Sharon Stone.Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage
Sharon Stoneis reflecting on the experience of filmingBasic Instinctand the other ’90s-era erotic thrillers that have defined her Hollywood career.
Discussing the renewed appreciation for the movie genre at VultureFest on Saturday, the actress, 65, told PEOPLE that makingBasic Instinctwas a “scary” process that led her to examine herself in oftentimes uncomfortable ways. The film, which also starsMichael DouglasandJeanne Tripplehorn, sparked controversy when it was first released in 1992 due to its sexually explicit scenes.
“I got to confront my whole self, and that’s a scary journey,” she admitted. “But once you do it, you walk away with a tremendous amount of confidence because you’ve had to look at all of yourself, parts of yourself you would never have to dig deep and look at, scary parts, dark parts, concerning parts. And once you do that, you get quite a bit of confidence because you’ve really looked into the dark mirror.”
Stone said it’s been “fun” to see the genre experiencing a revival more than 30 years later. “I think people like that. It’s fun and it’s exciting and they’re sexy. I mean, what’s wrong with that?” she told PEOPLE.
Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas in ‘Basic Instinct’.StudioCanal/Shutterstock
Stone said the process of digging into her past to write her 2021 memoir,The Beauty of Living Twice— in which she recounts painful childhood traumas — was equally introspective. “It was very freeing because it’s the same thing,” she explained. “You can’t pull any punches when you’re writing. You have to sit down and write the truth and not worry about how other people feel about it.”
She continued, “I think when you do that, you can’t keep telling yourself pretty truths. You have to confront your own, the actual thing that’s real and true for you. And that was helpful. That’s always helpful.”
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During a VultureFest panel discussion with film critic Jerry Saltz, Stone also opened up about her newfound passion for painting — and the surprising moment that inspired her to pick up a brush.
Sharon Stone.Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Stone said hearing the dentist’s testimony was incredibly eye-opening and helped her realize that she could be forgiven for her own mistakes — including her missteps as a mother. In 2004,she lost custody of the sonshe shared with her then-husband Phil Bronstein. Earlier this year, she revealed on theTable for Two with Bruce Bozzipodcast that the judge in the case made assumptions about her parenting because of her brief nude scene inBasic Instinct.
The simple lesson of forgiveness has given Stone a new outlook. “It really changed my life,” she explained. “It changed my life about everything, about to be my best in the circumstances that I was in. And that’s how I ended up painting.”
Now, Stone paints daily and evenshows her work publicly. “I bought real brushes and I started to regain my control, my brush movements,” she toldThe Art Newspaperin March. “I painted and painted and painted, and I re-found myself. I re-found my heart. I re-found my center.”
source: people.com
