“Basic Instinct” director Paul Verhoeven has broken her silence on Sharon Stone's claims that she was tricked into doing a n-de scene in the 1992 erotic thriller.
Sharon Stone, whose portrayal of suspected serial killer Catherine Tramell in the film made her a star, had claimed in her memoir "The Beauty of Living Twice" that she was tricked into filming the infamous cross-legged scene in the film. . The controversial scene features her character Catharine Tramell exposing herself as she is questioned by detectives about the murder of her ex-boyfriend.
The actress claimed that a member of the production team had told her to remove her underwear for a technical reason and assured her that her private area would not be visible in the film. But during a preview of the final edit played to a room full of agents and lawyers, she discovered that she had been given the part for her.
"That's how I first saw my vagina-shot, long after they told me, 'We can't see anything, I just need you to take your panties off, as white reflects light, so I know you have panties. Yes, there have been many points of view on this subject, but since I am the one with the vagina, in question, let me tell you: The other points of view are bastards… . It was me and my parts up there," she wrote in her memoir.
The Oscar winner also said that she slapped the film's director Paul Verhoeven after seeing the scene and left the scene. Her attorney told her the tampering was not legal, and she told Verhoeven the same thing, but the latter “vehemently denied” that he had any choice.
“But I had options. So I thought and thought and decided to allow this scene in the movie. Why? Because it was right for the movie and the character; and because, after all, I did,” she said.
Verhoeven now denies Stone's telling of the story and claims that her memory of it is "radically different from Sharon's memory." He told Variety: “Her version of her is impossible. She knew exactly what we were doing. I told her it was based on the story of a woman I knew when she was a student who regularly crossed her legs without panties at parties.” When my friend told her that we could see her vagina, she said, "Of course, that's why I do it." So Sharon and I decided to do a similar sequence."
However, Verhoeven acknowledged that he still has a "nice relationship" with Stone and they exchange text messages. He also praised her work in the film, saying that the different memory of her "doesn't get in the way and has nothing to do with the wonderful way she played Catherine Tramell."
