYTimes, July 20, 1990

“Businessman With a Nasty Rep: Rap: 2 Live Crew’s Controversial Luther Campbell Says He’s ‘just A Hard-Working Guy Marketing A New Product.’ by Chuck Philips, LA Times, July 25, 1990

“X-Rated ‘June’ Could Ignite Major Revolt Against MPAA” by David Kissinger, Variety, Sept. 10. 1990

“X Film Rating Dropped and Replaced by NC-17 : Movies: Designation Would Bar Children Under 17” by David J. Fox, LA Times, Sept. 27, 1990

“Venice Film Festival Review: Henry & June” Sept. 17, 1990

“A 'No Children' Category To Replace the 'X' Rating by Larry Rohter, Special To the New York Times, Sept. 27, 1990 

“Not Quite As Wild”, People Magazine, Sept. 27, 1990

“The First Impact of the New Movie Rating : Film: The New York Times Decides to Publish Advertisements For Adults-only Fare” by David J. Fox, Sept. 28, 1990

“2 Church Groups Condemn NC-17 Rating” LA Times, Sept. 29, 1990

“First Film Rated NC-17 Is Banned Near Boston : Movies: Town officials threaten to revoke theater’s license, LA Times, Oct. 5, 1990

“Taking the Hex out of X” by Richard Corliss, Time Magazine, Oct. 8, 1990

“Sell-Out Crowds for Henry & June” by Jack Matthews, LA Times, Oct. 8, 1990

“Hollywood Report”, Hollywood Reporter, Oct. 10, 1990

“The Playboy Forum: Ratings and Reel Life” Playboy, Oct. 1990

“Date Rape: Does Anyone Really Know What it is?” Stephanie Gutmann, Playboy Oct.1990

“Is NC-17 an X in a Clean Raincoat” by Janet Maslin, NYTimes, Oct. 21, 1990

“Movies” by Bruce Williamson, Playboy, Nov. 1990

“Building Controversy Over NC-17 : MPAA Opposes Attempt to Turn the New Guideline on Adult Fare Into Law” by David J. Fox, LA Times, Nov. 20, 1990

“The Ratings Game” by Pete Travers, US Magazine, August 1992

“Reviewing the NC-17 Film Rating: Clear Guide or an X by a New Name?” by William Grimes, NYTimes, Nov. 30, 1992

“R vs. NC-17--What’s the Difference?: Filmmakers, Exhibitors Are Bewildered by Inconsistent Ratings” by David J. Fox, LA Times, Jan. 18, 1993

“A Strange Justice For All By Judy Mann”, Washington Post, Nov. 9, 1994

“Why Movie Ratings Don't Work” by Benjamin Svetkey, Entertainment Weekly, Updated November 25, 199

“First Major Film With an NC-17 Rating Is Embraced by the Studio” by Bernard Weinraub, NYTimes, July 21, 1995

“NC-17 Gets an F The MPAA has forced "Eyes Wide Shut" to blink, "South Park" to wash its mouth out, and "American Pie" to be less spicy. Now the backlash begins” By Andrew Essex, Entertainment Weekly, August 13, 1999 

Ugly Reality in Movie Ratings by Roger Ebert, Sept. 24, 2000

“DGA: Re-Cut Pic Ratings Helmer's Union Calls For Overhaul Of MPAA System” by Dave McNary, Variety, Sept. 15, 2000 

“Can’t Get No Satisfaction, Philip Kaufman Thrusts Again with “Quills”, Indiewire, Nov 28, 2000

“The Naked Truth: "Showgirls" and the Fate of the X/NC-17 Rating” by Kevin S. Sandler, Cinema Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Spring, 2001), pp. 69-93 (25 pages) Published By: University of Texas Press

Please note: as an Amazon Associate Karina earns from qualifying purchases. #ad

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: 

The Killjoy Brothers - Kittyhawk
Cicle Vascule - Cicle Kadde
Upbeat Hot Hip Hop - Royalty Free Dum Track
Kamilah - Sunflower
Single Still - Vermouth
Waltz for Zakaria - Chocolate
Chai Belltini - Vermouth
Le Marais - The Sweet Hots
Mill Wyrm - Potions
Metropolis Calling - Kittyhawk
Launch Code - Kittyhawk
Junca - Orange Cat
Neon Drip - RadioPink
Will be war soon? - Kosta T
Daymaze - Orange Cat
JoDon - Orange Cat

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.

Vanessa Williams, Whitney Houston and Hollywood’s Misogynoir Problem (Make Me Over, Episode 8)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. 

In 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first black woman to win Miss America. In 1984, a few weeks from the end of her reign, she was forced to step down when she found out Penthouse was to publish unauthorized nude images of her in their magazine. Williams went on to have a successful singing career and star in movies, too, but her career trajectory tells more than the story of a black beauty icon who overcame obstacles to make it in Hollywood. It's a story that echoes the legacies of racism, colorism, tokenism, and misogynoir (the misogyny experienced specifically by black women) in 20th century Hollywood and how, as a result, black women — from Williams to Whitney Houston — have had to display exceptional talent to make the case that their images are worth circulating and celebrating as beautiful.

