Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven has always tested the boundaries of good taste when it comes to sex and violence in his movies. With a career that spans six decades, the director has seen his share of controversies around his use of erotic scenes, including the period lesbian nun film “Benedetta” which recently sparked a lot of outrage from the religious crowd.
Verhoeven has been a critic of Hollywood’s puritan take on sex in cinema and this is highlighted in a new interview with The Sunday Times, where he is puzzled by studio films being sexless considering how important sex is to humanity’s survival.
“Sex is the essence of existence!” the director said. “Without it, there are no species anymore. So why is that a big secret? There is a new purity.”
One of the reasons Verhoeven made “Benedetta” in France and Italy was to avoid Hollywood censors.
He also took aim at the popular Marvel films and even the James Bond franchise, being disappointed with the recent Daniel Craig movies, pointing directly at the final film “No Time To Die.”
“It’s about crashing and blowing up,” Verhoeven said about modern studio films. “Sometimes these movies are fun, but the narrative tells you nothing about us now. I don’t see any other thought in Marvel or Bond movies.”
He continued to talk about the legacy of sexiness in the Bond movies, “There was always sex in Bond! They did not show a breast, or whatever. But they had some sex.”
Hollywood has pivoted to focusing on a younger/family-oriented audience as television continues to become the platform for more mature storytelling. Fewer studio films are being geared toward American adult audiences, but at least as long as Verhoeven is around making movies you can expect him to keep sex an integral part of his projects.
Verhoeven is making a return to the American erotic thriller with his Washington D.C. project, “Young Sinner,” which sees him reunited with screenwriter Ed Neumeier (“RoboCop,” “Starship Troopers“). This comes after “Basic Instinct” turned 25 years old last month, a landmark in the genre.
