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Saturday, August 16, 2003


“When I made my crossing to the US, I didn’t know a thing about America, I just wanted to rid myself from the quagmire of Dutch Cinema”

Paul Verhoeven in a recent interview in Dutch weekly VN

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RETROACTIVE


A Reuters picture on the front page of Amsterdam’s daily “Het Parool”, of May 8th 1992, portrays actress Sharon Stone, and Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, in close embrace after the premiere of “Basic Instinct” at the Cannes Film Festival. The picture exudes a triumphant air: a radiating Sharon Stone stands at the cusp of an invigorated Hollywood career, a feat underscored by director Paul Verhoeven; who cradles his lead actress protectively; beaming a roguish grin.

Sharon Stone and Marlene Dietrich were the key stars of the 1992 Festival. “Basic Instinct” received enthusiastic reviews by the French film critics and the International press. Moreover, it hailed Paul Verhoeven’s entry in the ranks of European directors who made inroads to Hollywood.

After his first two Hollywood feature films, Robocop (1987), and Total Recall (1990), which first introduced Sharon Stone; “Basic Instinct” would be superseded by the biggest box office failure in Paul Verhoeven’s career thusfar, the infamous and ridiculed “Showgirls” of 1995.

Since arriving in the US; Paul Verhoeven has directed 6 movies that span his Hollywood career:

Robocop 1987
Total Recall 1990
Basic Instinct 1992
Showgirls 1995
Starship Troopers 1997
Hollow Man 2000

”Throughout his film resume Paul Verhoeven has earned mixed reviews by film critics and audiences alike. The heated public debate following the premiere of his Dutch feature film “Spetters” (1980), preceded the making of “The Fourth Man” (1983), generally considered his best by his critics. The movie would also become his breakthrough, and would eventually lead to his US departure.

“Showgirls” meanwhile, has earned a cult status among both cinema aficionados and Verhoeven detractors. Its “Second life” run, secured a post box office success, making it Paul Verhoeven’s best selling DVD to date.
Paul Verhoeven has been dubbed a “Retroactive” director; for his ability to stir discussion and reverse conceptions about his movies long after their initial release.

Paul Sammon, science fiction historian; summons the Verhoeven phenomenon thus following:

"The public persona that Paul Verhoeven has is of this kind of like barely contained wild man who's always out there trying to show full frontal fornication and decapitations every moment he can. That may, in an exaggerated way, be a part of Paul's personality, but Paul is also a very serious man and a very intelligent man."

Daniel Shaw, editor of Film and Philosophy is both vindicative and pragmatic:

“A case can be made for Verhoeven's career being in decline of late that has nothing to do with his choice to come to America. Two comparative failures out of his last three efforts (the only films he has made in the last ten years) bespeak a damming up of the creative juices. His oeuvre is rich and varied, evidencing a remarkable ability to work effectively within genre conventions. From arthouse comedy to European existentialism, dystopic sci-fi to neo-noir and Las Vegas glitz, his best films demonstrate a feel for the pulpy pulse of pop culture, while not being averse to giving us a little to think about in the process. Still, Ingmar Bergman he ain't.”

Casper van Dien, who starred in “Starship Troopers”, must have been either perplexed or euphoric, when he said:

“He’s so insane.”

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Paul Verhoeven is a driven man; barely able to contain the animal that lurks within. Portraits made of him over the years depict a short tempered, obsessed individual, who seems poised for a kill. Verhoeven is a survivor: who has managed to achieve a smart and cutting edge resume throughout his career. He may still have a Faustian pact up his sleeve: about to stage an expert move, that will silence- or amplify the controversy that surrounds him.

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In 1982 I worked as an art director for a short-lived Dutch monthly. One of the subjects in the summer issue featured the three foremost Dutch directors of that moment; Paul Verhoeven, who had shortly before finished “Spetters”; and fellow directors Ben Verbong and Ate de Jong.

The directors were asked to participate in an editorial concept that the staff had put before them. Would they be interested- since all of them had adapted books by well known Dutch authors for their movies- to show the complete contents of their bookcase to the public, in order to reflect on the intellectual property that had inspired their careers?

