Basic Instinct
Short description
Paul Verhoeven directed this 1992 mystery thriller from a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas, with Alan Marshall producing. It was Verhoeven's ninth film as director, following Total Recall and preceding Showgirls. Michael Douglas plays San Francisco detective Nick Curran, assigned to investigate the killing of a former rock musician who was stabbed during sex with an ice pick. Suspicion settles on Catherine Tramell, the victim's girlfriend, a wealthy novelist whose latest book describes a similar crime. Sharon Stone plays Catherine, whose provocative manner unsettles the investigation; Jeanne Tripplehorn appears as Dr. Beth Garner, George Dzundza as Gus, Denis Arndt as Lieutenant Walker and Leilani Sarelle as Roxy.
The film was a major commercial success, earning about 353 million dollars worldwide against a budget of roughly 49 million. Audience response has been favorable: on IMDb it holds 7.1/10 from around 242,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.9/10 from over 4,500 votes. A film critics' rating of 6.3/10 from 79 reviews places critical opinion somewhat below the audience scores.
Released in March 1992 and running 128 minutes, the film was a co-production between the United States and France, with Canal+, TriStar Pictures, Carolco Pictures and Le Studio Canal+ among the companies behind it. It carries a credited cast of 55 and a credited crew of 122.
What's left behind the scenes
- Emma Thompson, Julia Roberts, and Meg Ryan declined offers to play the lead role in the film.
- The film provoked a sharp negative reaction from the LGBT community in the United States due to the fact that it contained negative stereotypes about lesbians, who are depicted as cold-blooded killers, and the filmmakers were accused of homophobia. LGBT activists and their supporters tried in every way to hinder the filming process, and then tried to disrupt the premiere screenings of "Basic Instinct".
- Paul Verhoeven considered Peter Weller for the role of Nick Curran.
- The Jack Daniel’s whiskey company paid over $1 million for the scene in which Nick offers Catherine Jack Daniel’s whiskey. However, in the original script, Catherine, seeing the bottle with this whiskey with Nick, asks if there’s anything else. After this promotional move, Jack Daniel’s sales increased several times over.
- Every day, 50 police officers guarded the filming location, restraining activists protesting for gay and lesbian rights.
- Before filming began, Paul Verhoeven stated that this film would be the first mainstream Hollywood movie to depict an erect male penis. However, his wish never came to fruition.
- The dresses worn by Sharon Stone's character echo the design of Kim Novak's dress in "Vertigo" (1958).
- Brooke Shields declined the offer to play Roxie.
- Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas and producer Irwin Winkler left the project due to creative differences with Paul Verhoeven. After Eszterhas's departure, Paul hired Gary Goldman to rewrite some scenes, which mainly concerned Michael Douglas's character. However, Verhoeven soon realized that these changes contradicted the rest of the script, and he publicly apologized to Eszterhas. The truce between the director and screenwriter did not last long, as Joe later decided to make changes to the script to soften the portrayal of sexual minorities. However, Verhoeven was strongly opposed.
- Paul Verhoeven offered Sharon Stone the lead role after their collaboration on "Total Recall" (1990).
- Michael Douglas's character is watching "Hellraiser II" (1988).
- Joe Eszterhas received an unheard-of fee of $3 million for the screenplay at the time.
- Michael Douglas performed almost all of the car stunts himself.
- Kim Basinger, Julia Roberts, Greta Scacchi, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mariel Hemingway, and Kelly McGillis were all considered for the role of Catherine.
- Filming took place from April 5th to June 28th, 1991.
- Paul Verhoeven had to re-edit the film 14 times in order for it to receive an R rating.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
