VULGAR. VISCERAL. VERHOEVEN.

It was late at night in Holland when Steven Spielberg called Paul Verhoeven, paving the way for one of the most insubordinate creative minds in the history of the movie business.

“He didn’t realize it was three o’clock in the morning,” recalls Verhoeven, now 68, looking back on the impetus that led to his immigration—and, eventually, indispensable Hollywood guilty pleasures like Basic Instinct. “I had a very nice conversation with him. He said, ‘Come to the United States. Your country’s much too small for you. You have to work here.’ It took me some time to conquer my fears, [but] finally I came, and he introduced me to several studios.”

Continue reading about Paul Verhoeven in the New York Press...