Sharon Stone clearly rejected the offer to return for Amazon/MGM’s “Basic Instinct” reboot. There’s really no other way to perceive it, especially after today’s comments.
When asked on the Today show about the project, which has original screenwriter Joe Eszterhas returning to update the 1992 erotic thriller, Stone flat out slammed the project.
“It goes the way the one that I was in,” the 67-year-old quipped, referencing the widely panned Basic Instinct 2. “I would just say, ‘Why do you do it?’ Go ahead, but good fucking luck.” She laughed, leaving little doubt she has no plans to reprise her iconic role.
Eszterhas recently told TheWrap that he hoped Stone would be back for his reboot, and that she wouldn’t be the lead this time around, but a crucially important co-star:
The Catherine Trammel character I will write and I hope Sharon [Stone] agrees to do the picture because I thought she was brilliant the first time out. In my reboot she is not the star of the picture but she is the main co-star of the picture.
Sounds like Stone rejected the offer.
Of course, Amazon/MGM’s reasoning is clear: the original “Basic Instinct,” whuch carried a heavy R rating, grossed $117M domestically in 1992 — roughly $265M today. And after Amazon MGM’s “Road House” reboot last year, they’re clearly feeling … bold. The deal for Eszterhas reportedly guarantees him $2M upfront, with a potential $4M if the film goes into production.
The script itself has already courted controversy. Described as “anti-woke.” Eszterhas defended his approach, telling TheWrap:
To those who question what an 80-year-old man is doing writing a sexy, erotic thriller: the rumors of my cinematic impotence are exaggerated and ageist. I call my writing partner the TWISTED LITTLE MAN and he lives somewhere deep inside me. He was born 29 and he will die 29, and he tells me he is ‘sky high up’ to write this piece and provide viewers with a wild and orgasmic ride. That makes me very happy.
Eszterhas hasn’t written a screenplay since 2006. Best known for “Flashdance,” “Blue Thunder,” “Jagged Edge,” and the infamously legendary “Showgirls,” he largely stepped away from Hollywood after a failed collaboration with Mel Gibson on The Maccabees—a project that ended in controversy when Eszterhas accused Gibson of anti-Semitism and claimed the film was never seriously intended to be made.
Bassim Tariq was the first one in the chair. The "Mogul Mowgli" director spent two years building out the Mahershala Ali vehicle before exiting in 2022, and he's now letting the air out on this one.