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 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
In 1980, Dorothy Stratten lies dead as her husband rants to himself about the events that led up to the present moment. Through a series of flashbacks that are interspersed by the murderer's rants, the story is told. Two years earlier, Stratten was working at a Dairy Queen in her hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia when she met Paul Snider, a brash small-time scam artist and pimp. Snider charms Stratten into taking him to her high-school prom. He woos Stratten with attention and flattery, convincing her to pose nude in Polaroid photographs. He tries to run Dorothy's life, threatens any other man who comes near her and insists on being her personal manager.
Snider uses the nude photographs to persuade a professional to create a portfolio for Stratten. Snider forges the signature of Stratten's mother on a consent form and sends the portfolio to Playboy. The magazine invites Stratten to Los Angeles to pose for a professional photographer.
Playboy founder and publisher Hugh Hefner makes Stratten Playmate of the Month for the August 1979 issue. Hefner provides lodging for Stratten and gives her a job as a bunny at an L.A. Playboy Club. Snider pressures Stratten into marrying him. She begins an acting career with small film and television roles and is made 1980's Playmate of the Year.
Snider purchases a new Mercedes SL with the vanity license plate STAR 80, but feels dejected after losing money on failed business ventures and being eclipsed by Stratten's success. At the Playboy Mansion, Stratten catches the eye of film director Aram Nicholas, who lets her read for a film role. Snider hires a private investigator to follow Stratten and learns that Stratten and Nicholas are sleeping together. Snider buys a shotgun after Stratten insists that she intends to leave him. Against Nicholas's wishes, Stratten meets with Snider to arrange a financial settlement. Snider pleads with Stratten not to leave him, but she says that the marriage is over. Enraged, he rapes and shoots her. As he then turns the gun on himself, the screen turns to black with the gunshot.
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.[3] 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.[3] Some in the media reported that Hemingway had undergone breast augmentation surgery to secure the part.[4] In the 2020 documentary Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies, Hemingway admits she did indeed have a breast-enlargement procedure before being cast, but says "I did it for me. I wouldn't have done that because of a movie."[5] Nude photographs of Hemingway posing as Stratten appeared in the January 1984 issue of Playboy magazine.[3]
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 Hefner's 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 Eric 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.[3] In accordance with the Stratten family's wishes, Stratten's mother never is 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, but he did not pursue legal action.[3][6]
Preproduction 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.[3]
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.[3]
The film opened in 16 theaters in major cities on November 10, 1983,[8] 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 U.S. and was shown at a peak of 502 theaters in early 1984.[9]Star 80 has an 81% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.[10] On Metacritic, it has a score 63%, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]
The film was screened out of competition at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival.[13]The Washington Post called it "Bob Fosse's latest stylish stinker".[citation needed] 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.[14]
Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert awarded the film four out of four stars and deemed it an "important movie".[15] 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 Oscar 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 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."[16]
^"The Best of 1983", Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, 1983.
^Ebert, Roger (November 10, 1983). "Star 80". The Chicago Sun-Times – via RogerEbert.com.
^Ebert, Roger (October 17, 1986). "Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel". The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. Season 1. Episode 7. Fox Broadcasting Company. Fox Entertainment Group. I tell you who definitely won't be [Oscar] nominated – and should be, and that's a young British actor named Gary Oldman, who plays Sid Vicious – the punk rocker – in Sid and Nancy. And he's going to fall prey to the Star 80 syndrome, which is why Eric Roberts wasn't nominated: Hollywood will not nominate an actor for portraying a creep, no matter how good the performance is...He [Roberts] should have been nominated.
