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CHARGEURS/Entertainment Pictures/ZUMAPRESS.com
3. Initially, Verhoeven didn't want to direct the film, passing on Eszterhas' first script. However, he eventually signed on as a favor to his friend and Basic Instinct collaborator. His change of heart was aided by his guilt over the failure to get Crusade, an action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger he'd signed on to direct, off the ground after its $100 million budget nearly bankrupted Showgirls' production company Carolco. Verhoeven even deferred 70 percent of his $6 million director's fee, allowing it to be dependent on potential profit.