The Paul Verhoeven Fan Page
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I'm no Harry Knowles, but here's what I've been able to scrape from the bowels of the internet concerning Paul's latest endeavours. If anyone has some better/more accurate news, please email me. I like to read gossip in convenient, pre-digested format, but I'm not much good at actually hunting it down.
If you do a search on "Verhoeven" at the sites below, you will find a lot more details than I have here:
Ain't It Cool News So without further ado, here is all the recent news I could find, severely edited for your convenience. October 2003 This article on Ain't It Cool News gives us the first real Verhoeven news in about a year. It describes a Verhoeven/Soeteman Dutch-language project called "Zwartboek," a Verhoeven/DeBont project called "Paperboy," and gives some updates on the Batavia and Azazel projects. Paul tends to toss ideas around and talk a little bigger than reality, so personally I'm taking a "wait and see" approach to this news. Anyway, you should still go and read the details, which are from a Dutch newspaper interview with him.
April 2002: AZAZEL Verhoeven has written the script for this (in Dutch) and is now getting it translated to English. This is supposed to be his next film. "Azazel" is about a Russian detective in the 1800s. Verhoeven describes the main character as having "maybe a little bit of an Indiana Jones touch." Source: http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film/verhoeven.html
April 2002: BATAVIA From Dark Horizons: "Batavia's Graveyard: FilmFour has announced that it has signed Paul Verhoeven to direct this true story of an astonishing 17th century shipwreck and mutiny off the coast of Western Australia. The Batavia, the flagship of the Dutch East India Company, ran aground on an island atoll and while the captain sailed off for help - the rest of the crew ended up falling into a miniature Fascist regime which split and lead to a battle between two rival camps - a real life "Lord of the Flies" but with adults. The world's most authentically reconstructed historical ship is a replica of the Batavia which the filmmakers are in negotiations to use. Scribe Gerard Soeteman is currently preparing to adapt the book about the incident by Mike Dash - Verhoeven has been trying to do the project on and off for ages but only now, with the English-language book published and access to the boat, are things coming together. Verhoeven said in the release "It has taken twenty years, but Gerard and I finally have the two crucial elements for a spectacular film, and I am delighted to be partnered with FilmFour in this venture". Work will likely start after production on "Azazel" is complete." Source: http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/020412.htm
HOLLOW MAN and STARSHIP TROOPERS SUPERBIT DVDs You can see the links for the new DVDs on Amazon here:
Starship Troopers Special Edition (sic) ROBOCOP SEQUEL: January/February 2002: This scoop was everywhere but check out the Source link... After an interviewer showed Paul an online petition championing another Robocop sequel, Paul revealed that he and Ed Neumeier (original Robocop writer) are brainstorming the idea of another sequel. He called it a "real sequel" and would want Peter Weller back. Dunno if that would be good or not. I think I'd rather see something more original out of him but then I'm not the one with three box office disappointments in a row dogging my sleep. Source: The RoboCop Database Update April 2002: This rumor has been scotched by Verhoeven himself in his latest interview (check the links page under "Interviews"). Who know if he ever really intended to do it or not. Update May 2002: The following article appeared at Dark Horizons on May 6th: Robocop 2003: TXCN News in Texas recently talked to Paul Verhoeven and asked him about recent rumours of a "Robocop" resurrection: "I'd like to go back and do it properly, as I said, it's just a matter of time and viability". If it goes ahead the new film will apparently ignore the recent shows, sequels and TV movies: "We're talking to Peter (Weller, im guessing?) about donning the suit again. But Nancy won't be involved. They killed her in one of the sequels. A new partner is in order". Thanks 'Lutz' The real question here is what "recently" means. If "recently" means before the April Verhoeven interview (most likely), then this latest item means nothing. However, if this "talk" took place AFTER the April interview (doubtful), then Verhoeven has just contradicted himself twice within the space of a month. Stay tuned... HOUDINI PROJECT: January 31, 2002: Ain't It Cool News On AICN they say... Besides the Rasputin project (Rasputin was a mystic and was also, according to legend, gargantuanly endowed--perhaps