Star 80

''Star 80'' is a 1983 American biographical drama film written and directed by Bob Fosse. It was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' Village Voice'' article "Death of a Playmate" by Teresa Carpenter and is based on Canadian ''Playboy'' model Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her husband Paul Snider in 1980. The film's title is taken from one of Snider's vanity license plates. It was Fosse's final film before his death in 1987.

The film stars Mariel Hemingway as Stratten and Eric Roberts as Snider, with Cliff Robertson, Carroll Baker, Roger Rees, and David Clennon in supporting roles. The film chronicles Stratten's relationship with Snider, their move to Los Angeles, her success as a ''Playboy'' model, the dissolution of their relationship, and her murder.

''Star 80'' was filmed on location in Vancouver and Los Angeles; the death scene was filmed in the same house in which the real murder–suicide took place. The film was released in the United States on November 10, 1983. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, but the performances of Hemingway and Roberts received critical acclaim. The film has been reappraised over the years and has been reviewed positively.

Plot

Dorothy Stratten lies dead as her husband Paul Snider rants to himself about the events that led up to the present moment. The story, told through a series of flashbacks, has a linear narrative but is interspersed by Paul's rants as well as by documentary-style interviews with some of the characters.

Paul, a brash small-time scam artist and pimp, first meets Dorothy two years earlier while she works at a Dairy Queen in her native Vancouver. He woos Dorothy with attention and flattery and a romance develops, much to the displeasure of her mother.

Working under the delusion that he is Dorothy's only path to realization, Paul tries to run her life, uncovering a possessive streak in the process, and insists on being her personal manager. He convinces her to pose nude in Polaroid photographs until she sheds her initial timidity, then hires two professional photographers to take pictures of her.

These pictures make their way to ''Playboy'' magazine founder and publisher Hugh Hefner who invites Dorothy to Los Angeles for a photo shoot. When Dorothy's mother refuses to sign the parental consent form, Paul forges her signature. Hefner makes Dorothy Playmate of the Month for the August 1979 issue, provides lodging for her and gives her a job as a Bunny at the local Playboy Club.

Despite his constant infidelities, Paul is plagued by jealousy and feelings of inadequacy. He proposes marriage to Dorothy over the phone, flies to Los Angeles and alienates everyone in the Playboy Mansion with his uncouth and nervously sycophantic demeanor. Against the advice of Hefner and his associates, however, Dorothy proceeds with the marriage. They share a rented house in Rancho Park with another couple and enjoy a large social entourage, but Dorothy becomes increasingly disenchanted by Paul's possessiveness and tacky sleaze.

Dorothy is named 1980's Playmate of the Year and starts an acting career thanks to Hefner's contacts. Paul, on the other hand, feels deeply insecure after losing money on failed business ventures and being eclipsed by his wife's success. Still adamant to remain influential on her life, Paul pesters her with constant phone calls that even interrupt her filming sessions, and becomes a fixture at the Playboy Mansion despite lacking a formal invitation from Hefner. He also uses Dorothy's money to purchase a Mercedes with a vanity license plate that reads "Star 80".

Famous film director Aram Nicholas first discovers Dorothy among the skaters at a Playboy Mansion roller disco party. At Hefner's recommendation, he casts her in his next picture, to be filmed in New York City. Paul appears to welcome this development, but in reality, his jealousy escalates and he hires a private detective to follow Dorothy in New York. The realization that the Playboy Mansion's doors are now closed for him compounds Paul's erratic obsession, unnerving his housemates in the process.

Noticing Dorothy's unhappiness with the marriage, Aram convinces her to leave Paul and they begin an affair. The private detective discovers this and advises Paul to sue Aram for enticement, in effect conflating the marriage with Paul's purported "management" of Dorothy even though the latter was only a verbal contract.

Broke, dejected and increasingly volatile, Paul correctly surmises Aram's influence on Dorothy's shift in decisions and mannerisms, but fails to accept that his marriage is effectively over. Upon her return to Los Angeles, Dorothy admits the affair, but promises Paul financial support. She agrees to meet Paul personally again to discuss divorce proceedings, despite Aram's advice to use an intermediary instead. Paul subsequently purchases a shotgun.

Dorothy and Paul meet at the Rancho Park house. Despite his pleas, she declares that their marriage and business ties are over, offers him half of her savings and tries to comfort him. Paul perceives her attitude as condescending and becomes enraged. A chaotic and reproachful interaction ensues, which culminates in Paul raping Dorothy, shooting her in the head with the shotgun and violating her corpse on a sex contraption of his own design. Paul then turns the gun on himself, and ominously proclaims his future fame before pulling the trigger.

Cast

Production

The idea for the project began when Bob Fosse's friend Paddy Chayefsky recommended a Pulitzer Prize-winning article about Stratten written by Teresa Carpenter that had appeared in ''The Village Voice''. In May 1981, it was announced that Fosse was developing a screenplay, originally titled ''The Dorothy Stratten Story''. The film was dedicated to Chayefsky who died shortly after Fosse announced the film.