This episode was written and performed by Cassie da Costa, an entertainment writer for The Daily Beast. She lives in Ojai, California.

SHOW NOTES: 

Sources specific to this episode:

“Miss America: A History”, missamerica.org

There She Is, Miss America: The Politics of Sex, Beauty, and Race in America’s Most Famous Pageant edited by Elwood Watson and Darcy Martin

You Have No Idea: A Famous Daughter, Her No-nonsense Mother, and How They Survived Pageants, Hollywood, Love, Loss (and Each Other) by Vanessa Williams and Helen Williams

Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval by Saidiya Hartman

From Mammy to Miss America and Beyond: Cultural Images and the Shaping of U.S. Social policy by K. Sue Jewell

“Bob Giuccone, Penthouse Founder, Dies at 79”, obituary by Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times, October 20, 2010, The New York Times

“Bob Guccione’s FBI File: From Direct Mail Smut Peddler To Penthouse Founder” by Unknown, January 18, 2011, Talking Points Memo

“Interview with Penthouse’s Bob Guccione” October 27, 2008, YouTube

“The Indian Miss America and the First Native Miss America” by Indian Country Today, September 19, 2013, Indian Country Today

“Miss America: United States Pageant” by John M. Cunningham, November 8, 2019, Encyclopedia Britannica

“Ex Miss America Vanessa Williams Overcomes Her Disgrace by Showing and Singing the Right Stuff” by John Stark and Michael Alexander, January 30, 1989, People Magazine archives

“How Vanessa Williams Endured Her Miss America Scandal” by Oprah’s Master Class, July 13, 2014, OWN via YouTube 

“Vanessa Williams at age 29 interviewed by Oprah Winfrey”, August 18, 2019, YouTube

“Fifty Years Ago, Protesters Took on the Miss America Pageant and Electrified the Feminist Movement” by Roxane Gay, January 2018 issue, Smithsonian Magazine

“‘You can be unapologetically black’: How Miss Black America has endured 50 years” by Robin Givhan, August 28, 2018, The Washington Post

Vanessa Williams resigns her Miss America title, 1984

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: 

Innervisions -  Stuart Alexander Elliott, Rick Driscoll, Jacqui Copland
Peacefire - Steve Baker
Beauties American Style - Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch
Dixie Blues - Geoffrey Peter Gascoyne
Good Vibe - Richard Glasser, Donald Geoffrey Peake
Ballad - Dick Walter
Dangerline - Giuliano Panella
The Dealer - Andrea Litkei, Ervin Litkei
Contemplation - Hans Haider
Style and Grace - Geoffrey Wilkinson
Beauty Queen - Rolf Anton Krueger
Romantic Soul - Dean Landon, Caron Lyn Nightingale
When Love Comes Around - Paul Lenart, Larry Luddecke
Pendulum - Didier Francois Dani Goret
Love Hope Rebuild - Steve Baker

Whitney Houston’s 1987 album, Whitney

Credits:

Make Me Over is a special presentation of You Must Remember This. It was created and directed by Karina Longworth, who also edited the scripts.

This episode was written and performed by Cassie da Costa. 

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Producer: Tomeka Weatherspoon. 

Editor: Jared O'Connell.

Audio engineers: Jared O'Connell, Andrea Kristins and Brendan Burns. 

Supervising Producer: Josephine Martorana. 

Executive Producer: Chris Bannon. 

Logo design: Teddy Blanks and Aaron Nestor.

Vanessa Williams, in a still from Save the Best for Last video, 1991

YMRT #25: The Short Lives of Bruce and Brandon Lee

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

A martial arts master on the verge of major movie stardom, Bruce Lee died suddenly in 1973, at the age of 33; the official cause was “death by misadventure.” Twenty years later, Bruce Lee's son, BrandonLee, died suddenly in an accidental shooting on the set of The Crow — the movie which was poised to turn Brandon into a major star. These parallel tragedies have led some to suggest that the Lee family have been the victims of a curse, or a conspiracy. In this episode, we’ll explore what really happened to Bruce and BrandonLee, and discuss what happened over several decades, so that an extraordinary talented artist who was essentially run out of town thanks to Hollywood’s racism came to be one of the industry’s biggest moneymakers long after his death. 

Show notes!

This episode marks a couple of different landmarks for You Must Remember This. It’s our 25th episode. It’s the last episode of our second season, which has been devoted to stories loosely or not-so loosely related to my book, Hollywood Frame by Frame — making this also the last time I’ll mention the book in or around the podcast (there are pictures from the set of The Crow in it and you can buy it here. </plug>.) And, it’s our final all-new episode of 2014. We will have a special not-all-new episode next week, then we’ll take a week off and be back with the first episode of a new season on January 6. 

