A remake of the film Interview by slain Dutch director Theo van Gogh premiered in his home city of Amsterdam Monday night. The American-Dutch co-production, directed by and starring American Steve Buscemi, is something of a tribute to van Gogh, who was murdered by a Muslim extremist three years ago. Lauren Comiteau attended the premiere and files this report for VOA from Amsterdam.
Dutch stars braved the wet red carpet for the world premiere of the remake of Theo van Gogh's Interview, part of a trilogy of van Gogh remakes now being made.
Interview is the story of a meeting between a washed-up political reporter-played by Buscemi-and beautiful megastar Katya, played by Sienna Miller. Buscemi's character is grudgingly assigned to interview Katya, and the rest of the film is spent inside her apartment, where the two engage in an intense battle of the wits and one-upmanship.
Interview opens to general audiences in the Netherlands on Thursday and in the United States in the summer.
On Monday, Buscemi told the audience he felt van Gogh's supportive and inspiring spirit hanging over him while he made the film.
"He loved actors and I'm just sorry I never got a chance to work with him," he said.
Co-producer and van Gogh's friend, Bruce Weiss, said van Gogh would have loved the new film.
"Theo's dream was always to make films in America, and after he died, we wanted to make that dream come true for him," said Weiss. "So this is our way of really continuing his legacy."
Van Gogh was killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004 on an Amsterdam street. His murderer, Mohammed Bouyeri, is now serving a life sentence. He admitted to killing van Gogh out of religious conviction.
