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Casper Robert Van Dien, Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor, best known for his role as Johnny Rico in Starship Troopers.

Early life

Van Dien was born and grew up in Milton, Florida, the son of Diane (née Morrow), a retired nursery school teacher, and Casper Robert Van Dien, Sr., a retired U.S. Navy Commander and fighter pilot. The name Casper is a family tradition, given to the eldest son of his family for more than 11 generations. There is a long military tradition in Van Dien's family. Aside from his father, his grandfather was a Marine during World War II. Van Dien is a descendant of an old Dutch family long settled in the New York area; his other heritage includes Swedish, French, English and Native American.

The street on which Van Dien grew up in New Jersey, Van Dien Avenue, was named after his great great grandfather. In high school, Van Dien was often referred to as "Ken doll" due to his good looks, and got into many fights for that reason. Coincidentally, he was later described as a "perfect life-sized Ken doll." When Van Dien was older, his family moved to Florida, where he enrolled at the St. Petersburg campus of the Admiral Farragut Academy, graduating 3rd in command. Next, he went to Florida State University in Tallahassee but never graduated.

Career

Moving to Los Angeles, Van Dien landed a number of small parts in various television series and movies. Two early breaks were recurring roles on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live and the prime time drama Beverly Hills, 90210. Keen to expand his acting talents, Van Dien took a bit part in the video game franchise, Wing Commander IV.

Van Dien starred in the 1997 James Dean biopic James Dean: Race with Destiny. Soon after, he got the breakthrough role of Johnny Rico in Paul Verhoeven's 1997 science fiction action film Starship Troopers. This directly led to his being cast as Tarzan in Tarzan and the Lost City (1998). Van Dien next played Brom von Brunt in Tim Burton's 1999 film Sleepy Hollow, a reworking of the classic Washington Irving tale.

In 2000 Van Dien appeared in Cutaway as well as Aaron Spelling's short-lived NBC prime time soap Titans with Yasmine Bleeth, John Barrowman, Perry King and Victoria Principal. He filmed several scenes as Patrick Bateman in 2002's The Rules of Attraction, the character that Christian Bale had played in 2000's American Psycho. However, the scenes wound up on the cutting room floor.

Van Dien reprised the role of Johnny Rico in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder in 2008.

Early life

Lee Meriwether was born in Los Angeles, California to Claudius Gregg Meriwether (October 13, 1904, Oregon – July 15, 1954, San Francisco, California) and Ethel Eve Mulligan (March 25, 1903, Oregon – May 21, 1996, Los Angeles, California). She has one brother, Don Brett Meriwether, born May 14, 1938, in Los Angeles. She grew up in San Francisco after the family moved there from Phoenix, Arizona. She attended George Washington High School, where one of her classmates was Johnny Mathis. She later attended San Francisco City College, where one of her classmates was fellow actor Bill Bixby.

After winning Miss San Francisco, Meriwether won Miss California, then Miss America with her recital of a John Millington Synge monologue. After her reign, she joined The Today Show. An August 1, 1956 international news wire photo of Meriwether and Joe DiMaggio announced their engagement. According to DiMaggio biographer Richard Ben Cramer, it was a rumor started by Walter Winchell.

Career

1950s

Meriwether was a "Today Girl" on NBC's The Today Show in 1955-1956. Her feature film debut came in 1959 as Linda Davis in 4D Man, starring Robert Lansing.

1960s

She made a cameo appearance as Dr. Egert on the TV series Man from UNCLE in a 1965 episode called "The Mad, Mad Tea Party." Meriwether portrayed Catwoman for the 1966 Batman movie and co-starred as scientist Dr. Ann MacGregor in the 1966–1967 television series The Time Tunnel. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she had guest starring roles in numerous TV series, including The Lloyd Bridges Show, Star Trek episode "That Which Survives" and the F Troop episode "O'Rourke vs. O'Reilly". In films, she joined John Wayne and Rock Hudson for The Undefeated, and Andy Griffith in Angel in My Pocket in 1969. In the same year, she played IMF spy Tracey in six Mission: Impossible episodes during season four after Barbara Bain's departure.

1970s

Meriwether began her best-known, award winning role as private detective Betty Jones in the 1973–1980 CBS series Barnaby Jones, opposite Buddy Ebsen. During the show's eight-year run she enjoyed an on- and off-screen chemistry with the elder Ebsen. During the show's run, she was reunited with her former classmate and best friend Bill Bixby during one episode. After her stint on Barnaby Jones, Meriwether became best friends with Ebsen, keeping in touch for many years until his death on July 6, 2003. She appeared on Circus of the Stars four times and was a regular panelist on the game show Match Game. Prior to her role on Barnaby Jones, Meriwether accompanied Andy Griffith in a short-lived 1971 series called The New Andy Griffith Show, as his wife Lee.

