Killer Instinct by Jane Hamsher
When "Natural Born Killers" came out in theaters several years ago, I had the misfortune to sit through the film twice in a row. I worked part-time in a movie theater (for the free movies, of course) and caught the movie on a slow day at work. Just as I got out of the theater (and subsequently got off work), two friends of mine showed up at the theater, begging me to watch the movie with them. And so, despite having just finished watching it, and despite the fact that I hated it (it's in my top 5 all-time worst movies ever made), I sat through the movie - again.
And I haven't seen it since. I never will...at least, I think I never will. Last year I bought Jane Hamsher's "Killer Instinct", a tell-all book about the making of this horrible movie (that's only my opinion - don't criticize me for speaking out against this movie). Hamsher is a film producer, responsible for such films as "Apt Pupil", "Permanent Midnight" and, of course, "Natural Born Killers".
Upon graduating from film school, Hamsher and her partner Don Murphy set up camp in her living room, determined to become movie moguls. They fell into possession of a script by an unknown writer named Quentin Tarantino, and bought it for $10,000. But then "Reservoir Dogs" achieved critical acclaim, and Tarantino became a hot property (and an egotistic jerk) - and Hamsher and Murphy were in danger of losing the script they so desperately wanted to make into movie gold.
After fighting for control of the script, Oliver Stone let it be known that he wanted to direct, and they quickly signed up for his vision. And from then on in this hilarious tell-all, Hamsher takes the reader on a ride that's difficult to keep up with! Hamsher is an engaging writer - at times philosophical, at other times irreverent, she packs a wallop as she opens Pandora's box of Hollywood best and worst goodies.
To be truthful, at times Hamsher is incredibly self-serving, promoting herself and her partner as complete innocents among devils. But at other times she freely admits to her faults, such as their (illegal) attempt to ruin someone's reputation via fax machine.
But when she gets involved in her anecdote, it's a fun read. Her description of the real inmate riot during their filming of the prison scenes made me feel like I was right there. And being able to read about what happened behind the scenes makes me want to rent the movie if only to think to myself, "Gee - that's real fear on that guard's face right now!"
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