The Sharon Stone Basic Instinct interrogation scene remains one of the most controversial and talked-about moments in movie history. Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven has never been shy about depicting graphic violence and sex in his work, from RoboCop's savage, blood-soaked satire to the simmering sexuality of modern-day noir Basic Instinct. By the early 1990s, Verhoeven had famously pushed the boundaries of on-screen violence with his Hollywood efforts RoboCop and Total Recall and aimed to see what he could get away with when it came to sex with Basic Instinct.
The script for Basic Instinct was written by Joe Eszterhas, who was famous for screenplays like Jagged Edge and Flashdance. The story follows detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) as he investigates a murder, with Sharon Stone’s thriller author Catherine Tramell being the prime suspect. Nick is far from a saint himself, however, and is soon drawn in by Tramell’s mind games. While Sharon Stone's controversial leg-uncrossing scene is the movie's most iconic moment, it wasn’t in the original script.
The idea came from Paul Verhoeven, who recalled a party he once attended where he met a woman who wasn’t wearing underwear. She told Verhoeven she was aware of the effect this was having on the other men at the gathering, and the director felt Tramell would do the same thing. Verhoeven also wanted Basic Instinct to be the first mainstream American film to feature an on-screen erection, but he was overruled on this point. Here's why the Sharon Stone Basic Instinct scene is still so controversial, and how the Murderville guest star filmed the scene.
How Basic Instinct's Sharon Stone Interrogation Scene Was Filmed
The Sharon Stone Basic Instinct scene almost went to another actress, as she was only cast after more prominent names like Michelle Pfeiffer and Demi Moore turned it down. Verhoeven has previously worked with Stone on Total Recall, and her willingness to commit to Basic Instinct’s more risque elements got her the role. Verhoeven pitched the uncrossed legs moment to Stone, who loved the idea. The scene in question finds Tramell being interrogated by a roomful of cops, but she remains entirely in control despite the intensity of their interrogation. She later uncrosses her legs to reveal she’s not wearing underwear, with the moment proving shocking to both the cops and the audience.
The controversial scene shattered numerous taboos but was over in less than a second and relatively simple to shoot. The men's reactions were shot separately, with the Total Recall director then clearing the room to shoot Tramell’s legs uncrossing. Only the director, the DP, and a couple of other crew were present, and Verhoeven shot the moment from a couple of different angles.
There are conflicting reports from Verhoeven and Sharon Stone over Basic Instinct’s most controversial scene. Stone has stated she didn’t realize the shot would be full-on in the final movie and thought the flashing would only be implied. Verhoeven later denied this, claiming she knew what the shot would be, but panicked over what the response to the scene would be once she saw the film cut together.
The Legacy Of Basic Instinct’s Sharon Stone Interrogation Scene
The reaction to the Sharon Stone Basic Instinct flashing scene was instant and vocal. The movie’s depiction of sex and violence was already controversial, with the film being protested by gay and lesbian rights activists over its depiction of a bisexual killer. The interrogation scene would make the erotic Hollywood thriller one of the most talked-about movies of 1992, with the sequence being discussed in every review and interview. Naturally, this word of mouth positively impacted the box office — it would gross over $350 million worldwide and enjoy a healthy afterlife on VHS and DVD.
Basic Instinct’s success would inspire a short-lived slew of big-budget erotic thrillers, including the Sharon Stone vehicle Sliver and Bruce Willis’ Color Of Night. The Sharon Stone Basic Instinct interrogation would also be relentlessly parodied in everything from The Simpsons to Loaded Weapon 1. Sharon Stone, and the moment returned for the belated sequel Showgirls, which killed actress Elizabeth Berkley's career but has since become a beloved camp classic.
Sharon Stone's Memoir Sheds Light On Poor Treatment While Making Basic Instinct
Sharon Stone's controversial Basic Instinct scene is chronicled in her memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice — along with what she had to endure to get the role. The biography talks about a lot of her dealings with seedy directors in light of the #MeToo movement, and some of the unsavory things she was asked to do under the threat of being fired. According to her book, Sharon Stone was the thirteenth choice for her role in Basic Instinct, and director Paul Verhoeven ensured she knew it. Throughout production and post-production, he reportedly called her "Karen," and it wasn't until an awards ceremony that he stopped. The part had a negative effect on the actress's psyche. She reported that during filming that she began sleepwalking and suffered from terrible nightmares. Stone relives the movie's opening scene, in which she had to stab someone. According to her memoir, she nearly fainted as the director continued screaming at her to continue and pump out more blood.
According to Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct featured the infamous scene in a way that contradicted how Verhoeven initially explained it. During the film's first screening, she was forced to view the movie in a room full of agents and executives. After seeing the uncrossed legs scene, she reportedly slapped Paul and proceeded to call her lawyer. The Robocop movie director, Paul, then told her she had no choice in the matter, and the movie would be released with the controversial scene intact. Stone had this to say about the experience: "After the screening, I let Paul know of the options Marty [her lawyer] had laid out for me. Of course, he vehemently denied that I had any choices at all. I was just an actress, just a woman; what choices could I have?"
Given the ethical problems with the moment's production, it's unfortunate that conversations about the eye-opening Sharon Stone Basic Instinct scene pretty much overshadowed all other discourse about the movie. It's still an effective, visceral thriller that’s occasionally let down by the trashiness of the script. The film undeniably broke through some boundaries when it came to depicting sex in a mainstream movie. This is another reason the movie was so controversial, and how Basic Instinct made Sharon Stone an instant icon.