1980s

Meriwether portrayed Lily Munster in the 1988-1991 revival of the hit 1960s television show The Munsters, entitled The Munsters Today, in which she starred alongside Jason Marsden, John Schuck, Howard Morton and Hilary Van Dyke. She also made several guest star appearances on the TV series The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.

1990s

In the 1990s she appeared as herself on an episode of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. She had a memorable exchange with Zorak in which she said, "For my money, Eartha Kitt was the best Catwoman." Zorak, portraying the evil Batmantis, replied, "Give me your money," which was followed by a Batman-esque sound effect. In 1996, Meriwether took over for Mary Fickett in the role of Ruth Martin on the soap opera All My Children where Fickett had occupied the role since its inception in 1970. After 26 years, Fickett wanted to go into semi-retirement as a recurring cast member. Negotiations with the network broke down and Meriwether was cast as Ruth Martin. In 1999, ABC deemed that they were at an impasse with Meriwether's agents and Mary Fickett was brought back as a recurring cast member. Fickett retired again, this time for good in December 2000. ABC decided to bring back the character of Ruth Martin in 2002 but Fickett remained in retirement, so Meriwether was brought back and remains a featured recurring performer on the show.

2000s

In 2003, Meriwether appeared in the TV-Movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt. She also appeared Off Broadway in the interactive comedy, Grandma Sylvia's Funeral. She voiced EVA in the video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PlayStation 3. She also appears in one of the game's opening videos as a talkshow host having an interview with David Hayter, who voices Solid Snake in the game. In 2006, she joined James Garner, Abigail Breslin, Bill Cobbs and others in The Ultimate Gift. In 2008, Meriwether had a brief cameo as comic book character Battle Diva in the episode "Harper Knows" of the Disney Channel original series Wizards of Waverly Place. In 2010, she was once again reunited on screen with Hollywood veteran Bill Cobbs in No Limit Kids: Much Ado About Middle School; additionally, she voices President Winters in the video game Vanquish by Platinum Games.

Today

Meriwether continues to work on stage, television, game voice-overs, and feature films.

Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier (screenplay), directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It was the first of three films released in the Starship Troopers franchise. The film had a budget estimated around $105 million and grossed over $121 million worldwide.

The story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs".

Starship Troopers was nominated for an Academy Award (visual effects) in 1998. The film has attracted controversy and criticism for its social and political themes, which some critics claim promote militarism.

Plot

In the distant future, humans are at tense relations with an alien race named the Arachnids, or "Bugs", whose homeworld is the planet Klendathu, along with many colonies in that sector. John D. "Johnny" Rico, his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez, and best friend Carl Jenkins graduate from high school in Buenos Aires; now integrated as part of a unified human nation spanning many planets throughout the galaxy. In this society, citizenship is not a birthright; rather it is a privilege granted to those who risk their lives for the species by serving in the military. Citizens are honored individuals with many opportunities that are limited for non-citizens. Carmen and Carl have earned high enough grades to receive prestigious positions in the military. Johnny is only eligible for front line duties in the Mobile Infantry. Their paths diverge as Carmen becomes a commissioned officer and pilot for the Fleet while Carl joins the secretive and exclusive Military Intelligence division. Rico's parents demand that he cancel his enlistment when they discover he will be assigned to mobile infantry, but Rico's desire to follow Carmen is too strong.

At Mobile Infantry training, Rico and his unit, including Ace and infatuated former classmate "Dizzy" Flores are drilled under the brutal Career Sergeant Zim. Johnny shows leadership aptitude and is promoted to squad leader. He learns that Carmen is satisfied with her life in the fleet and works with Rico's high-school rival, Zander. Rico's hopes for a romance with Carmen are dashed when she decides to stay with the fleet. Zander is quickly supplanting Rico in Carmen's romantic life, causing Johnny to become dejected and angry. After a bad command decision during live-fire training that results in the death of one of Rico's squad members, he is demoted and publicly flogged as punishment before submitting his resignation. Rico calls his parents in Buenos Aires to give them the news, but is interrupted when the call drops. An enormous asteroid launched by the Arachnids and undetected by Earth's defenses has obliterated Buenos Aires. Millions are killed, including Rico's family. Rico rescinds his resignation and remains with the Infantry as an invasion force is shipped out to the Klendathu sector.

