De Rijp was transformed for several weeks in late 1979 for the filming of the Hollywood war film The Lucky Star, featuring American actors including Rod Steiger and the Dutch actor Rijk de Gooyer. Road signs were replaced with 1940s versions, German soldiers appeared in the village and swastikas were hung on the town hall.

Co Schipper recalled that the production office operated from his family's living room and that his father, painter and filmmaker Gervien Schipper, filmed the production under contract. His mother received a daily bag containing at least 30,000 guilders for expenses and payments to local extras, who were paid in cash. The film was not a major cinema success, while a recent screening of Gervien Schipper's footage in De Rijp attracted a full room.