Paul Verhoeven

Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch film director. His films are known for their graphic violence and sexual content, combined with social satire. After receiving attention for the TV series ''Floris'' in his native Netherlands, Verhoeven's breakthrough film was the romantic drama ''Turkish Delight'' (1973), starring frequent collaborator Rutger Hauer. Verhoeven later directed successful Dutch films including the period drama ''Keetje Tippel'' (1975), the war film ''Soldier of Orange'' (1977), the teen drama ''Spetters'' (1980) and the psychological thriller ''The Fourth Man'' (1983).

In 1985, Verhoeven made his first Hollywood film ''Flesh and Blood'' and later had a successful career in the United States, directing science fiction films such as ''RoboCop'' (1987), ''Total Recall'' (1990), ''Starship Troopers'' (1997) and ''Hollow Man'' (2000), as well as the erotic thriller ''Basic Instinct'' (1992).

Verhoeven later returned to Europe, making the Dutch war film ''Black Book'' (2006), French psychological thriller ''Elle'' (2016) and the religious drama ''Benedetta'' (2021), all receiving positive reviews. ''Black Book'' and ''Elle'' were both nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and ''Elle'' won Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and César Award for Best Film. ''Black Book'' was also voted by the Dutch public, in 2008, as the best Dutch film ever made. In contrast, he won the Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Picture and Worst Director for ''Showgirls'' (1995); he is one of the few people to have accepted their Golden Raspberry awards in person, and the first to directly attend the ceremony to receive it. ''Showgirls'' was a notorious box office flop at its initial theatrical release, but later enjoyed huge success in the home video market and became a cult classic. Verhoeven's films have received a total of nine Academy Award nominations, mainly for editing and effects. Provided by Wikipedia