They all agreed. Verhoeven’s “war chest” as it appeared, contained over 1700 books. The harvest was varied: apart from a majority of books written by Dutch authors, both literary and scientific; the collection contained books in French, English and German.
Books on the Universe and Mathematics (Paul Verhoeven earned a PhD in Mathematics and Physics at Leiden University), were alternated by works on Psychology, Parapsychology, Religion, Philosophy, Marxism, Spirituality and Crime. A substantial amount of his books detail the Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany, and biographies of its main perpetrators. Many books dwelled on the subject of religion, specifically Christianity. These were surpassed only by a vast number of Thrillers and Whodunnits ( Interestingly: Paul Verhoeven had collected almost all of Agatha Christie’s works at the time).

I picked a random selection of the contents found in Paul Verhoeven’s book collection of 1982. It may shed new light on his dimensional persona. Perhaps the list contains a clue as to what project Paul Verhoeven may undertake next?

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Groupies & Other Girls, Burks & Hopkins
The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Ahrendt
Does God Exist? Hans Kueng
Joseph Goebbels the Man who Created Hitler, Viktor Reimann
Quantum Mechanics, Merzbacker
God and the Astronomers, Robert Jastrow
Supernaural Horror in Literature, Lovecraft
Vampires, Werewolves and Ghouls, Hurwood
You shall be as Gods, Erich Fromm
New frontiers in Astronomy, Readings from Scientific American
Cosmos, Carl Sagan
Principle of Relativity, Einstein and Others
Quiet Days in Clichy, Miller
The Face of God after Auschwitz, Ignaz Maybaum
Justine, De Sade
The Executioner’s Song, Norman Mailer
Nuclear Physics, Sinnoo
An Introduction of Vector Analysis, Hague
Steppenwolf, Hesse
Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
The Koran, Mahomet
The Rape of Tamar, Dan Jacobson
The Painted Bird, Kosinski
Dianetics, Hubbard
The Negroes, Genet
The Plague, Camus
The Captain’s Verses, Neruda
Gestalt Therapy for the Family, Tietgens
Pygmalion, Shaw
Mephisto, Thomas Mann
Soldier of Orange, Hazelhoff
Notes, Coppola
Adolf Hitler, Toland
The Fourth Man, Reve
Erinnerungen, Speer
A Bridge too far, Ryan
Die, Sodomites!, W.T.Fleer
Stanley Kubrick Directs, Walker
A Distant Mirror, Tuchman
Destination: Void, Herbert
The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitszin
Ecce Homo, Nietzsche
Magic and Emotion, J.P.Sartre
Violent Universe, Calder
Musical Theory, Luersen
My Favorites in Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock
Andy Warhol’s Exposures, Warhol/Colacello
American Film Now, Monaco
The New Underground Theatre, Schroeder
Battle of Britain, Mosley
Diaries, Brecht
An Autobiography, Christie
Rembrandt, Copplestone
Toulouse Lautrec, Phaidon
The Captain’s Verses, Neruda
Fictions, Borges
The Warlover, Hersey
Physical Research, Tenhaeff
Blue Movie, Warhol
Montaillou, Emanuel Le Roy Ladurie
The Bayeux Tapestry, Collins
I Robot, Asimov
Adventures with D.W.Griffith, Brown
He who Hesitates, McBain
Memoirs of Hadrian, Yourcenar
Planet of the Apes, Bouille
Every Hebrew, Rabin
The Heart of the matter, Greene
Mademoiselle Tifi, de Maupassant
Dutch Anabaptism, Krahm
I’m Ok, You’re OK, Harris
Autopsy, Feegel
The Cinema of David Lean, Chatley
Stroheim, Finler
Star Wars, Lucas
London Night Life, Nicholson
Dans la Rue, Bruant
TheIntercom Conspiracy, Ambler
Ghosts with a Purpose, O’Donnell
Trouble is my Business, Chandler
The Man who loved Marx, Carter
Fundamentals of Russian, Lunt
The Complete jack the Ripper, Bungelow
How to make Yourself Miserable, Greenburg
Up the Down Staircase, Kaufman

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Was Judas an Arab?