Mariel Hemingway believed she was ideal for the part and campaigned for it vigorously with letters, telephone messages and visits to Fosse's home. She eventually won the role after four auditions, and her casting was announced in March 1982. Some in the media reported that Hemingway had undergone breast augmentation surgery to secure the part. In the 2020 documentary '' Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies'', Hemingway admits she underwent a breast-enlargement procedure before being cast, but says, "I did it for me. I wouldn't have done that because of a movie." Nude photographs of Hemingway posing as Stratten appeared in the January 1984 issue of ''Playboy'' magazine.

According to Fosse, he had to persuade Eric Roberts to play the role of Paul Snider, a character whom Roberts considered unlikeable. Early media speculation suggested that Harry Dean Stanton might be cast as ''Playboy'' publisher Hugh Hefner, but Cliff Robertson was reported to be researching the role by visiting the Playboy Mansion. Hefner disliked his depiction in the film and sued its producers, but the suit was later dismissed. Years later in a 1998 interview, Hefner had let off on some of his dislike of the film, saying that it did not capture Stratten's essence but he did praise Roberts for "an excellent portrayal of the sick man who murdered her". The film was Carroll Baker's first Hollywood production since her 1967 return from Europe. In accordance with the Stratten family's wishes, Stratten's mother is never mentioned by name in the film, and the names of her sister and brother were changed.

Director Peter Bogdanovich, Stratten's boyfriend at the time of her murder, expressed opposition to the project, arguing that Fosse "didn't know the true story." Fosse acknowledged this statement to be true but countered that the film was about Snider. Bogdanovich refused to allow his name to be used in the film and threatened to sue if he found the character of Aram Nicholas to be objectionable. He provided his opinions of the film in his 1984 biography of Stratten, ''The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten, 1960–1980'', criticizing the final film's depiction of Stratten as well as her murder, but he did not pursue legal action.

Pre-production began in Stratten's hometown of Vancouver in January 1982. Sets were created to represent Stratten's bedroom, high-school gymnasium and the Dairy Queen where she had met Snider. After Hefner refused to allow filming at his estate, an unoccupied mansion in Pasadena, California, was renovated to resemble Hefner's mansion. After the film's release, Hefner expressed disappointment, describing it as "too shallow". The film's party scenes show actual ''Playboy'' models.

Principal photography began on July 6, 1982, in Vancouver and continued for four months, including four weeks in Vancouver and 12 weeks in Los Angeles, and finished three days ahead of schedule.

''Star 80'' is the second film based on the murder of Stratten, preceded by the 1981 television film '' Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story'', with Jamie Lee Curtis as Stratten and Bruce Weitz as Snider.

Release and reception

The film opened in 16 theaters in major U.S. cities on November 10, 1983, grossing $233,313 on its opening weekend. Warner Bros. planned to release the film to more theaters for the Christmas season and to give it a wide release in time for the next Academy Awards ceremony. Eventually, the film grossed $6,472,990 in the United States and was shown at a peak of 502 theaters in early 1984. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, ''Star 80'' holds an approval rating of 81% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Critical reception to the film was generally mixed, but it was praised for Hemingway's and Roberts's performances. The film has been reappraised over the years and has been reviewed positively. Roberts won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. Fosse was nominated for the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival. ''Star 80'' marked Fosse's final film as director before his death in 1987.

The film was screened out of competition at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. ''The Washington Post'' called it "Bob Fosse's latest stylish stinker". Gene Siskel of the ''Chicago Tribune'' placed the film on his list of the 10 best films of 1983, but acknowledged that the film was very unpleasant.

''Chicago Sun-Times'' critic Roger Ebert awarded the film four out of four stars and deemed it an "important movie". Appearing with Siskel on an October 1986 edition of '' The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers'', Ebert said that Roberts should have been nominated for an Academy Award for his work on ''Star 80''. Ebert coined the phrase "''Star 80'' syndrome" after claiming that Gary Oldman's performance as Sid Vicious in '' Sid and Nancy'' (1986) was snubbed for the same reason as was Roberts': "Hollywood will not nominate an actor for portraying a creep, no matter how good the performance is."

Accolades

See also

* '' Death of a Centerfold'', a 1981 television film starring Jamie Lee Curtis

References

External links

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{{Bob Fosse

1983 films
1983 drama films
1983 independent films
1980s American films
1980s biographical drama films
1980s English-language films
American biographical drama films
American independent films
Biographical films about models
Columbia Pictures films
English-language biographical drama films
English-language independent films
Films about domestic violence
Films about necrophilia
Films about Playboy
Films based on newspaper and magazine articles
Films directed by Bob Fosse
Films scored by Ralph Burns
Films set in the 1970s
Films set in 1980
Films set in Los Angeles
Films set in Vancouver
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in Vancouver
The Ladd Company films
Murder–suicide in films
Warner Bros. films