Black Book

[cyanide]

I can`t wait to see the film Black Book,but does anyone know if was written as a book or a film first?

[Buenchico]

The screenplay is credited to Gerard Soeteman & Paul Verhoeven but the original story is credited to Gerard Soeterman:
http://www.zwartboekdefilm.nl/

That suggests that Gerard Soeteman had completed work on the initial story before director Paul Verhoeven became involved. However, I can find no evidence that it was published in book form. (For example, a web search for 'soeteman zwartboek' brings up plenty of references to the film but none to a book).

It's possible, of course, that a book may have been published under a different title but I think that this is unlikely. There is plenty of evidence available showing that Gerard Soeteman is a prolific writer for film and TV but I can find nothing to indicate that he has ever published a book.

Chris

[kempie]

The story for the film was written by Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter, Gerard Soeteman They had been working on the script for fifteen years, but they only solved their problems with the story in the early 2000s, by changing the main character from male to female. According to Paul Verhoeven 'Black Book' was born out of elements that did not fit in any of his earlier movies, and it can be seen as a supplement to his earlier film about World War II 'Soldier of Orange'.

The screenplay by Paul Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman was turned into a thriller novel by Dutch writer Laurens Abbink Spaink. The book was published in september 2006 by Uitgeverij Podium, and contains photos and an afterword by Paul Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Book_(film)

[cyanide]

Thanks very much to both of you.