“She didn’t slap me at all”: Basic Instinct Director Sets the Record Straight of His Fight With Sharon Stone Over Controversial Scene

Basic Instinct director Paul Verhoeven clears the air about fight with Sharon Stone over infamous scene.

Veteran actress Sharon Stone rose to superstardom after her performance in 1992’s thriller, Basic Instinct, and became famous as a s*x symbol. She had also accused her director of a lot of things and claimed that she even had a fight with him over a controversial scene. Now, the director has finally cleared the air over the whole ordeal.

Basic Instinct is a film full of s*x and nudity and included the now-iconic scene where Stone’s character was being interrogated for murder by the police. During the scene, Stone uncrossed her legs to briefly reveal that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. This scene truly changed the world of cinema as we know it.

Basic Instinct Director Clarifies Alleged Fight With Sharon Stone Over Controversial Scene

Another scene from Basic Instinct

While speaking to Deadline, Basic Instinct director Paul Verhoeven was asked about Sharon Stone claiming in her memoir that she ended up slapping him over the infamous yet iconic scene. Verhoeven disputed Stone’s claim that she slapped him, stating they are currently on good terms. Verhoeven shared his recollection, mentioning that the inspiration for the scene came from a woman he encountered during his student days.
”We are on good terms, Sharon and I, at the moment, so I would put [that story] in the category of “My memory is this, and your memory is that.

My memory is that [that scene] is all based on a woman that I met when I was a student in Leiden, at the university. She would do that: she would come up to us and she would open her legs. My friend and I saw her doing that, so went up to her and said something like, “We can see your va*ina.” And then she said, “Of course—that’s why I’m doing it!”
Paul Verhoeven recounted telling Stone the story during dinner, and she thought it would be a great idea for the film.
”I told that story to Sharon when we were having dinner together during the shoot, and she thought it would be great idea to do that. So, that’s my memory. She heard the story, and you know, in Joe Eszterhas’s script, there was already a mention [of that] in dialogue that he wrote between Michael Douglas and Sharon. They’re in the car, after the interrogation. It’s raining, and Sharon says to Michael, “You know I don’t like to wear any underwear, don’t you, Nick?”
Verhoeven clarified that while the mention of not wearing underwear was in the script, the specific uncrossing of legs was improvised based on their discussion. He acknowledged the differences in their recollections but presented his perspective on the origin of the iconic scene.
”That line was in the script, and when you see the scene just before the interrogation, you see [she is getting dressed]. Michael is looking at that, and she puts her dress on, and she has no underwear. So that was already in the script, but, of course, the scene [where she would uncross her legs] was not in the script—that came into the movie when I discussed it with Sharon, when I told her the story. I know her story is a bit different, but that’s my story.”
Basic Instinct will forever remain one of the most significant films in the history of cinema and no one can change that. More than three decades since its release, the movie continues to be a highly discussed project for good reason.

Sharon Stone Alleged Basic Instinct Producers Pressured Her Into Having S*x With Male Co-Stars

Sharon Stone

While speaking to Variety, Stone revealed a lot of disturbing things in her memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice. She stated that apart from being tricked into doing that particular scene, she was also asked several times by male producers to have s*x with her male co-stars. The alleged reason for this was so that it would make the chemistry between Stone and her co-stars better.

‘‘I watched the chocolate balls rolling around, thinking, You guys insisted on this actor when he couldn’t get one whole scene out in the test.… Now you think if I f*** him, he will become a fine actor? Nobody’s that good in bed. I felt they could have just hired a costar with talent, someone who could deliver a scene and remember his lines. I also felt they could f*** him themselves and leave me out of it. It was my job to act and I said so. This was not a popular response. I was considered difficult.

Sharon Stone’s allegations might have far-reaching effects on the industry as se*-related charges are taken extremely seriously. Perhaps the producers will be brought to justice eventually, but that seems unlikely, as things stand.