Truth about Sharon Stone's iconic Basic Instinct scene revealed
Don't miss out on the headlines from Movies. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Sharon Stone is no Hollywood Karen.
Never afraid to speak her mind or seek fair compensation for her work, Stone, 67, has been in the headlines for her criticism of Hollywood's pay gap.
In a resurfaced 2023 interview with Deadline, Stone revealed how she is still offered far less money than her male co-stars, despite being a world-famous star.
'Thirty years ago, when I did Basic Instinct, Michael Douglas made $14 million and I made $500,000,' she told Deadline. 'Last year, there was a $100 million film being made by a studio, and the actor, who was new, was going to be paid something like $8 million or $9 million – someone we don't really know – and the studio offered me again $500,000 to be the female lead. 'And I thought, 30 years later this is still happening. So, I don't think it has changed much.'
Sharon Stone has been working in Hollywood for decades. Picture: Getty
Making Basic Instinct wasn't an ego-boosting experience for Stone. In her autobiography, The Beauty Of Living Twice, she described the humiliation of the producer constantly calling her 'Karen' and being reminded she was the 'thirteenth choice' for the role of Catherine Tramell. Plus, Stone was duped into filming the movie's infamous leg-crossing scene, only discovering she had exposed herself at a screening.
'That was how I saw my vagina-shot for the first time, long after I'd been told: 'We can't see anything – I just need you to remove your panties, as the white is reflecting the light, so we know you have panties on,'' she wrote. 'Yes, there have been many points of view on this topic, but since I'm the one with the vagina in question, let me say: The other points of view are bullsh*t … It was me and my parts up there.'
Describing herself as the 'the last of the sex symbols' in an interview with the BBC, Stone explained how her Basic Instinct fame has been a double-edged sword. On one hand it put her on the map in Hollywood and gave her a platform to raise money for AIDS charities, but it also came at a huge personal cost. Appearing on Bruce Bozzi's Table For Two podcast, Stone said her groundbreaking performance was weaponised against her during a custody battle with her ex-husband Phil Bronstein.
'The judge asked my child – my tiny little boy, 'Do you know your mother makes sex movies?' Like, this kind of abuse by the system – that I was considered what kind of parent I was, because I made that movie,' she reflected on losing custody of her eldest adopted son Roan.
Michael Douglas with Sharon Stone in
Basic Instinct . Picture: Supplied.
Throughout her 30+ years in the spotlight, Stone has struggled with her femme fatale image.
Far from being a sex siren, before Basic Instinct Stone insists she was 'still shy and introverted', and had to be coaxed into embracing a more sexually confident persona.
'Chuck, my manager at the time, had told me that no one would hire me because everyone said I wasn't sexy,' she wrote. 'I wasn't, as they liked to say in Hollywood at the time, 'f**kable'.' All that changed after Basic Instinct, and the line between Stone herself and her character became blurred for many in the industry.
On Louis Theroux's podcast, Stone divulged that producer Robert Evans had asked her to have sex with her Sliver co-star Billy Baldwin to save the film from being a flop. '[Evans is] running around his office in his sunglasses, explaining to me that he slept with Ava Gardner and I should sleep with Billy Baldwin, because if I slept with Billy Baldwin, Billy Baldwin's performance would get better,' Stone remembered. 'And we needed Billy to get better in the movie, because that was the problem.' Stone refused. And was painted as the villain of the Sliver set by Evans, who told everyone she had the charm of a barracuda.
It all became part of the enduring narrative that Stone is demanding. There was talk she'd pulled a gun on a Basic Instinct cameraman to warn: 'If I see one ounce of cellulite on the screen, you're a dead man.'
Then she was painted as greedy for taking producers of the sequel to court. And in his gossip-laden autobiography, Red Carpets And Other Banana Skins, Rupert Everett moaned how Stone had kept cast and crew waiting on the set of their 2004 film A Different Loyalty.
Stone has claimed that she didn't realise how explicit the iconic scene was until she saw the film at its premiere. Picture: Supplied.
While unapologetic about being a strong woman in Hollywood, surviving a catastrophic stroke has given Stone fresh perspective. In a candid speech at the Women's Brain Health Initiative panel in 2017, she described how the life-threatening brain injury – which, she was told, only had a 1 per cent survival rate – made her re-evaluate a lot of things. 'I had lost my marriage, lost custody of my child, lost my place in line in the business, lost all my money because I was paying so many different things,' she detailed. '[I was] scraping by. I know what it's like to go through a situation where you are the top, top, top of your field, to [be] absolutely wiped out.'