Bibliography:

There are a lot of books about Bruce Lee, and, honestly, I had trouble wading through them to figure out which were the most substantive/reliable. As I mention in the episode, the the demand for information about Lee after his death created a financial incentive to publish which didn’t necessarily support fact checking. I ended up putting more stock in newspaper/magazine articles written from the perspective of the future. Matthew Polly’s Playboy feature Chasing the Dragon was an important source for this episode, as were the LA Times and Entertainment Weekly’s extensive coverage of Brandon Lee’s death on the set of The Crow, particularly this story by Mark Harris. Also, I watched the documentary I Am Bruce Lee, as well as, um, this Unsolved Mysteries episode about the Lee deaths. 

Discography:

Atmosphere by Joy Division

Intelligent Galaxy The Insider

Strict Machine by Goldfrapp

Cyllider One by Chris Zabriskie

Money by Jahzzar

The Insider Theme by The insider

5:00 AM by Peter Rudenko

Laserdisc by Chris Zabriskie

These Days by Joy Division

Auto-Suggestion by Joy Division

Private Hurricane (Instrumental Version) by Josh Woodward

Undercover Vampire Policeman by Chris Zabriskie

For the Damaged (coda) by Blonde Redhead

Wonder Cycle by Chris Zabriskie

Dead Souls by Joy Division

YMRT #6: Isabella Rossellini in the 1990s

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Today we celebrate the 62nd birthday of actress/model/filmmaker Isabella Rossellini. She was born into Hollywood scandal: her mother, Ingrid Bergman, was denounced on the floor of Congress for her adulterous relationship with Isabella’s father, Italian neorealist director Roberto Rossellini. Isabella herself would go on to have romances with Martin Scorsese and David Lynch, finding her signature film role in the latter’s Blue Velvet. But her parentage and romantic relationships are only part of the story. She made her own fortune modeling, a career which the former scoliosis patient started at the relatively advanced age of 28, ultimately serving an unprecedented 14 years as the face of Lancome. In the 1990s — a decade which began with her being dumped by David Lynch and ended with her launching a company which she referred to as “a secret feminist plot” against the beauty industry — Isabella Rossellini took her legacy into her own hands. 

Show notes!

This podcast was inspired by an image I stumbled across, from the brochure produced in 1999 to publicize Manifesto, Rossellini’s short-lived “feminist” cosmetics line. Also, I’m always happy for a chance to talk about Death Becomes Her, about which I wrote an entire chapter in my book about Meryl Streep. 

I wanted to try to tell at least parts of Isabella’s story like a short story, which, practically, meant that instead of doing a lot of research from various angles, as I’ve done in previous episodes, I wanted to try to get inside my main subject’s point of view. So, one of my key sources was Isabella’s own 1997 memoir, Some of Me. This seems to be out of print, but if you’re interested in her I highly recommend it. It’s a little nutty, charmingly so, and also beautifully illustrated (it has made me obsessed with a certain 90s-vintage Dolce and Gabbana bra.). Isabella’s 1997 Fresh Air interview, which I’ve excerpted liberally within in the podcast, synthesizes a lot of the key themes of the memoir, as do many of her extended interviews, including this live chat with John Anderson, from which I excerpted a bit in which she talks about becoming a model at age 28.

It didn’t play a huge role into my research for this, but Ingrid Bergman’s autobiography is also very good. 

Of the many magazine articles I read this week, these were the most useful:

“Isabella Makes a Fresh Start” Vanity Fair, January 1991

Isabella Rossellini, INDEX, 1999

“Daddy’s Girl” The Guardian, April 30, 2006

“Have Makeup Will Travel” SF Gate, January 11, 2000

“Isabella Rossellini Makes a Beauty Statement With Manifesto Line” LA Times, January 7, 2000

“Isabella Rossellini’s Manifesto: anatomy of a commercial fragrance failure” Examiner, March 15, 2010

Music:

"Blue Velvet," performed by Isabella Rossellini in Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet theme, by Angelo Badalamenti

“Single,” by Everything But the Girl

“Weightless,” by Washed Out

“Jump Into the Fire,” by Harry Nilsson

“But The World Goes Round,” performed by Liza Minnelli in New York, New York

Theme from Cousins, by Angelo Badalamenti

“Middle of the Road,” by The Pretenders

“Theme d’Amour” from Alphaville, by Paul Maraki

“Jonathan,” by Fiona Apple

“Spread Your Wings,” by Spiritualized

“Apartment Song,” by Possum Dixon

"Justify My Love," by Madonna

Death Becomes Her theme, by Alan Silvestri

"Moon River," performed by Morrissey

"Blue Lines," by Massive Attack

"Les Yper Sound," by Stereolab

"Flower," by Sonic Youth

"Naked Eye," by Luscious Jackson

"A Party Able Model Of," by Joan of Arc

"Blue Velvet," performed by Lana Del Rey