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Born in Temse on March 18, 1963, Verheyen launched himself on the international film scene at the tender age of 18 as co-organizer and programmer of the Knokke-Heist Film Festival. The event, dedicated to independently produced American Films, was held only twice - in 1982 and 1983 - but nevertheless succeeded in luring people like Robert Altman, Dennis Hopper, Roger Corman, Sam Raimi, Susannah York, Graham Chapman and Paul Bartel to Belgium's North sea coast. In 1985 Verheyen, with his associate Marc Punt, founded Independent Films, a distribution outlet which quickly became the most important independent Belgian film distributor with a market share of up to 15%. Specializing in American, English and local productions, Independent released between 20 and 30 films a year. Basic Instinct (1992), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Seven (1995) are Independent's top commercial hits, but its acquisitions ranged from blockbusters to edgy art-house titles.
Among the first-time directors distributed by Independent are Kevin Reynolds (Fandango (1985)), Joel Coen (Blood Simple (1984)), Renny Harlin (Prison (1987)), Gus Van Sant (_Drugstore Cowboy (1989)_), Kenneth Branagh (Henry V (1989)) and Tim Robbins (Bob Roberts (1992)). Both in 1990 and 1991 Independent picked up the Cannes Palme D'Or Winner (Wild at Heart (1990) and Barton Fink (1991), respectively) just based on the script, months before the films were even selected for the festival.
Independent had output distribution deals with leading suppliers such as Carolco, New Line Cinema, Morgan Creek and PolyGram. Also, Independent has always been actively involved in local productions, backing both critically and commercially successful films as Crazy Love (1987) (aka Love Is A Dog From Hell), by Dominique Deruddere, Toto the Hero (1991) (Cannes Camera D'Or winner 1991) by 'Jaco Van Dormael', and Oscar-nominated Daens (1992) by Stijn Coninx, still the most commercially successful Belgian film ever. The step towards production was logical, and in 1987 Independent Productions was started.
In the past 10 years Independent has produced five shorts, all directed by young first time directors, a major drama series as well as a sitcom for television, and five features. _Blueberry Hill (1989)_, was a nostalgic, bittersweet comedy set in the late fifties and directed by Robbe De Hert. The film was successfully received by critics and audiences alike, and was one of those rare Belgian films acquired by the BBC.
Boys (1992), directed by Verheyen himself, was the Belgian equivalent of the American teen-pics of the eighties. It obviously appealed to local audiences, who made it one of the most successful Belgian films ever with 300,000 admissions. Boys was launched at the Cannes film market in 1992 and, although Belgian films aren't exactly at the top of distributors' shopping lists, proved a very nice surprise with sales to date to more than 15 countries, including Germany, Canada and Japan. The soundtrack of the film, which was released by EMI, also performed extremely well, selling 25,000 units in Belgian alone.
Ad Fundum (1993), Independent's first foray into drama was written by Marc Punt and directed by newcomer Erik Van Looy. It is set on a college campus where a cruel initiation rite gets completely out of hand. One student dies, but the lives of his friends are deeply affected as well as they try to make people aware of what happened, only to be confronted with apathy and indifference.
She Good Fighter (1995) was the directing debut of Marc Punt, who also wrote the script of this taut, attractively cast thriller about a young woman accused of a crime she did not commit and the lawyer who risks his career helping her fight a prejudiced and lazy justice system. In 1997 Independent Productions completed its first television series, Diamant (1997) (Diamonds) - based on the best selling novel by Jef Geeraerts. Diamant was produced for the Flemish commercial channel VTM and shot on spectacular locations in Belgium, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong on a US$3 million budget. It was the top-rated drama series of the year.
1998 saw the release of Dief! (1998) (Thief!), the second feature film written and directed by Mark Punt, loosely based on the autobiography of a petty thief whose life was destroyed by the prison system.
In the meantime, Jan Verheyen and Mark Punt joined forces with PolyGram and in 1995 introduced PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in Belgium. Their releases include the blockbuster Bean (1997), and films such as French Kiss (1995), To Die For (1995), Dead Man Walking (1995), 'Jaco Van Dormael''s The Eighth Day (1996), Joel Coen's Fargo (1996), Barry Levinson's Sleepers (1996) starring Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, 'Robert de Niro' and Jason Patric, Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (1996), and the opulent epic Elizabeth (1998).
Independent is also active as an exhibitor (the company owns two provincial multiplexes in Turnhout and Geraardsbergen), music publisher and video distributor (first through PolyGram Video, now through Universal Video). In 1995, Verheyen listened to the siren song of Hollywood and directed The Little Death (1996), an erotic thriller produced by Island Pictures. The film stars Pamela Gidley, Brent David Fraser, J.T. Walsh and Dwight Yoakam, and was sold virtually worldwide.
