Late Night Classics – Showgirls (NSFW)
In August of 1995, I anxiously sat down at a theater in my hometown waiting to see the latest visceral thrill ride from the legendary mind of Clive Barker – Lord of Illusions. Before the carnage began, there were the usual trailers from various studios teasing you with what was coming soon, and low and behold, I saw something that day that has not been repeated since. Never did I think I would see the dreaded NC-17 logo in all of its bright red glory followed by a major studio’s name like MGM/UA. It was unheard of then, and even more so now, to release a film that is an equivalent to an X rating in the MPAA minds. From an economic standpoint it is suicide because newspapers won’t advertise these kind of pictures and most movie multiplexes will not play them.
Leave it to a filmmaker who has always pushed the boundaries in terms of graphic violence and playful erotica like Paul Verhoeven to step up to the mic and make a big-budget late night classic with lofty production value, and have it star the cute as a button actress from the TV sensation Saved by the Bell.
Fans and haters still cannot stop squawking about the flick. There is no in-between with Showgirls, you either love it or hate it. Regardless of what side of the fence you are on, the movie lives on and it is a lightning rod for debate whenever its name is brought up.
This year marks the 15th Anniversary of Showgirls, so I couldn’t think of a better time to do a retrospective on it, and actress Rena Riffel [Penny/Hope] was more than happy to give Killer Film an inside look at the most controversial film of its kind since Caligula in 1979.
[Note: This article contains nudity and is not safe for work.]
Jason Bene: Had you ever heard of Paul Verhoeven before you auditioned for Showgirls?
Rena Riffel: Yes, from Basic Instinct. He also did the other film with Sharon Stone and Arnold Schwarzenegger called Total Recall, but I learned about Paul Verhoeven from Basic Instinct.
Jason Bene: How did you find out about Showgirls?
Rena Riffel: My friend was a reader with CAA [talent agency] and he gave me the script and he goes, “Rena, there’s got to be something in there for you. It’s called Showgirls.” I looked at it a little bit and I didn’t read the whole thing because it was kind of a boring script actually. Then I saw some of the dancer characters and I thought, ”oh yeah, I can do one of these, but how in the world am I going to get into this movie?” What happened was my agent called me and gave me an audition. I went down there and read for it and the casting director said, “we are going to call you back to meet with the director.” Then I went in there and I didn’t even know it was Paul Verhoeven, and I didn’t realize this was the script that my friend had given me a year earlier. It was just sitting around but I had never read it. Paul Verhoeven was sitting there and I was thinking, “oh my gosh, he looks familiar, 
don’t tell me this is Paul Verhoeven?” Why didn’t anyone tell me this? I did my reading and they liked it right there and then they said they want me to come back for a big dance audition. Then I showed up for that and it was this hardcore jazz audition, and that really weeded out the actress/dancers from the girls who didn’t have training. They made it like you had to of been in dance class to be able to get through that audition. They put me on hold for so long and I was just not trying to think about it, but I knew that this would be my biggest break. It was a month later that they called and they said that I’m too young to play an aging showgirl [Cristal]. I was in my early twenties at the time. Because of that, they switched my character and they had me come in for the role of Penny, and I had to read again with Paul Verhoeven. I did my reading and it was fun. I was walking out and I pushed the elevator button and Paul comes running out after me and he’s like, “you’ve got the part, you’ve got the part!” So, that’s how it happened.
Jason Bene: What kind of dancing do you have a background in?
Rena Riffel: I’ve been studying dance since I was five years old. I’ve been trained in everything from ballet, to tap, to hip-hop, to classical jazz.
Jason Bene: Is Paul Verhoeven as animated and lively as he appears in interviews? He’s a real character.
Rena Riffel: Yes. He is full of energy and he’s very happy and enthusiastic.
Jason Bene: Do you think it helped you relax because here you got this big role with this big director and he has this outgoing kind of persona? That must have had a calming effect on you.
Rena Riffel: He made me feel so comfortable and happy and excited. I liked him so much and I felt that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you are happy to see someone. That’s what I felt with him.
Jason Bene: You knew by reading the script that your character would be doing quite a bit of nudity. Were you nervous about that, or did the fact that other actors were doing it make it easier for you?
Rena Riffel: I was willing to do it. I knew that was the deal. They needed me to do exactly what was in the script. It’s hard to do and it’s embarassing and you’re just so vulnerable. It’s how anyone would feel if you had to take off their clothes and stand there in front of one hundred people.
Click for uncensored version.
Jason Bene: You have a nice body. Imagine if you didn’t look like you do.
Rena Riffel: Thanks. All of my dancing got me into good shape.
Jason Bene: Just from watching Dancing with the Stars you realize that’s a workout. That gets you toned.
Rena Riffel: Dancing is the best workout. It tones your whole body and I think it’s the best workout you can do.
Jason Bene: Did you realize the movie was going to be rated NC-17?
