It’s been said that acting is the gateway drug. Star in a film and next thing you know you’ll be cutting tracks for your first CD, selling shampoo in Japan or, if you really get into the hard stuff, start directing other actors. Actually, I don’t know if it’s ever been said acting is the gateway drug, but I said it, so that’s kind of halfway true.
And thus, while it’s taken 35 years, we’ve finally lost dear Rutger Hauer. The guy who uttered one of the most geekily romantic passages in my version of film history ("I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.") has jumped from thesp to Mr. Bossypants in a directorial effort for Changing Fortunes, a passion project set in WWII. In an attempt to honor fellow Dutchman Wally van Hall, Hauer is working on a script (which he plans to be directing in 9 short months) about the obscure banker who gave Hitler the bird by saving tens of thousands of families. Sadly, the families couldn’t do much for him as he was executed in the year it all went down- 1945.
Hauer had this to say about the project: "[I want] to bring attention to this unsung hero. Part of the challenge in my heart, as a European, is to mix what I am with the American film making market. I will bring my Dutchness to the international market." Does that mean lots of boobs, writhing sex and over the top violence? Verhoeven fans hold their collective breath.