Monday, April 03, 2006

Are we undersexed?

Director Paul Verhoeven, softcore's most notorious hack, blames the box office failure of "Basic Inscinct 2" on the president. Seriously.

"Anything that is erotic has been banned in the United States," said the Dutch native, who also directed "Showgirls." "Look at the people at the top (of the government). We are living under a government that is constantly hammering out Christian values. And Christianity and sex have never been good friends."

Apparently he hasn't trolled the Internet lately, or watched any of MTV's "Spring Break" coverage. His gross overstatement is echoed by writer Nicholas Meyer, who knows something about crappy cinema ("Sommersby," "The Human Stain" and three "Star Trek" movies):

"We're in a big puritanical mode," he said. "Now, it's like the McCarthy era, except it's not 'Are you a communist?' but 'Have you ever put sex in a movie?'"

(Now there's some context for ya!)

Might this have something to do with the fact that critics nationwide lambasted the "Basic Instinct" sequel? And does anyone really think movie execs are taking their marching orders from Dick Cheney?

"Why pay $10 to see something at the movies that you can see for free on the Internet?" producer J.C. Spink asked. "I think the genre is suffering because sex is more pervasive in our society now than it was 10 years ago, from Vanity Fair ads to reality TV. I mean, there's porn stars on reality TV."

While the erotic thriller is not dead yet, chances are good it'll soon meet its demise. Coming soon: "The Number 23," starring Jim Carrey. Is there anything sexier than a man talking out of his ass?

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