Behind the scenes of "Basic Instinct": for which Sharon Stone slapped the director

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

25 years ago, on February 10, 1992, viewers first saw the erotic thriller, which became a classic of this genre - "The basic Instinct" … It was with this film that the real sexual revolution began in Hollywood, because before Paul Verhoeven, none of the directors had filmed explicit close-up scenes - this was an attribute of category B film production. But Basic Instinct was shown in all cinemas in the country and became one of the most profitable films. 1990s At the same time, scandals accompanied him both during filming and after the show.

Director Paul Verhoeven made famous the blockbusters "Robocop" and "Total Recall." Therefore, for the next film, he demanded a fee of $ 5 million. Michael Douglas had to pay another 15 million - in the main male role, the producer saw him, besides, other actors (Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Willis, Al Pacino) refused to appear in the frame completely naked and play sex scenes without stunt doubles. So, even before filming began, the film company spent more than $ 20 million.

The script for the film was written by Joe Esterhaz. In the 1980s. he was going through difficult times, his previous work failed at the box office. And then he remembered what he had conceived back in the 1970s. a plot about a villainous woman. According to legend, Esterhaz locked himself in his apartment for 13 days and wrote the script for "Basic Instinct" in one breath. For his work, he received a record $ 3 million.

The main characters had real prototypes. Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) was inspired by a police officer the screenwriter once knew. He shot 3 people, and Esterhaz thought he liked killing. But the writer Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) appeared after meeting the screenwriter with a stripper who, having slept with him, said that she had killed several of her lovers. It is not known whether it really was, because she still spared Esterhaz, but this case prompted the scriptwriter the idea of the plot.

The final version of the film was very different from the script. Initially, there were much fewer explicit scenes - but the producer insisted that the film be as scandalous as possible, and the director supported him in this. Esterhaz was against this. Many points in the script were said in passing, in hints - for example, about the bisexuality of the main character, but as a result, each such hint was turned into a frank sex scene. Douglas and Verhoeven insisted that in the end of the film, the policeman saw through and shot the villainess, but the scriptwriter still managed to defend the idea of the helplessness of the man in front of the charming embodiment of evil. The discussions were very heated, none of the co-authors wanted to give in. As a result, they came to such a compromise: Esterhaz resigned himself to the fact that his script would make a too frank movie, and Douglas and Verhoeven had to agree that evil would prevail. But the conflicts did not end there.

They were looking for an actress for the role of the main character-villain for a very long time. Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan and other actresses turned down the role. Then Verhoeven decided to invite Sharon Stone, with whom he had already worked in the movie "Total Recall". The actress herself doubted that she would be approved: “Everyone knew that a star would play in“Basic Instinct”. And at that time, if I was a star, then, probably, only "Police Academy 4". Therefore, her fee was quite modest - 500 thousand dollars.

At that time, Sharon Stone was 34 years old, her film career was not successful, and the actress agreed to all the director's conditions. The famous scene of the interrogation of Catherine Tramell at the police station was not in the script. This episode was prompted by the director, who recalled a similar scene of seduction in his youth. The director persuaded Sharon Stone to act in this scene without underwear, as it allegedly was too brightly white in the spotlight. The actress agreed, but did not suspect that the director would choose a special shooting plan. The fact that the camera looked under her skirt, Sharon Stone learned already at the press show, when nothing could be changed. In anger, she slapped the director in the face. But it was this scene that brought her worldwide fame.

Scandals accompanied both the filming process and film screenings: the US LGBT community accused the director of homophobia and held rallies because the film contains negative stereotypes about lesbians. In order to pass the censorship committee and receive permission to be shown in cinemas, Verhoeven had to re-edit the film 14 times. One can only guess what the original version was.

In 2006, Basic Instinct 2 was released, but the sequel failed at the box office, and Sharon Stone was named the worst actress of the year: record holders of the Golden Raspberry anti-award.