Playwright Kate Gertsen answers our burning questions and teases director Gia Coppola’s surprising idea for a sequel.
Roadside Attractions / courtesy Everett Collection
Warning: This article contains spoilers forThe Last Showgirl.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First, have you heard from any former Showgirls about the movie?
Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’.Credit:Roadside Attractions / courtesy Everett Collection
I really loved meeting her.
What do you remember most from your time researching?
That dance in and of itself is really glorious to me.
Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’.Zoey Grossman/Roadside Attractions
Zoey Grossman/Roadside Attractions
What was your reaction when you learned that Pamela would be playing Shelly?
I thought it was the most incredible stroke of genius I’d ever heard of.
When her documentary came out, my husband, Matt Shire, saw it.
Gia Coppola and Kate Gersten.Roadside Attractions / courtesy Everett Collection
She was like, Kate, you’ve got to see this.
And I was like, Wow, there are so many similarities.
But most of all, it is her ability to go through all this adversity and still be soft.
Dave Bautista in ‘The Last Showgirl’.Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection
That was what showed me immediately that Pamela was the right person to play this role.
She still had that vulnerability and openness and wonder about the world.
Speaking of the play, what were some of the biggest changes from the stage to the movie?
Kiernan Shipka, Pamela Anderson, and Brenda Song ‘The Last Showgirl’.Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection
In my first attempt at writing the screenplay, I made it a much broader story.
And for maintain all of our artistic autonomy, let’s just keep it closer to the play."
And I really appreciated that.
Billie Lourd in ‘The Last Showgirl’.Roadside Attractions / courtesy Everett Collection
I thought that was great.
Why does Shelly turn her away?
I need to protect myself.
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘The Last Showgirl’.Roadside Attractions /Everett
I think she’s a great contradiction of somebody who is there for people and is also selfish.
And I think we all know people like that.
I think that’s a classic narcissistic tendency, though I wouldn’t call Shelly a narcissist.
How was that scene described in the script?
That was one of the only things that was not in the script.
They have to perform three times in a shift.
And so that’s what Jamie saw.
She really reached out to this one gal and talked to her all about her experience.
And then Gia said, I got to get you up on one of those podiums to dance.
I don’t think he has any ground to stand on.
I don’t think he should be asking her any of these questions.
He’s an unusual key in of person.
I think that he did not want to have a kid.
Shelly wasn’t particularly young when she had Hannah.
She chose to have her because that’s what she wanted to do.
I don’t think Shelly ever loved Eddie.
I think they had a dalliance because they were working together, two attractive people working together.
I’m like, I can see Dave Bautista 20 years ago!
I think they made an agreement that he would never show up in Hannahs life.
And he was like, Sure, that’s not a job I’m capable of doing.
I’m not capable of being a dad on any level.
I don’t want that in my life.
He probably doesn’t even want to get married.
I always imagined that Eddie was somebody who is really a loner.
He works hard because that’s what he knows how to do.
And that’s another thing: I think his denigration of the show in that regard isn’t intentional.
I think he is not an intentional person.
But that’s just Eddie.
So when he has that turn, it really is surprising to the audience that he is so insensitive.
But we still care about Eddie.
It’s like I always wanted it to be.
But I loved that afterward, we see them crying together and supporting each other in the dressing room.
Do you think Shelly ultimately embraces Marianne, Jodie, and Annette as her family?
It’s really Marianne and Annette; I think they are the two closest to her.
And so yeah, I do think that’s her family.
Turning to the ending, what is your take on the reality of the events?
There seem to be some hints (like the crowded audience) that were seeing Shellys dream or delusion.
For starters, do you think Hannah really shows up?
Do we think Shelly’s delusional or not?
What do we think is in her head?
And that is also my personal process with my parents.
I love them despite whatever their shortcomings have been over the years.
Some of them haven’t been that bad, and some of them have been egregious.
I think we all have that experience with our parents to whatever degree.
And so I like the idea that Hannah does forgive her mom.
This is also the first time we actually get to see the show.
It’s not in her head.
Assuming this conversation is also real, which option do you think Shelly chooses?
Roadside Attractions /Everett
Where do you think Marianne and Jodie wind up?
I think that Marianne changes careers.
She’s 35 years old.
She retires from being a dancer and maybe goes back to school.
I think she moves to California.
Lastly, do you think well ever see the return of the Vegas showgirl?
I don’t know.
I think Vegas is getting more and more digital by the minute like with the Sphere.
I don’t know if it’s coming back.
It’s so expensive and its all practical.
It’s dozens of performers and dozens of crew members and physical sets and expensive feathers.
So I think it might be a relic of days gone by.
I’m going to go to Paris for Shelly.
I think there are still some shows there, and I’m going to go see them.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