Rena Riffel: I don’t think so. I don’t remember. I don’t remember if they had told me that or if that happened after the fact. I know that when they gave me the part of Penny that there was one description in the script that said Penny is crawling on the bar fully naked. I don’t know if you have gotten a hold of the script, but it’s so funny the way Joe Eszterhas wrote it. It says she is topless or she is fully nude, or nudity is in this scene.
Jason Bene: Showgirls is the only NC-17 rated film to be given a fairly wide theatrical release. Movies now don’t even venture into those uncharted waters.
Rena Riffel: It sounds like everything has gotten more conservative. They would rather have it more PG and not be so graphic like Showgirls. That’s kind of my vibe is from people. I heard than Henry & June was the first NC-17 movie, but I don’t know if that came out in as many theaters.
Jason Bene: A lot of theaters won’t play NC-17 films. You can’t do billboards and television spots and that’s why I think studios shy away from it. It’s almost a non-existent rating now because nobody is using it.
Rena Riffel: When Showgirls came out it was in a limited release.
Jason Bene: What was your reaction to the critics and audiences? It’s almost like people expected an Oscar contender or something. They ripped it apart and I am not sure what they were expecting from a movie called Showgirls.
Rena Riffel: From the publicity campaign I guess people were thinking they were going to see some kind of dramatic Oscar worthy epic. That’s what people were geared to see. When they saw it and it was campy they just figured it was bad.
Jason Bene: I can’t see the movie working other than being campy.
Click for uncensored version.
Rena Riffel: I think the movie has a heightened reality and it’s so intense. I think with Elizabeth’s performance as Nomi everything she does is interesting, like with her choices, even the way she threw her french fries. She made risky and interesting choices. I notice when I watch it now a lot of these cool things that they were doing.
Jason Bene: Everbody was caught off guard because the last time they saw Elizabeth Berkley she was so innocent as ‘Jessie’ on Saved by the Bell, and all of the sudden she is here vamping it up.
Rena Riffel: That could be a big part of the shock value. I would imagine casting her was probably part of the plan. I imagine taking someone just completely innocent and then having her do all that.
Jason Bene: There are some hot button issues in the film that get overlooked by audiences like: rape, lesbianism, and interracial dating.
Rena Riffel: I guess Joe Eszterhas really pushed everything. He brings out a lot excitement. Fifteen years ago it wasn’t in movies as much.
Jason Bene: The film is more popular now than it was when it was released. People still get heated about it when they have discussions, but I guess that’s why it is still around. It plays the midnight circuit on a regular basis like The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Rena Riffel: Whatever they thought went wrong at first was exactly right.
Jason Bene: [Laughs] I don’t think any man should be complaining about this movie.
Rena Riffel: It has all the fun stuff. When Nomi does her love scene in the pool, it’s so interesting. How many pool scenes do you want to watch over and over again like that? It’s amazing.
Jason Bene: It’s weird how when people reflect on something and look back, they start to look at things a little differently.
Rena Riffel: I don’t know if Paul Verhoeven meant for this to happen. Maybe he did. I don’t know. Maybe he knew if he made it really over-the-top and flashy and fun that it would turn into a Rocky Horror Picture Show. I think Basic Instinct is a lot like Showgirls now. It’s turned into more of a campy movie.
Jason Bene: After Showgirls, you were cast in another high-profile movie called Striptease.
Rena Riffel: Showgirls hadn’t even come out yet, and I got the audition for Striptease and I ended up booking it. That movie was actually on a bigger scale than Showgirls because we had bigger stars [Demi Moore, Burt Reynolds]. We had one big star after another in that movie. Showgirls was the more independent film in a way. Most of us were pretty new. Striptease had Ving Rhames, who just came off of Pulp Fiction. Robert Patrick was at the height of his career. Striptease was so exciting. The producers and the director did not want Striptease to be like Showgirls. Showgirls came out when I was on the set of Striptease and we all watched it together. That is were I saw Showgirls for the first time and they really didn’t like it, especially the rape scene. It was too in your face for them and they were all very offended by Showgirls. They didn’t like the shock value. They said whatever we do we do not want Striptease to be like Showgirls.
Jason Bene: Have you stayed in contact with anybody from Showgirls?
Rena Riffel: Yes. I’m in contact with the actors like Greg Travis, Dewey Weber, Robert Davi, and some of the girls who were strippers with me. I see Elizabeth sometimes. I saw Gina Gershon a few years back in Las Vegas at a Showgirls screening.
Jason Bene: The internet has been buzzing about a movie called Showgirl. What can you tell me about that?
Rena Riffel: Showgirl is my personal follow-up film to Showgirls. It’s my own story. I’m taking my own character and what happened to me after Showgirls and going from there.
Jason Bene: Are you directing it as well?
Rena Riffel: I am going to direct it and I wrote the script.
Killer Film would like to thank Rena Riffel for giving us a sinsational interview! You can visit the official website for Showgirl here. You can also leave a donation to help the sequel get going at Kickstarter right here.
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