The first major strike on Klendathu is a failure, with heavy casualties in both the Fleet and Infantry due to underestimating the Bugs' capabilities. Rico's unit is nearly wiped out and Rico himself is heavily injured and mistakenly labeled "Killed in action", causing Carmen to believe he died. Johnny, Ace and Dizzy are reassigned to a squad called the Roughnecks, led by Johnny's high school teacher, Lieutenant Jean Rasczak. The Roughnecks are sent to a Bug planet named Tango Urilla to investigate the Bugs' tactics, and Johnny is promoted to Corporal. During rest and relaxation, Johnny and Dizzy have sex. On the next mission the Roughnecks are sent to an apparently abandoned human colony on another Bug planet, Planet "P". They discover that the outpost was not abandoned; it was secretly overrun by Bugs. During a disastrous ambush, Rasczak is killed alongside many other soldiers. As a rescue ship piloted by Carmen and Zander evacuates the Roughnecks, Dizzy is fatally wounded, dying in Rico's arms. On the Fleet carrier, Rico is promoted to the leader of the Roughnecks. Rico and Carmen reconnect at Dizzy's funeral along with Carl, now a high-ranking Intelligence official. As a representative of Military Intelligence, Carl apologizes for the debacle on Planet "P". He defends the decision to send units in as a necessary reconnaissance mission, and states that Intelligence is now absolutely sure of the existence of a "brain bug". The advanced strategy behind the bugs' ambush suggests the existence of an evolved intelligence directing the Arachnids. Carl orders Rico and the Roughnecks to attempt to procure a brain bug.

While Rico, Ace and the other Roughnecks search the planet, the Fleet encounters more fire from the Bugs, and Carmen's ship is destroyed. She and Zander make it to an escape pod, crashing into the Bug tunnel system near Rico's location. The Roughnecks continue searching for the brain bug under heavy fire while Johnny, disobeying orders, takes Ace and Sugar Watkins (Seth Gilliam) into the tunnels to rescue Carmen. They find Carmen and Zander disarmed in a large cavern at the mercy of several Arachnids including a brain bug. While the brain bug drains the contents of Zander's cranial cavity with a specially-adapted proboscis he covertly passes his knife to Carmen. Before the brain bug can attack Carmen she wounds it with the knife, providing the recently-arrived Rico, Ace and Sugar with a distraction to cover her escape. Sugar Watkins is mortally wounded by an Arachnid soldier while retreating. He sacrifices himself, arming and detonating a tactical nuclear weapon while the others escape. Upon their arrival at the surface, they are startled to learn that Sergeant Zim has demoted himself to private so that he can serve on the front lines. Zim has single-handedly captured a brain bug. In a debriefing, Carl congratulates Rico for his hard work and tells him that the humans will soon be victorious now that Intelligence can study the brain bug at length.

Cast

• Casper Van Dien as Pvt./Cpl./Sgt./Lt. Johnny Rico
• Dina Meyer as Dizzy Flores
• Denise Richards as Lt./Capt. Carmen Ibanez
• Jake Busey as Pvt. Ace Levy
• Neil Patrick Harris as Col. Carl Jenkins
• Clancy Brown as Career Sgt./Pvt. Zim
• Seth Gilliam as Sugar Watkins
• Patrick Muldoon as Lt. Zander Barcalow
• Michael Ironside as Lt. Jean Rasczak
• Bruce Gray as Sky Marshal Dienes
• Marshall Bell as Gen. Owen
• Eric Bruskotter as Pvt. Breckinridge
• Brenda Strong as Capt. Deladrier
• Christopher Curry as Bill Rico
• Lenore Kasdorf as Mrs. Rico
• Denise Dowse as Sky Marshal Meru
• Amy Smart as Pilot Cadet/Lt. Lumbreiser
• Rue McClanahan as Biology Teacher
• Dale Dye as unnamed General

Development

Production

The "bug planet" scenes were filmed in the badlands of Hell's Half Acre in Natrona County, Wyoming.

Several cameos in the film include producer Jon Davison as the angry Buenos Aires resident who says to the FedNet camera, "The only good Bug is a dead Bug!", and screenwriter Ed Neumeier as the quickly captured, convicted, and condemned murderer in another FedNet clip. Former U.S. Marine Dale Dye, whose company Warriors, Inc. provided technical military advice on the film, appeared as a high-ranking officer following the capture of the Brain Bug ("What's it thinking, Colonel?"). Director Paul Verhoeven, producer Jon Davison, writer Edward Neumeier, creature effects designers Phil Tippett and Craig Hayes, and composer Basil Poledouris were all involved with the original RoboCop movie. Actor Michael Ironside was also considered for the role of Murphy/RoboCop. Ironside did appear in Verhoeven's Total Recall. The cast agreed to do the co-ed shower scene only if the director agreed to direct the scene naked. Verhoeven directed the scene with no clothes on.

