“I hate science fiction!”: why Paul Verhoeven can’t stand the genre that defined his career
Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven began making movies back in the 1970s, but it took a long while for him to break through into the mainstream. That’s hardly a shock, though, given that he was making Dutch comedies and erotic thrillers that weren’t exactly destined for the heights of Hollywood.
But then came a decision that would change everything. Verhoeven would begin making movies in English. The first was the adventure movie Flesh and Blood, which starred Jennifer Jason Leigh and Rutger Hauer, but more successful was 1987’s classic sci-fi dystopia RoboCop.
The science-fiction action film would become a hit, the kind that Verhoeven needed to elevate his standing in the industry, and just three years later, he’d return with another movie that fell into the same genre, Total Recall. While RoboCop grossed a promising $53.4million, Total Recall fared even better, with Arnold Schwarzenegger taking the lead and securing a gross of $261.4m. Verhoeven was now in the big leagues.
You might assume that Verhoeven had a newfound appreciation for the sci-fi genre, considering that these were his first forays into the genre, but it turns out he has actually never been a fan at all. While the filmmaker turned his back on science fiction for the erotic classic Basic Instinct and the controversial 1995 bomb Showgirls, he returned to it in 1997 with Starship Troopers – so you really wouldn’t be out of your mind for thinking that Verhoeven loves science fiction.
Talking to Ain’t It Cool News, however, Verhoeven revealed that his wife had to convince him to take another look at Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner’s script for RoboCop, because he wasn’t interested in it.
“Frankly I’m not a science fiction fan at all! To tell you the truth, I hate science fiction,” he admitted.
“The RoboCop script was actually in my garbage can when my wife persuaded me to take another look at it,” he added. “It was only when I recognised certain elements that reminded me of Tom Poes in the Land of the Tin Men, one of my favorite comic books, that I started to see some fun in the script and the film.”
So, why does Verhoeven take on sci-fi movies if he doesn’t like the genre? And why does he seem to thrive best when working within the confines of a cinematic style he isn’t particularly interested in?
“Because all the other projects that were sent to me were even worse,” was his answer. “Even if Total Recall was a sci-fi film, it was still a lot better than the other shit they sent me. There are three American films I really stand by: RoboCop, Basic Instinct, and Starship Troopers. The rest was considerably worse.”
Clearly, the fact that Verhoeven isn’t particularly concerned with the sci-fi genre allowed him to thrive within it by essentially giving him free rein to interpret such stories in a unique way. His love for satire was able to seep through, and his rather unconventional approach to the genre has, as a result, given him a pretty iconic place within it.
