She was at the top of her game, until a notorious film turned Elizabeth
Berkley into a flop star, according to "Showgirls" director Paul
Verhoeven.
In 1995, Berkley was on the top of the showbiz world after gaining huge
acclaim, fans and success with her role as Jessie Spano in "Saved by
the Bell."
But with one performance in the sex and nudity-laden cult movie that
depicted the sleazy world of naked cabaret in Las Vegas strip clubs,
Berkley's career and her image hit the skids.
Today, director Paul Verhoeven has held up his hands and apologized to the beauty and admitted: "It was all my fault."
In an exclusive interview, Verhoeven has reflected on his destruction
of Berkley's promising career and has even apologized publicly.
The Dutch director also revealed Charlize Theron had a lucky escape, too — as she desperately wanted the lead role.
The film, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, was deemed
one of the worst movies ever made due to nonsensical plots, odd musical
numbers, awful acting and incessant nudity. It earned just $8 million at
the box office, was subjected to critics' savagery and won a box of
Razzie Awards.
But Verhoeven — who was also behind the camera for box office smashes
like "Robocop," "Total Recall" and "Basic Instinct" — stands by
"Showgirls," and sees it as one of his best pieces of work and wants to
make a sequel entitled "Bimbos."
He doesn't expect Berkley to return as troubled teen Nomi Malone, who
in the original attempted to make it as a show girl in Sin City.
After the film premiered, Berkley lost more than face. The cringeworthy
performance cost her the early momentum of her career. Verhoeven
admitted it made her an outcast.
"Showgirls certainly ruined the career of Elizabeth Berkley in a major
way," Verhoeven said. "It made my life more difficult, but not to the
degree it did Elizabeth's. Hollywood turned their backs on her.
"If somebody has to be blamed, it should be me because I thought that it was interesting to portray somebody like that.
"I had hoped the end of the movie would explain why she acted that way,
when it's revealed she has convictions linked with drugs, but that too
turned out to be a big mistake."
Berkley's basic acting abilities were pilloried, but Verhoeven feels
that was his fault, too. "I asked Elizabeth to do all that — to be
abrupt and to act in that way, but people have been attacking her about
for that ever since.
"I did consider that people would think she had a borderline
personality, but that was because her character had history of drug
abuse, so I tried to express that through her abruptness."
Berkley gambled when taking on "Showgirls" as she had enjoyed four
years as a teen pin up as goody two shoes Jessie Spano in "Saved by the
Bell."
Audiences watched in disbelief as Berkley, then age 23, stripped and
romped in a pool for "Twin Peaks" star Kyle MacLachlan and even took
part in a lesbian sex scene with Gina Gershon.
Verhoeven insists the actress was happy to push the boundaries,
thinking she was transitioning from a teen favorite to the next Meryl
Streep.
He feels she was given an unfair wrap, and critics were so repulsed by
the nudity they failed to see the strength of her performance.
"We did exactly what we intended to do and we didn't stop at anything,
we just went for it. There was never any problem, we just did what we
were had set out to do. There was never any question about the nudity
and we actually had a very pleasant shoot and everybody thought we were
making an interesting movie."
He added: "In retrospect, Elizabeth may have regretted being so heavily
involved with the movie and being so vulnerable to her critics, but
when we did it we never had the feeling that this would happen.
"I've heard a lot of people criticizing Elizabeth's acting, but they
criticized everything about the movie so we will never say we were
shocked. Also, half of the audience only ever had their eyes below her
face, so of course they would say that!""
Verhoeven claims Hollywood studio executives were angry that Berkley
had pushed the boundaries and limits that female stars would go to — and
so shunned her.
"Hollywood was pissed off with her because she went further than any
actress has gone or will go and I think they have never forgiven her.
Her performance pushed the limits and that worried them.
"They were just so shocked by the movie that they hated her.
"Elizabeth could only have recovered from the movie by being offered a
very different role, but that just didn't happen for her otherwise she
would have taken the job.
"New roles were never offered, so it was impossible for her to make a comeback."
Berkley saw her leading lady aspirations crumble in the wake of the
failure. She was offered bit parts in TV shows like "NYPD Blue,"
"Titus," "The L Word" and "CSI Miami." But she never achieved the level
of acting success granted by "Saved by the Bell."
By 2013 she turned to reality TV to stay in the limelight. She found
herself using her dance skills again, but keeping her clothes on
alongside D-listers in ABC reality show "Dancing With the Stars."
Theron, an unknown at the time, had a lucky escape when she was not
chosen for the role in "Showgirls." She went on to star in "Two Days in
the Valley" in 1996.
Verhoeven would have cast the blond beauty, who won an Oscar in 2003
for her gritty performance in "Monster," but felt she was too unknown.
He says the decision saved her career.
"Charlize also auditioned, and I don't recall her having any problem with the nudity at all.
"She was good and wanted the part, but basically she was not well known
enough at the time and just did not fit the part, so we said no.
"I have full respect for Charlize, but if she had been offered the part
then she would probably have been chewed up in the same way they
treated Elizabeth.
"She was very lucky that she did not get the part.
"I wish Charlize congratulations for that because it would have have been a miserable 20 years for her!"
In recent years "Showgirls" has gained a cult following. And Verhoeven said he would still like to give it a follow-up a go.
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