Celebrate Stone's return from the brink with a watch of these seminal roles. The Quick And The Dead: Stone joins gunslinging Oscar-winners Russell Crowe, Gene Hackman and Leonardo DiCaprio in this under-appreciated Western directed by Sam Raimi.
Sharon Stone: Survival Instinct: 'I feel like my biggest achievement is surviving, because it's a big deal to survive in a business such as this,' Stone says in this documentary exploring her Hollywood career. Streets Of Blood: Set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this crime thriller sees Stone playing a therapist trying to help shattered police detectives deal with their struggles.
Now streaming on Tubi
Originally published as Truth about Sharon Stone's iconic Basic Instinct scene revealed
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
41 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Steven Spielberg was ‘deeply involved' in Jurassic World: Rebirth, says writer David Koepp
Jurassic World: Rebirth writer David Koepp has said Steven Spielberg was 'deeply involved' in making the movie. The 78-year-old director helmed the original 1993 film Jurassic Park, its 1997 sequel The Lost Work: Jurassic Park and has served as an executive producer on the Jurassic World series ever since, and Koepp - who wrote the first movie and its follow-up - revealed one of the main reasons he returned for Jurassic World: Rebirth was because Spielberg was 'very involved' in it. Speaking to Deadline about Spielberg, the 62-year-old scribe said: 'Oh, he was very involved. 'That was one of the reasons I most wanted to do it. Because Steven was deeply involved from the beginning, and for the six months that we were working on the script, it was really just him and me. 'I'd send him my ideas, and we'd work on them, and when you have Steven's full attention, the results can be pretty spectacular.' Jurassic World: Rebirth - which stars Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali - follows a team of covert operatives on a mission to stop a rogue biotech organisation from unleashing weaponised dinosaurs around the world. As the chaos escalates, the team uncovers a dark secret connected to the original Jurassic legacy. Koepp previously said Jurassic World: Rebirth - which was directed by Gareth Edwards and releases on 2 July 2025 - would capture the 'spirit of the first movie'. He told TheWrap: '[We were trying to evoke] the spirit of the first movie, which is the tone that we would like to get closest to.' The writer added it was 'the idea of starting afresh' which convinced him to return to the Jurassic series. He said: 'You don't often get that chance, where they give you very few guidelines, except there must be dinosaurs in it.' Even so, before he agreed to come back for Jurassic World: Rebirth, Koepp had a list of demands he gave to Universal Pictures that the studio had to meet. He explained: 'Number one was – the events of the previous six movies cannot be denied or contradicted, because I hate a retcon. '[Number two was] all science must be real. [Third was] humour is oxygen.' Reflecting on returning to the Jurassic series, Koepp said it was 'weird and trippy' for him to step back in time for Jurassic World: Rebirth. He explained: 'It even smelled the same. It felt low pressure, even though Universal might be horrified to hear that.' Looking back at Jurassic Park and The Lost World, Koepp said 'writing those first two movies were some of [his] favourite experiences in [his] career so far'. He added: 'The combination of grand adventure and real science is right up my alley. And it was fun to be able to decide on a new tone, because every three movies seems like a good time to change tone and characters in a franchise. 'It was great to be able to work solely with Steven and make up a story and think of all new characters and all in a different tone.'
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Hollywood star Sharon Stone, 67, poses topless for Vogue
Movie icon Sharon Stone has got pulses racing in a sexy and powerful new black-and-white photoshoot. Hollywood superstar Sharon can be seen posing for the dramatic pictures wearing a sheer outfit and showing off her age-defying elegance. The star, 67, looks stunning as she poses for Vogue Adria's June 2025 issue in a series of melodramatic positions. The series of sensual portraits see the actress working her magic for the camera alongside over 20 male models. Exuding old-school glamour, the star looks striking in the sophisticated shoot alongside the plethora of men. The Total Recall star can be seen perched on a man's shoulders with her legs wrapped around him as the crowd tries to grab her. The blonde bombshell looks divine with her hair gently curled, wearing a mesh see-through outfit that shows off her enviable figure. In another chic shot, the actress can be seen in a black floor-length gown, with her arms in the air. With a pout on her lips and her hair in a fashionable quiff, Sharon looks the epitome of elegance. More shots show Sharon embracing her femininity and power as she stands strong, wearing a sharp suit as she is watched by a legion of men. Wowing in a more masculine white suit, with her hair in a large quiff, the star can be seen striking a pose with her hands in her pockets, standing calmly and collectively. Lying on a table with her long legs on display, Sharon looks every inch the sex siren in the provocative picture, while a man kisses her. A couple of male models gaze at her as she lies across their laps and tugs at her white shirt suggestively with her leg around a man's neck. The international icon is wearing a sheer black skin-tight outfit for one cover with rips across her svelte body, surrounded by the models. Another cover shot sees her posing in a chair wearing a boiler suit with her hair relaxed and down. Draped in men, the star appears to be emulating her classic pose in the cult movie Basic Instinct, with her legs wide open as she watches the men breakdance. The shoot aims to herald Sharon as the 'embodiment of an independent, fearless, and unapologetic woman who continues to break boundaries—in culture, fashion and identity.' In the cult classic 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct, Sharon shocked moviegoers with her jaw-dropping bold character. She made movie history during a scene in which she uncrossed her legs in a police interrogation to reveal she had no knickers on.
