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Paul Verhoeven's Baby Thriller 'Surrogate' is Still in the Works

by Alex Billington
April 16, 2010
Source: MTV

Earlier this week we wrote about a new project that director Paul Verhoeven (seen above) is working on (an adaptation of the video game The Last Express), but we weren't sure if that meant he was ditching his other project The Surrogate. Announced last year, The Surrogate is a thriller about a couple desperate to have a child who find themselves in an unbearable position when they find out the surrogate they hired to carry their baby is insane. Not the most interesting concept, but in the hands of Verhoeven, you never know. MTV ran new quotes from their recent chat with Verhoeven and word is The Surrogate is still in the works.

"That's still in the works," Verhoeven told MTV. "Halle Berry is attached to the project and we discussed it all. The question is where do we get the $30 million to do a project that includes a lot of things that have to do with abortion and... surrogate mothers." Good question, but maybe it's an early sign that no one wants to invest in this. We don't want another Showgirls, now do we? While Berry is attached (as of June '09) to play the mother/wife, they still haven't found someone for the husband or the surrogate yet. Verhoeven does also promise this will be "provocative and sexual," which reminds me of Showgirls again. Speaking of which:

"There are nearly no movies anymore with sex clearly in it," Verhoeven told MTV. "If you look at what's there, it's all PG-13. There is really no R anymore." The plan is for The Surrogate to change all that.

He's right - the way we treat sexuality and nudity in movies in the US is shameful. But that doesn't mean he needs to overdo it to prove a point. Verhoeven's always been an edgier filmmaker who sometimes takes that sexuality a bit too far (I heard more complaints about that "scene" in Black Book than I did compliments) and, well, I don't think I need to mention Showgirls again, but I will anyway. Then again, I am usually a fan of Verhoeven's crazier work, which it sounds like this could be, especially with an "insane" baby mama that Halle Berry has to fight. The Surrogate is in development at Fox through GG Filmz and Winter Road. It's based on a book of the same name by Kathryn Mackel. We'll keep you updated on its progress. Thoughts?

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http://twitter.com/gimmesumsuga Mathieu

For crying out loud, Alex, don't keep bringing up that one blip! All of Verhoeven's films, from his early Dutch days to his Hollywood years, are positively dripping with sex. Even his action movies! This would be nothing new for him, and that's why we love him. He's right - since he's been away from big-budget filmmaking, Hollywood's output has become incredibly tame. You think boundaries naturally erode over time and art becomes more explicit as we become accustomed/desensitized to it. But in the last decade mainstream movies have become incredibly sanitised. If the Bourne movies or The Dark Knight had been made in the 80s, there would have been gore, boobs and swearing left right and centre. Ah, memories...
http://filmonic.com Liam

You probably should have given people a NSFW warning before linking to a website dedicated to the pubic hair of celebrities
David Banner

W...t...f...is that "thing" to his left???? An evil puppet with an underbite??? Everything is PG and PG-13 due to $$$. Check out what pulls in the most $$$ on boxofficemojo, I think PG is more then 75% of all income.
kap nod

just gimme my fuckin' phone call.
Dave Lister, J.M.C.

I'd buy *that* for a dollar!
Dirty Dutchman

I always loved the fact that Paul Verhoeven compared Robocop to the "American Jesus". Also, #4 quote from Robocop made me laugh.
jack up

who gives a f..k about halle berry
Luke

Two Paul Verhoven movies coming? Awesome. He's my favorite director.