EXCLUSIVE: Sharon Stone 'Fuming' Over ‘Basic Instinct’ Reboot — Decades After Director 'Conned' Her Into Infamous Leg-Crossing Scene
Sharon Stone has blasted a 'Basic Instinct' reboot decades after being duped into the infamous leg-crossing scene.
Aug. 27 2025, Published 11:00 a.m. ET
Sharon Stone has reacted "furiously" to news Amazon MGM Studios is moving ahead with a reboot of Basic Instinct, saying she cannot understand why anyone would attempt to remake the erotic thriller that left her feeling exploited, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 66-year-old star of the original 1992 film, in which she played ice-cold novelist Catherine Tramell opposite Michael Douglas, 80, bitingly said on NBC's Today about the project: "I mean, go ahead, but good f------ luck."
Why Stone Is Raging
Stone slammed plans for a 'Basic Instinct' reboot.
The studio announced this summer that the Basic Instinct original screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, 80, has been commissioned to write a new version for as much as $4million, with the project pitched as an "anti-woke" return to the controversial genre.
A source close to Stone claimed: "She feels blindsided and angry by this. Sharon put everything into that role, only to be humiliated by how the most infamous scene was filmed. To see a reboot being made without her, after all she went through, has left her fuming."
Another insider added: "It’s not just the disrespect of the remake, it’s dredging up the exploitation that happened the first time around."
An Unexpected Scene
Stone revealed she felt exploited during the original film’s infamous scene.
Stone wrote candidly in her memoir The Beauty of Living Twice about how she was misled during the filming of the film's notorious interrogation scene.
She recalled being told to remove her underwear because it was reflecting light, and reassured nothing would be visible on screen.
The movie star later discovered otherwise when she saw the finished cut in a screening room filled with agents and lawyers. "That was how I saw my vagina shot for the first time," she wrote.
Afterward, she said she slapped director Paul Verhoeven and immediately sought legal advice.
At the time, her lawyer informed her the shot had not been legal under Screen Actors Guild rules, but she ultimately decided to allow it to remain in the movie because it suited the character.
"Yes, there have been many points of view on this topic," she wrote, "but since I’m the one with the vagina in question, let me say: the other points of view are bulls---."
Insiders say she feels angry and blindsided by the remake.
Despite the controversy, Basic Instinct was a huge commercial success and became one of the defining thrillers of the 1990s.
But its 2006 sequel, Basic Instinct 2, in which Stone reprised her role, was a critical and box-office disaster.
Stone referenced that failure in a recent interview, laughing as she said: "If (the reboot) goes the way the one that I was in went, I would just say, I don’t know why you'd do it."
Eszterhas has dismissed criticism about his age and suitability for the project.
"The rumors of my cinematic impotence are exaggerated and ageist," he said in a statement.
"My twisted little man (writer persona) is sky-high to provide viewers with a wild and orgasmic ride."
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The original film became a 1990s thriller classic despite its controversy.
But Stone's anger remains.
One source added: "Sharon lived through exploitation on that set. To her, remaking Basic Instinct without acknowledging what happened is not just misguided – it’s insulting."
