Synopsis

Max Carlyle, a married commercial director from Los Angeles, has a chance encounter with Karen during a trip to New York. Their brief affair leaves him emotionally unsettled after he returns home. A year later, Max is reunited with Karen under painful circumstances when he discovers that she is now married to his dying friend's brother, forcing him to confront the consequences of his betrayal.

Factoids & Trivia

• Joe Eszterhas originally sold the project to New Line Cinema from a four-page outline for a reported $4 million, with Adrian Lyne initially attached to direct.

• Lyne left the project to make the 1997 remake of Lolita. The screenplay was then radically rewritten, changing the film from a more overtly sexual story into a drama focused on guilt, marriage, and emotional consequences.

• Eszterhas asked to have his name removed from the finished film because the completed screenplay was substantially different from his version.

• The production used multiple cameras and allowed room for improvisation, reflecting the informal approach requested during the rewrite.

• The subplot involving Charlie's AIDS illness was inspired by a close friend whose death had a strong effect on the filmmaker.

• The film reunited several members of the creative team from Leaving Las Vegas, including cinematographer Declan Quinn, editor John Smith, and producer Annie Stewart.

• Wesley Snipes won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 1997 Venice International Film Festival.

• Made on an estimated budget of roughly $23 million, One Night Stand earned approximately $2.6 million in the United States and Canada.