JOE ESZTERHAS - ESZTERHAS DISHES DIRT ON HOLLYWOOD STARS

Screenwriter JOE ESZTERHAS has hit out at a host of Hollywood stars, branding MICHAEL DOUGLAS "dumb" and VAL KILMER "an imbecile". Eszterhas, who has written the scripts for FLASHDANCE and BASIC INSTINCT, has little love for movie stars, and gives readers the lowdown on his Hollywood experiences in new book THE DEVIL'S GUIDE TO HOLLYWOOD: THE SCREENWRITER AS GOD. He writes, "Val Kilmer is an imbecile. Asked by the Academy to nominate the three best film moments of the century, Kilmer nominated three of his movies. One of them was BATMAN FOREVER. "Michael Douglas, in my experience, is not brilliant and may very well, in some cases, be dumb. This is the guy who wanted to change the ending of Basic Instinct because it wasn't 'redemptive'. Douglas didn't like that he was the star of the movie and that (SHARON STONE) 'one-ups me at every turn'. He adds of Stone: "Sharon's 'prima donna' behaviour so annoyed the crew on one of her movies that they relieved themselves into a bathtub before Sharon got into it for her scene." And Eszterhas has plenty of venom for actors who try their hands at his own career, declaring, "You don't want EDWARD NORTON to star in your movie. He now rewrites all the scripts he agrees to act in."