another reason Verhoeven was drawn to the subject), Verhoeven was developing a project about Houdini for Tom Cruise (Houdini spent much of his life debunking spiritualists) which, after being put into turnaround, ended up with Ang Lee. And finally he's been developing a life of the American spiritualist Victoria Woodhull for Nicole Kidman which was thrown into question when Ms. Kidman divorced the film's co-producer, Mr. Cruise (Verhoeven is said to be writing the newest draft himself). I say: Tom Cruise? Yuck! A movie about Rasputin might be cool (assuming it was not voiced by Meg Ryan and John Cusack), but the idea of Tom Cruise working with Verhoeven just leaves me cold. Hopefully that will never come to pass. Source: http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=11393 NEW EUROPEAN FILM: January 24, 2002: Ain't It Cool News On AICN they say... Director Paul Verhoeven and Producer Rob Houwer are combining forces for the first time in 18 years. This will be the first time since Verhoeven went to the States after a string of Dutch box-office successes that Houwer and Verhoeven work together. Next year Verhoeven will direct a German-European co-production with a budget of 35 million Euro. The producer wouldn't give away much of the story but said it would take place in Germany during the 1930's. But then in the next paragraph they also say... Just wanted to let you know that in Dutch Newspaper "de Telegraaf" Verhoeven has denied that any contracts have been signed for a collaboration with his old Dutch producer partner Rob Houwer to make a new foreign film. According to Verhoeven it won't be at least until 2005, after he has finished his obligations with Hollywood. If you ask me this is just a rumor with big legs. I think we'll see at least one more Hollywood flick from Verhoeven before he goes back to Europe. Source: http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=11329 Update April 2002: Again, Verhoeven himself has declared that he doesn't want to make European movies per se, but Euro-themed films with American actors, and funding from both European and American production companies. Supposedly he is working on a couple projects with Gerard Soeteman (the guy who scripted all his major Dutch films). Check the April 2002 interview on the links page for more on this. OFFICIAL ASSASSINS/ARNIE PROJECT: May 7, 2001: E! Online Starship Troopers' helmer Paul Verhoeven could make a killing as he directs his next feature, Phoenix Pictures' Official Assassins . The story centers on the race between the USSR and the United States to develop weapons of mass destruction that escalates into the Cold War. Tensions grow as two CIA agents ponder whether to prosecute the ex-Nazi scientists in their custody or have them work for the government. No dates have been set. Source: http://www.eonline.com/News/Dotted/0,165,43-2-0-1,00.html Note April 2002: This project seems to have died before it began, and I doubt we'll ever see it considering the failure of Arnie's latest effort (Collateral Damage). Paul also mentioned in the recent interview that the fate of the CRUSADES project rests with Arnie, who owns all the rights to the film. THE SOURCE: April/May 2001: This is a Brit-financed, English language historical drama. Upcomingmovies.com says... Production is scheduled tentatively to start in the late spring of 2002 in France and Italy, on an estimated budget of $30 million. Well, "late spring" of 2002 has come and gone, and meanwhile we've heard nothing about this film since the early part of 2001. It's not listed on IMDb as a project, and no recent news has mentioned it going into production. My guess is we can officially add this one to the large pile of charcoal on the Verhoeven Backburner. Source: http://www.upcomingmovies.com/source2002.html BASIC INSTINCT 2: This is never going to happen, at least not with Verhoeven at the helm. A few years ago he was considering the possibility "if Sharon wasn't still psycho." Since then, however, he has repeatedly said he sees no need for a sequel and will not be involved if one gets made. LIFE OF JESUS PROJECT: Although he's not a Christian, Paul is very interested in the life of Jesus Christ and a film about him is something he's wanted to do for a long time. Other than him mentioning it in random places, however, you don't hear much about it (for instance, in his biography from 1996 he says he is working on the story with fellow members of the Jesus Seminar, but that was six years ago) so I doubt it's going to get made anytime soon. HITLER PROJECT: This is another rumor you see bouncing around the net with no apparent documentation to back it up. It would surely be interesting to see Verhoeven tackle something like this, but I just don't see it happening, especially in these post 9/11 days. |