Paul Verhoeven’s interest in religion is not just confined to crypticisms woven into his movies; it is also practised by his fellowship of the Westar Institute. The premise explored above is a proposition for the Westar Jesus Seminar, posed by fellow Paul Verhoeven.

A short introduction from the Westar Institute website:

“The first and best-known project of Westar Institute is the Jesus Seminar. Launched in 1985, the Seminar was organized to discover and report a scholarly consensus on the historical authenticity of the sayings and events attributed to Jesus in the gospels. Recently, the Fellows of the Seminar have begun to develop and analyze the various profiles of the historical Jesus that emerge from current research.

Other Westar Seminars are also at work. The Paul Seminar is considering the authenticity and integrity of the Pauline letters. The Canon Seminar is debating which early Christian works, canonical or non-canonical, should be included in a new New Testament. An Acts Seminar, which began deliberations in 1999, will evaluate and report on the historical authenticity of the Acts of the Apostles, in much the same way as the Jesus Seminar reviewed the sayings and events in the gospels.

Westar Seminars convene twice a year at the Westar Institute National Meetings. Deliberations and voting center on working Seminar Papers prepared by scholars and distributed in advance of the meeting.”

www.westarinstitute.org/Fellows/ Verhoeven/verhoeven.html

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posted by Walter at 8/16/2003



Tuesday, August 12, 2003


PROCUREMENT

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From a letter by miner Melvin Paden to his wife in 1849: the year of the Californian gold rush:

"Jane, I left you and them boys to procure a little property by the sweat of my brow so that we could have a place of our own-that I might not be a dog for other people any longer."

http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/fever.html

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ALL THAT IS GOLD

An appreciation

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Gold, Eloquent Gold
Ruthless and Luminous
Gold, Abdominal Gold

-Muse of the Dubious-

Gold, Intrepid Gold
Mutable and climactic
Gold, Presumed Gold

-Triumphant- Sarcastic-

Gold, Incendiary Gold
Grenadine and Lime
Gold, Pampered Gold

-Socialite’s Climb-

Gold, Herculean Gold
My Consort and Glitz
Gold, Smirking Gold

-Porter of wit-

Gold, Mannerist Gold
Rakish and Louche
Gold, Orbital Gold

-Vengeful Cartouche-

Gold, Credible Gold
Forceful and Lame
Gold, Demonic Gold

-Falsehood Proclaimed-

Gold, Opulent Gold
Spirit of Arabia
Gold, Rejuvenated Gold

-Cataclysm in Asia-

Gold, Potent Gold
Floating and Sculptural
Gold, Intellectual Gold

-Vigilant and Seminal

Gold, Sleeveless Gold
Compass to the Damned

Gold,
Matchless
Gold-

-Transient and Dark
Fueling the Spark-


© 2003 Walt

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posted by Walter at 8/12/2003



Sunday, August 10, 2003


WHAT’s IN A BRAND?

It’s a simple principle: highlighted in an almost abstract piece of text appears a fragmented advertising headline. The words that comprise the headline are stenciled out on a black page, which in turn overlaps a white spread, causing the words to stand out sharply; blotting out its surrounding copy.

The body copy from a 2001 Nike campaign which employs this principle poses a challenge to the reader, and confronts one's brand loyalty. Nike; a ubiquitous and controversial global brand; is one of a few that can afford to use only its “Swoosh” trademark for instant brand recognition. But Nike also oozes a pervasive smugness; through its clever exploitation of cutting edge graphic design; its exploitation of "tribal" stereotypes, and its half-hearted approach in trading off critical awareness with the market-driven realities of a global brand leader.

The Nike ad mentioned above featured two running shoe models: the -Air Presto Cage-, and the-Shox R4-. The body copy used was the same for both ads, the highlighted tag lines read thus following:

“Air Presto Cage” – tag line: “COMPENSATE FOR THE WEIGHT OF YOUR EGO”

“Shox R4” – tag line: “DARWIN NEVER RAN”

I also tried my own version. If however you feel so tempted as well; be prepared to find out that it’s not quite the easy task that it portends to be..