In the commentary track of the DVD release of the film, Verhoeven remarks that he had hoped to cast actors whose age more closely matched that of the characters—and indeed of real-world soldiers—but that the producers felt such actors would look too young. The teacher and leader of the "Roughnecks" in the novel are combined into one role played by Michael Ironside.

Test audience reactions led to several minor changes before the film was released. Originally it was clear that Carmen was torn between Rico and Lt. Zander. Test audiences, regardless of gender, strongly felt that a woman could not love two men at once so scenes which portrayed this were cut. These audiences also felt it was immoral for Carmen to choose a career ahead of being loyal to Rico to the extent that many commented that for choosing the career Carmen should have died instead of Dizzy. While admitting it may have been a bad commercial decision not to change the film to accommodate this, the directors did cut a scene from after Zander's death where Carmen and Rico kiss, which the audience believed made the previous betrayal even more immoral.

Like Verhoeven's films before this, Starship Troopers was threatened with an NC-17 rating. Bits cut included several shots of mutilated bodies and a decapitation.

Comparison with the novel

There are many differences between the original book and film. A report in an American Cinematographer article states that the Heinlein novel was optioned well into the pre-production period of the film, which had a working title of Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine; most of the writing team reportedly were unaware of the novel at the time. According to the DVD commentary, Paul Verhoeven never finished reading the novel, claiming he read through the first few chapters and became both "bored and depressed."

Release

Reception

Starship Troopers polarized audiences and critics alike. While much of this was the result of Verhoeven's departure from Heinlein's novel, some arguments did resemble the original issues that polarized readers of the novel 40 years before. A prominent theme of the film is the human practice of violence without reflection or empathy, which resembles the senseless aggression of the "Bugs". This is reflected in a mixed critical response. Starship Troopers was nominated for a number of awards in 1998, including the Academy Award for Visual Effects; the film won Saturn Awards for Best Costumes and Best Special Effects at the 1998 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA Awards.

The film included visual allusions to propaganda films such as Why We Fight, Triumph of the Will and wartime newsreels. The symbols, and certain clothing styles, of the Federation are modeled on those of the Nazis (e.g., windbreaker, suits, cap, etc.; moreover, the military intelligence officers' uniforms bear a striking similarity to those of the Waffen-SS). The satire was embedded in action sequences with special effects.

In the DVD audio commentary for the film, Paul Verhoeven states the movie's message: "War makes fascists of us all." He evokes Nazi Germany - particularly through its use of fashion, iconography and propaganda - which he sees as a natural evolution of the post-World War 2 United States. "I've heard this film nicknamed All Quiet On the Final Frontier," he says, "which is actually not far from the truth." Ed Neumeier (who had previously worked with Verhoeven on RoboCop) broadly concurs, although he sees a satire on human history, rather than solely the United States. Since the filmmakers did not make these statements at the time of the film's release, viewers have interpreted it variously: as a satire, as a celebration of fascism or as a simple action film.

Sequels

Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation was direct-to-video in 2004, directed by Phil Tippett. In May 2006, MovieHole.net reported that Ed Neumeier would be writing and directing a second sequel, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, and also stated that original cast members would be returning. This movie was released directly to DVD in August 2008. Starship Troopers 3: Marauder was considered an improvement over the second film and the return of Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico was well received by fans. However, it was also criticized for its poor low-budget special effects, confusing plot, and wooden acting. Starshiptroopersfans.net has reported that a fourth Starship Troopers movie has been given the green light and will be a full length CG feature using the most advanced computer graphic imagery, although no official press release has been issued yet.

Merchandise

In 1997, Avalon Hill released Starship Troopers: Prepare For Battle!, a boardgame based on the film version rather than Heinlein's book. Its gameplay focused on limited skirmishes rather than larger battles. The "Skinnies" do not appear, nor is there a political element. Avalon Hill released a game called Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers in 1976. The 2000 real-time tactics video game titled Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy was released. This game also incorporated the powered suits in Heinlein's novel into the Verhoeven version of the Mobile Infantry. It was developed by Australian software company Blue Tongue Entertainment. A first-person shooter game also titled Starship Troopers was released November 15, 2005. This version was developed by Strangelite Studios and published by Empire Interactive. Set five years after the events of the movie, the game also featured Casper van Dien voicing the in-game version of Johnny Rico. Sega Pinball released a pinball machine based on this movie.

The movie was released simultaneously with a graphic novelization, which retold events from the movie. There were also additional series that were released based in the Verhoeven universe, though not directly related to the movie. Further series were published by Dark Horse Comics and Markosia. The film was followed by the CGI animated television series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, which is loosely set inside the events of the movie just after Rico and Diz join the Roughnecks but before Rico gets promoted (though the events and tone of the show differ from those of the film).