Initially, budding screenwriter Kate Gersten envisioned Pamela Anderson for the lead role in “The Last Showgirl”. However, the challenge was that Anderson’s representative chose not to pass on the script about a 50-something Vegas dancer attempting to transition to her next phase.
Anderson remarks about her ex-representative, ‘Within an hour, he discarded it [the task] in the trash and didn’t even bother to call me back.’ In her opinion, he wasn’t a professional agent; instead, he was merely someone who provided her with work for financial gain.
Unwavering in her determination, Gia Coppola traced Brandon Anderson, son of the film director, through mutual acquaintances. She asked him to share the screenplay with his mother who had mostly retired from acting and relocated to British Columbia.
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Gia Coppola, not deterred, managed to find Brandon Anderson, son of a renowned director, via mutual friends. She requested that he give the script to his mother, who had largely stepped away from acting and resided in British Columbia.
Anderson recollects stepping out of his garden, receiving a message from Brandon, settling at his computer to read it. At that moment, he realized, ‘This is the chance,’ he thought. This was an opportunity for him to inject his entire life experience into something – a character who was so skillfully written, multi-dimensional, flawed, intriguing, and complex. The work was nothing short of awe-inspiring. He had never felt that way about any piece before.
In just under a year, Anderson found herself at the heart of the awards season debate for the first time in her distinguished career, earning Golden Globes and SAG nominations for best actress. A significant portion of this transformation can be attributed to Gersten, who broke new ground in a subgenre that was traditionally male-dominated – the topless temptation genre. Films like Joe Eszterhas’ “Showgirls” and Andrew Bergman’s “Striptease” provided minimal exploration into the internal lives of objectified female dancers. However, Gersten, with a family background steeped in dance (her mother was a modern dancer, her father managed Broadway stages, and her uncle founded The Public Theater), aimed to give these characters humanity by delving into their personal experiences.
In her Los Angeles residence, surrounded by a disorganized workspace that houses both a half-chilled bowl of ramen noodles and a laptop, a devoted mother of two young boys provides an insightful peek into her inner thoughts and the inspirations behind her groundbreaking work.
She says that those people significantly shaped her during her childhood,” she explains. “My very first Broadway experience was watching the 10th anniversary production of ‘A Chorus Line’ when I was just 4 years old, marking my initial peek backstage at dancers.”
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“She notes that those individuals played a crucial role in her upbringing,” she explains. “My first Broadway show was the 10th anniversary production of ‘A Chorus Line,’ which I attended when I was only 4 years old, providing me with my initial glimpse of dancers behind the scenes.
The initial concept gradually developed into “Last Showgirl.” Over time, she gained personal insights from her own dancing career, which spanned performing in The Nutcracker with the Joffrey Ballet for many years. As a graduate student at Juilliard, she combined her stage experience with writing skills.
She mentions that dancing seems like a fantastic means of expressing oneself, she adds however, that money isn’t the driving force for most dancers. Regardless of one’s talent, becoming wealthy or renowned in the world of dance is unlikely.
Her professors at Juilliard, notably acclaimed playwrights Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang, consistently emphasized the significance of delving into one’s own experiences when creating work.
Upon graduating from Juilliard, I found myself securing a writing position in the vibrant city of Las Vegas, working on a contemporary one-woman show that coexisted with the legendary “Jubilee!” revue during its twilight years. As I attended the classic extravaganza, featuring an astounding cast of 85 women and a team of 45 people, I was astonished to discover that just 15 spectators were in attendance.
She recalls feeling deeply impacted, wondering about their lives since it seemed clear that their show was ending. She observed how many employees, who had been in the same line of work since they were 18, were now jobless because they lacked the necessary education and skills to adapt within the industry. This, to her, represented a tale of American job loss, a narrative typically associated with men in industries like coal or automotive. However, she saw this as more than just that – it was also about aging as a woman.
Initially, she spoke with “Jublilee!” dancers and their manager, similar to a journalist, to gather insights about their lives during a significant societal shift. She subsequently wove these narratives, along with her personal experiences, into a stage production that revolves around Shelly, an optimistic single mother whose professional pursuits create a rift between her and her daughter. Over the course of a year, Gersten worked on refining this play at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City. The piece caught the attention of major industry figures, leading to “The Last Showgirl” being poised for a Broadway or West End debut. However, when COVID-19 arrived, the project was put on hold. She eventually set it aside and started working on something new until Coppola came across it and asked her to transform it into a movie adaptation.
As a film enthusiast, I embarked on a quest to find Shelly, and it seemed destiny had conspired when Pamela’s documentary ‘Pamela, A Love Story’ became available on Netflix. The same openness, vulnerability, and curiosity that radiated from Pamela mirrored in Shelly, making them kindred spirits. From the moment Pamela read the script about Shelly, she felt an immediate connection.
For Anderson, fresh off his successful stint as Roxy on Broadway for “Chicago,” the knowledge that the tale’s origins were rooted in theater made it an incredibly appealing aspect.
In my opinion, it seemed more like being in a play,” expressed the actress famously known for her role in ‘Baywatch.’ Now managed by a distinguished group at CAA, headed by Kevin Huvane, she stated that she approached it with the same mindset as if she were performing in a play.
The movie was filmed over a span of 18 days in the year 2023 with a production budget slightly under $2 million. During its initial release, which qualified it for awards consideration, the film made $50,300 on a single screen. Today, it is being shown in 860 theaters. The creators of “Last Showgirl” are hoping that this release will generate momentum, as Anderson’s return to the spotlight has become the heartwarming story of 2024.
To put it another way, Anderson’s resurgence in her career mirrors a crucial moment from the movie. At a point where she was being publicly humiliated during an audition, Shelly acknowledges her slim chances of getting hired. Feeling she had nothing left to lose, she boldly tells the uninterested male producer: “I’m 57 and I’m beautiful, you so-and-so.
According to Gersten, the audition scene symbolizes society telling a woman, “It’s time for you to leave,” to which she responds, “Absolutely not! That’s not correct. You can go take a hike.
This idea resonates far beyond Shelley and Anderson, as Gersten puts it, “We’re at a point where women are going to push back hard. I don’t believe we’ll simply accept any of this passively.
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2025-01-10 19:47