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COMPENSATE FOR THE WEIGHT OF YOUR EGO


Air Presto Cage. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the waffle maker and dogs that chase cars. The three a.m.kung-fu movie, Murphy for the law, a free ride, it’s and it is. The hill, the road, the pitch, the path, the track and the pizza delivery guy. Knowing how to compensate. All the Greek gods, rollercoasters and the wake-up call. What you know, what you don’t know and everyone that ever asked why. For and against, High tide, noodles and the smell of wet grass. The lightweight, the heavyweight, extremes and everything in the middle that made it possible. Arrogance, the altitude problem, and the tooth fairy. Darwin and tying your own shoelaces. Who you are, not who you were. The human beat-box, spray paint, the train and just a bit further. Grinning like a fool and wearing nothing but a smile. Whoever thought of subtitles, mushrooms, gold teeth, ninjas and museums. Something from nothing, all that you’ve got, not a lot being too much and Joan of Arc. The 24hr video store, those willing to talk about it and fortune cookies. Anyone that walked on the wild side, never and ever. The letter, the word and freedom to say f—k it all. Stairs, the lift, the taxi, and anyone that made it to the end. The remote control, lounging, the shopping channel, how and why. That girl on the bus this morning, the glance, the look and the stare. An attempt, the failure and caring without giving a damn, Your best and your worst. The ego, the id, keeping the faith, losing your mind and king size. Remembering you haven’t seen it all before. Deodorant, the excuse, planet Earth and the first person to look at the stars. Vending machines, supermarkets and fruit trees. The stop sign and the day off. Certain animals (you know who you are). Inventor of the ball, hoop, bat, club, stick, cue and duvet. The running man, woman, feet and wherever it is you’re going anyway. Keeping it real, truth, the warp drive, days when it rains frogs and dreaming you can fly. Whoever wrote the rules, anyone that broke the rules and anyone or anything else that has ever inspired us.

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RIDE THE HIGH TIDE BE THE DRIVE


Air Presto Cage. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the waffle maker and dogs that chase cars. The three a.m.kung-fu movie, Murphy for the law, a free ride, it’s and it is. The hill, the road, the pitch, the path, the track and the pizza delivery guy. Knowing how to compensate. All the Greek gods, rollercoasters and the wake-up call. What you know, what you don’t know and everyone that ever asked why. For and against, High tide, noodles and the smell of wet grass. The lightweight, the heavyweight, extremes and everything in the middle that made it possible. Arrogance, the altitude problem, and the tooth fairy. Darwin and tying your own shoelaces. Who you are, not who you were. The human beat-box, spray paint, the train and just a bit further. Grinning like a fool and wearing nothing but a smile. Whoever thought of subtitles, mushrooms, gold teeth, ninjas and museums. Something from nothing, all that you’ve got, not a lot being too much and Joan of Arc. The 24hr video store, those willing to talk about it and fortune cookies. Anyone that walked on the wild side, never and ever. The letter, the word and freedom to say f—k it all. Stairs, the lift, the taxi, and anyone that made it to the end. The remote control, lounging, the shopping channel, how and why. That girl on the bus this morning, the glance, the look and the stare. An attempt, the failure and caring without giving a damn, Your best and your worst. The ego, the id, keeping the faith, losing your mind and king size. Remembering you haven’t seen it all before. Deodorant, the excuse, planet Earth and the first person to look at the stars. Vending machines, supermarkets and fruit trees. The stop sign and the day off. Certain animals (you know who you are). Inventor of the ball, hoop, bat, club, stick, cue and duvet. The running man, woman, feet and wherever it is you’re going anyway. Keeping it real, truth, the warp drive, days when it rains frogs and dreaming you can fly. Whoever wrote the rules, anyone that broke the rules and anyone or anything else that has ever inspired us.

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posted by Walter at 8/10/2003