How Religious Terror Causes Artists To Self-Censor
Posted: Sun, 3rd Dec 2006
Film director Paul Verhoeven says he is too frightened to adapt his ideas for a Jesus biopic because he fears a Christian backlash. The director movies such as Showgirls is writing a book about the life of Christ as a man, charting the political and social landscape of his time and largely ignoring Christianity’s emphasis on his spirituality. But even if the work proves popular, Verhoeven is wary of adapting it for the big screen because of the controversy it could attract. He tells Empire magazine, “My scriptwriter told me not to do the movie in the United States because they (Christians) might shoot me. It’s not a joke at all. I took that very seriously. So I took his advice and decided to write a book about it first.�
See also: Saudi play critical of Islamists halted by violence
Film director Paul Verhoeven says he is too frightened to adapt his ideas for a Jesus biopic because he fears a Christian backlash. The director movies such as Showgirls is writing a book about the life of Christ as a man, charting the political and social landscape of his time and largely ignoring Christianity’s emphasis on his spirituality. But even if the work proves popular, Verhoeven is wary of adapting it for the big screen because of the controversy it could attract. He tells Empire magazine, “My scriptwriter told me not to do the movie in the United States because they (Christians) might shoot me. It’s not a joke at all. I took that very seriously. So I took his advice and decided to write a book about it first.”
See also: Saudi play critical of Islamists halted by violence