One year later, Verheyen was back on the local scene with Everything Must Go (1996) (Everything Must Go), based on the local best seller by Tom Lanoye and produced by Dirk Impens (Daens (1992),Manneken Pis (1995)). The film was very well received by critics and audiences alike and was seen on the worldwide festival circuit in 1997.
In August 1996, Verheyen joined PolyGram in London as Vice President International Distribution, overseeing releases of all films produced or acquired by PolyGram in all territories where PolyGram has its own distributors (UK, Ireland, Canada, Belgium, Holland, France, Italy. Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand).
In December 1997 he was promoted to Senior Vice President, adding important Asian territories such as Japan and South Korea to his workload, as well as becoming more involved in the production side, working closely with PolyGram-owned production companies Working Title (Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Bean (1997), Elizabeth (1998), Fargo (1996), Dead Man Walking (1995)), Propaganda (Sleepers (1996), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), The Game (1997) ) and Interscope (Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), What Dreams May Come (1998)) on the decision-making process of which films to make.
As a guest lecturer Verheyen was a frequent collaborator of the Media Business School in Spain and the European Film College in Ebeltoft, Denmark. Between 1998 and 2001, Verheyen joined the Board of Directors of the Berlin-based European Film Academy, a prestigious industry organization which wants to become the European counterpart of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. One of the main activities of the European Film Academy is the organization of the yearly European Film Awards - the European Oscars, so to speak. On the board Verheyen was joined by well-known European directors such as Wim Wenders, István Szabó, Agnieszka Holland and producer Nik Powell.
In his native Belgium he is also a frequent guest on numerous television and radio shows and every two years or so tours theaters in both Belgium and Holland as the host of 'The Night of Bad Taste', in which he introduces trailers and clips from the strangest, most obscure cult films. In July 1999, shortly after PolyGram was sold to Seagram's and renamed Universal Pictures International (UPI), Verheyen left the company and returned to Belgium, quickly becoming involved in an avalanche of media activities.
He directed his fourth feature, Team Spirit (2000), which became the biggest local hit in years, attracting 350,000 admissions and spawning a hit single ('Only Your Love Will Do' by Jan Leyers) and one of the most popular websites of the year.
On television he is the host of FilmNight Special (1999) on commercial channel Kanaal 2, in which, every Friday night, he introduces often obscure cult/horror/science-fiction/fantasy films. The show is now in its 3rd year and has spawned a number of prime-time specials such as the 'Halloween All-Night Horror Marathon' and a TV version of 'The Night of Bad Taste'. For two seasons (1999 - 2000) he was also the host of the satirical weekly panel show on Canvas, De mannen van de macht (1999) (based on the BBC-format If I Ruled the World (1998)).
He is also one of the panelists on the popular radio program 'De Rechtvaardige Rechters', which was nominated - for the third year running - by the Association of Flemish Radio & TV Critics as one of the five best programs of the year. When De rechtvaardige rechters (2001) moved to television - on Canvas - Verheyen remained on board as one of the regulars. The success of Team Spirit and his other media work resulted in Verheyen being voted by readers of the leading Flemish opinion weekly 'Knack' as 'Man of the Year' in the category 'culture'.
He also received the 2000 Pallieter Prize, a prize bestowed yearly on a person or organization most active in promoting Flemish film. Independent Films in the meantime produced the successful sitcom Dennis (2002) for VTM, written by Marc Punt and directed by Guy Goossens. Production is currently underway for a second series, which will air early 2003. Also for VTM, Independent will produce a new, prestigious 13-part drama mini-series Love Game about the modern slavery of women from Eastern countries forced into prostitution in the West. Written by Paul Koeck (Diamant (1997)), the series will be directed by Marc Punt and Guy Goossens. It starts production in November 2002 for a 26-week shoot on locations all over Europe and with a budget of $ 3.5 million.
In 2001 TV1, the popular channel of the national broadcaster VRT, asked Verheyen to host a daily late-night summer talk-show, Aan tafel (2001). It was the first summer talk-show in recent memory that clicked with audiences and Verheyen returned for an encore in the summer of 2002. Also in 2001, Verheyen directed his fifth film, Alias (2002), a thriller based on an original script by Paul Koeck and Christophe Dirickx. Alias was released in February 2002 and did some 150,000 admissions, making it the most successful Flemish-language film of the year so far. International sales are handled by London-based Ardent which will be introducing the film to international buyers at Mifed in October 2002.
Verheyen is currently preparing a number of new film and television projects, and early 2003 will be touring again with a new edition of 'The Night of Bad Taste' which will premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival. He is recently married and lives in Antwerp, Belgium.
