21 September, 2006
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired North America, Australia/New Zealand and India film rights to famed director Paul Verhoeven’s “Black Book,” which is also the Dutch entry for the 2006 Academy Awards. The film received Netherlands’s “Golden Film Award” (given to Dutch films with more than 100,000 visitors opening weekend) after its first three days of release, having as many admissions in Holland as the first “Lord of the Rings” installment. “Black Book” recently screened at the Venice International Film Festival where it won the Cinema Giovanni Award and was a Gala Presentation at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival where it ended up in the Top 10 for the Audience Award.
A relentlessly gripping thriller about the Dutch underground, “Black Book” is set in the early fall of 1944. The film marks master director Paul Verhoeven’s return to his native Netherlands after a stellar run of unforgettable films in Hollywood (“Basic Instinct”, “Starship Troopers”). Revisiting the action filled World War II subject matter of his 1977 Dutch drama “Soldier of Orange,” “Black Book” is based on true events that span nearly a year around Rachel Stein (Carice van Houten) a young, pretty Jewish woman who falls for a high-ranking Gestapo officer (Sebastian Koch) while seeking revenge for her family’s murders. Starring some of the Netherlands’ most impressive and famous actors, the multi-layered characters find themselves embroiled in a spider’s web of intrigue, treachery and betrayal. “Black Book” is a highly stylized film suffused with the intense paranoia Verhoeven evokes so well, where friend and enemy blur together into an indistinguishable line. Sony Pictures Classics released the following statement: “This is a feast of a film. Paul Verhoeven has gone back to his roots to create a film as brilliantly executed as it is entertaining. “Black Book” is bold and emotional and colorful and exciting. We have wanted to release one of his movies ever since the days of “Soldier of Orange” and “The Fourth Man.” In our estimation “Black Book” is his best film. The production values and thrills this film provides is not only a tribute to the skills of one of the world’s great filmmakers, but also a testament to the work of his courageous producer San Fu Maltha.” Producer San Fu Maltha at Fu Works released the following statement, “”Paul and I are extremely pleased that Sony Pictures Classics share our vision for “Black Book,” and we’re certain that they will do a wonderful job for us – they have a very good track record with European films.”
Fu Works present in association with Egoli Tossell Film, Clockwork Pictures, Studio Babesberg AG, Motion Investment Group, Motel Films, Hector and ContentFilm International in co-production with Avro, a VIP Medienfonds 4 production BLACK BOOK a Paul Verhoeven film, screenplay by Gerard Soeteman, Paul Verhoeven, Produced by San Fu Maltha, Jens Meurer, Teun Hilte, Jos van der Linden, Jeroen Beker, Frans van Gestel and Executive produced by Andreas Grosch, Andrea Schmid, Marcus Schöfer, Henning Molfenter, Carl Woebcken, Jamie Carmichael, Graham Begg, Sara Giles. Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub, ASC, Production designer: Wilbert van Dorp, Composer: Anne Dudley, Editors: Job ter Burg, James Herbert. The film stars: Rachel/Ellis: Carice van Houten, Ludwig M?ntze: Sebastian Koch, Hans Akkermans: Thom Hoffman, Ronnie: Halina Reijn, G?nther Franken: Waldemar Kobus, Gerben Kuipers: Derek de Lint, Gen. Käutner: Christian Berkel, Notary Smaal: Dolf de Vries, Van Gein: Peter Blok, Rob: Michiel Huisman, Tim Kuipers: Ronald Armbrust, Kees: Frank Lammers. No MPAA rating, running time 145 minutes. Language: Dutch, German, English, Hebrew. Sony Pictures Classics will announce a release date shortly.
The deal was negotiated by Jamie Carmichael of ContentFilm International and San Fu Maltha of Fu Works.
