Paul Verhoeven

You’ve written a book about Jesus. You really do court controversy, don’t you?

I find it fascinating how as a society we talk about Jesus the son of God, yet we have no human knowledge of God. In that sense, you wonder how there could be a son. In my biography, I’ve taken the gospels, and studied what Jesus did and what is and isn’t authentic. I’m writing the book first, on health advice, to see how it goes.

Health advice?

Oh yes, I want to make a movie based on the book in a way that won’t upset people. People will want to shoot me dead for the content in that book. So we’re going to see how the book is received by the public first.

We thought you didn’t care what people think?

It’s important to get feedback, otherwise you become arrogant. And I was told if I make this movie as I see it, it would be too dangerous.

It’s not the first time religion’s crept into your work. RoboCop has religious undertones, right?

Of course. In RoboCop, Alex Murphy is killed and then rebuilt as a cyborg. There’s a stark parallel with the resurrection in that story and it was deliberate. I just had to collar those metaphors and fill them in.

You’ve said RoboCop is your finest film, but is it true you nearly turned it down?

RoboCop was so alien to me. I come from the Netherlands, where realism has always been so much of an art form, so I was presented with this robot and I thought:  ‘What the fuck is this?’  It just wasn’t real.

You stuck with sci-fi for Total Recall. We hear you reckon Arnold Schwarzenegger is a master of acting. Are our ears are deceiving us?

Arnie did a great job. He saw RoboCop as a sophisticated film and so he wanted to work with me on Total Recall. He was passionate about the movie and did more than just act. He would get angry if certain things were being cut or changed and threatened to leave many times if things weren’t put right.

What do you think of Sharon Stone? And do you regret that scene?

I knew she was right for Basic Instinct and no, I don’t regret that scene. Sharon was upset when she realised what was being shown but she was fully aware that it was being shot. It didn’t stop her from being angry though.

So what do you consider as the bigger bomb: Showgirls or Hollow Man?

I thought Showgirls would be a good way to follow up Basic Instinct, but it closed a lot of doors for me. It disgusted a lot of people. Hollow Man was different. It’s a good movie but it felt kind of… well, hollow to me. I wanted to make a film that was personal and Hollow Man wasn’t the one.

Starship Troopers was personal, though?

Starship was a personal film for me, but the accusations directed at me were amazing. There were these people accusing me of being a neo-Nazi. I’m not. That film was my commentary on the US, not fascism.

Finally, how happy was Carice van Houten with being covered in shit in Black Book?

She was hoping we’d do it in one take, but it couldn’t be done like that. We had to test how to pour the stuff, using a stunt girl, to make sure it wouldn’t come down too hard and knock her out. She’s a professional though, and I always make sure I talk to my actors before any scene like that and help them to do it with confidence. I wouldn’t ask them to do something I wouldn’t do myself.