Courier-Mail
5 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
‘Fraud': Blues scammed by unrecognisable superstar in series-tying loss, Cameron Munster, Billy Slater
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News. COMMENT Let history show there was only one fraud responsible for ensuring an Origin decider in 2025 - and it wasn't Ashley Klein. Cameron Munster's infectious performance in game two will not only be remembered as one of the great playmaker's knocks, but also the biggest scam in Origin history. Why? Not because the Maroons barely eked home on sloppy Blues goalkicking, nor because Klein blew the whistle so often he was mistaken for a car alarm. Nope, it's because Munster did the Blues dirty with a shock new routine - the ability to dominate in Priest Mode. In horrific news for NSW, the captain's role has unlocked a new aspect of Munster that's as level-headed as it is two-faced. Announced as the state's new leader last week, Munster as a Maroons father figure was always bound to conflict with the bottle blonde tomcat we've come to know in so many larrikin grabs and grainy viral videos. Cameron Munster led the Maroons to victory with a dominant display. Cameron Munster led out a team of leaders for the Queensland. (Photo by) But when he presented with a chill steeliness and clean shaven face at his unveiling, we were witnessing the beginning of the transition in real time. Then when he fronted multiple media calls throughout the week in full dad mode and team uniform - and not just to crack zingers or issue a public apology - he was truly unrecognisable. But once Munster lead by example on the paddock in a man of the match performance, not only had he fully transformed in to one of those testimonials on a Tony Robbins self help manual, he'd also confirmed his appointment a rousing success. Sure, it's too early to elevate the new skipper to the bar alongside esteemed types like Baron Cameron Smith, especially after he confirmed his latent larrikinism by slipping a cheeky F-bomb in the post-match interview like a verbal wink in a hostage video. However, the 30 year old proved Wednesday night that the weight of responsibility won't hamper the spring in his step. Billy Slater nailed the captaincy call on Cameron Munster. (Photo by) Cameron Munster was all heart on Wednesday night. (Photo by COLIN MURTY / AFP) Just because he was Danny Tanner all week and held a stridently earnest pre-match interview with Johnathan Thurston on the team bus didn't mean he'd also play his footy like a sitcom dad. And just because he openly professed his love for the coach in the post-match press conference without being six beers deep doesn't mean he'll lose his playful edge either. Credit where it's due, Billy Slater has made his fair share of boofheaded decisions this series but he's absolutely nailed this one to the wall. With the series on the line, the coach was under stifling pressure to pull the right rein on Daly Cherry-Evans' replacement at skipper, lest be underlined as the first Queensland coach sunk by Aaron Woods. X SUBSCRIBER ONLY But when he ignored a raft of club captains to anoint Munster as captain, many believed he'd confused the state role with the social club. For all his mercurial brilliance, the Storm talisman has been widely celebrated as the Dally Messenger of good times, a free spirit whose rhinocerene appetite for a beer is matched only by his love of a poor decision. Who could forget when he was sin binned in the 2018 grand final for kicking? Or when he was banned for 12 months by the QRL in 2016 for breaking curfew at an Emerging Origin camp? X SUBSCRIBER ONLY Conversely, what about playing a leading hand in the 2020 series victory after fronting the team photo looking like he'd just served a 12 week sentence in the Milton brewery? Munster has always saddled the line between professional and playboy, a position that reached a crossroads in 2021 when he was sprung on film mucking up on the Gold Coast with Brandon Smith. When it comes to selecting a new skipper, there's no scarier trio of terms on a CV than 'unidentified white powder', 'Gold Coast' and 'The Cheese' - but Slater still bravely gambled on his five-eighth and its come up trumps. Sure, we've all seen similar glimpses of Reverend Munster in recent times as he abandoned the bottle and the extra pounds, albeit the latter only because his wife jibed him about his muffin top. But his performance to save the series proves this captaincy caper could catapult his influence in Origin further towards Wally-esque areas. And all they had to do was shave him down and let him flip the coin. - Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He's never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt. Originally published as 'Fraud': Blues scammed by unrecognisable superstar in series-tying loss
