In a recent episode of the podcast Smartless, Howard Stern disclosed an intriguing twist in the making of Private Parts, the 1997 biopic based on his own book. Stern, who starred as himself in the film, revealed that at one point, the studio behind the biopic considered replacing him with actor Jeff Goldblum.
Stern shared this revelation during a lively conversation with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. When Bateman humorously inquired about the audition process for the film, Stern explained the challenges he faced during production.
“I wrote the book and was initially clueless about how they planned to adapt it into a movie,” Stern admitted. “We went through numerous drafts of the script—25 in total—and each one seemed worse than the last.”
Stern, who had secured a contract clause granting him full script approval, recounted his frustration with the script development. “I was deeply involved in the writing, but despite my best efforts, the scripts weren’t up to par,” he said. “The studio was so fed up with my refusal to approve a script that they threatened to replace me with Jeff Goldblum.”
Stern recalled the studio’s ultimatum: “They said, ‘Listen, we’re pouring money into these writers, and you’re rejecting every draft. We’re considering hiring Jeff Goldblum to play you.’ I responded, ‘You know what? I would pay to see that. I think it’d be fantastic.’”
Ultimately, Stern did portray himself in the film, which also featured Bobby Boriello, Michael Maccarone, and Matthew Friedman as younger versions of him, alongside Paul Giamatti, Allison Janney, Kelly Bishop, and Jenna Jameson. Private Parts achieved commercial success, topping the North American box office during its opening weekend and receiving favorable reviews from critics like Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.
However, Stern’s performance earned him a Razzie nomination for “Worst New Star” in 1998. On the Smartless podcast, Arnett expressed enthusiasm about the idea of Goldblum in the role. “It’d be fantastic to see Goldblum in that role today. Imagine shooting a few scenes with him and sharing it online,” Arnett mused.