Howard Stern & Rules of Radio
Howard Stern has been one of the most controversial – and revered – figures in the history of modern media. With a passion for the field as a child, Stern’s climb to the top of the radio world truly began in the ‘80s. And he did it off of his unique, button-pressing, FCC-clashing brand and humor: the boobs, the prank calls, the Wack Pack, all of it all made Howard Stern one of the most recognizable figures in all of media. And so as his markets grew and his written word topped the charts – but long before his first $500 million contract with Sirius – it was time for Stern to enter the movie business…with something a little more commercially viable than BUTT BONGO FIESTA.
So how did the guy who mocked his wife’s miscarriage on the air and flipped the bird to nearly every boss he’s ever had even get his own shot in Hollywood? How did he micromanage his own book into a motion picture? How did he further solidify himself as the King of All Media? Let’s find out: WTF Happened to this movie?!
Private Parts began, as with so many movies, with a fart. Well, a Fartman, Howard Stern’s flatulent superhero who you might remember from the 1992 VMAs. That same year, there were plans at New Line Cinema to make The Adventures of Fartman with Pretty Woman’s J.F. Lawton writing, which was eventually shelved over PG-13 vs. R debates and merchandising rights.
And then came Howard Stern’s private parts – the book that is, a 1993 New York Times Best Seller that was the “fastest selling autobiography of all time”. Set up at Rysher Entertainment, the book would be fast-tracked into production as Stern’s feature debut, with the shock jock getting linked to the likes of Paramount producer David Kirkpatrick, director John G. Avildsen (Rocky) and screenwriter Peter Torokvei (since changed to PJ), whose credits included Back to School and Caddyshack II.
Torokvei would complete the script – which would cover Stern’s youth up until around 1993 – but it was not approved by Stern, who had worked final screenplay approval into his contract. As it turns out, this would be one of nearly two dozen drafts that Stern rejected, citing how boring they were becoming with each subsequent rewrite. But we’re still not sure what’s so boring about Richard Simmons running around Stern’s house in a pink tutu and Stern riding an elephant down Fifth Avenue, both events in drafts and part of studio pitches. In would come, at various points, “Private Parts” book editor Larry Sloman, Michael Kalesniko, Laurice Elehwany (the My Girl movies), and TV writer Rick Copp. By November 1994, Avildsen was fed up with all of the rewrites and bailed – although his career could have used a hit after two consecutive Razzie nominations. As Kirkpatrick put it, “To say Howard is difficult is an understatement.”
Three months later, Stern had yet to formally approve a shooting script, leading to speculation as to whether the movie would even come out, that he might be nervous that it wouldn’t be a success. Stern had genuine concerns over how his story would be told, saying the script had to avoid any “sugarcoating”, that it had to be real and bring both sides of his personality to the screen. “I wanted the movie to feel like there was a camera hidden in the room somewhere and you were eavesdropping on my life.” Stern would rehire hired Kalesniko and bring in Len Blum (Meatballs, Stripes), who wasn’t initially a fan of Stern, calling him “dangerous”, but wound up liking him after realizing he had laughed harder than he had in 20 years after meeting him. He, too, imagined the movie like “the Annie Hall of the ‘90s” — and while it did hit on the comedy-romance and had protagonist interjections, unfortunately, there were no animated sequences. Stern would also call the project a love letter to his wife…who he would divorce in 2001.
Please "Like" us on Facebook: / potentialproblemspodcast
Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Subscribe on Podbean: https://potentialproblems.podbean.com/