Sharon Stone has scotched speculation she might star in a reboot of iconic ’90s erotic thriller Basic Instinct while at the same time delivering a blunt message to its producers.

The American actress made no attempt to hide her scepticism when asked about the remake during an interview with NBC morning show Today.

“If it goes the way the one I was in went, I would just say ‘I don’t know why you’d do it’,” Stone replied, referring to 2006’s Basic Instinct 2, a box-office flop that made back only half its budget.

“I mean, go ahead, but good f—ing luck.”

Plans for a Basic Instinct reboot were revealed last month when news broke that Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists and producer Scott Stuber had acquired the rights to the movie.

The original made more than $US350 million ($A540 million) at the domestic box office in 1992 and has been variously described as a “cultural phenomenon”, a “cult classic” and the “defining erotic thriller”.

In a breakthrough role, Stone played sultry and manipulative crime novelist Catherine Tramell, the prime suspect in a brutal murder being investigated by Detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas). The pair become entangled in a risky game of seduction, with the movie especially famous for its iconic interrogation scene in which Tramell flashes a room full of detectives while uncrossing her legs.

While the 2006 sequel didn’t feature Douglas or Basic Instinct’s original screenwriter Joe Eszterhas or director Paul Verhoeven, Amazon has signed a $US4 million ($A6.2 million) deal with Eszterhas – now aged 80 – to pen the script for the reboot.

“To those who question what an 80-year-old man is doing writing a sexy, erotic thriller: The rumours of my cinematic impotence are exaggerated and ageist,” Esztherhas said in a statement to US website The Wrap, which broke the news of the reboot.

“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.”

While some critics hailed the character of Tramell as a bastion for female empowerment, Basic Instinct sparked controversy at the time of its release, including for linking lesbianism and bisexuality with violence. It seems likely the reboot could also prove divisive, with reports it is expected to be “anti-woke”.

When Today co-anchor Craig Melvin commented on Stone’s “refreshing candour” in her response to the reboot, the actor – who was appearing to promote her new film Nobody 2 – acknowledged she was at a point in her career where she was able to be reflective.

“I’m at that stage of my life where I already retired once and I already died a couple of times. I’m like, what are you gonna do? Kill me again? Go ahead,” she said.

Stone was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the original Basic Instinct, and scored both an Oscar and Golden Globe nod for her role in Martin Scorcese’s 1995 crime drama Casino. She also played a femme fatale in the 1993 erotic thriller Sliver, starring alongside William Baldwin and Tom Berenger.

“I think it would be fair to say I pretty much owned the ’90s as an actress,” she said. “I stopped when I had a stroke – I had a massive, massive stroke and nearly died so I couldn’t work.

“When I reconsidered what value things had to me in life… I really wanted to have children and spend my time with them and I only really worked as much as I needed to to support my family. But now my children have left the nest and I’m back to work.

“I want to leave it on the screen because it lasts forever.”

Although Stone has previously said her role in Basic Instinct had a negative impact on her life and career and that she was tricked into filming the interrogation scene without underwear, in more recent years she has described it as tame compared with today’s entertainment.

Last year, she even posted an image on Instagram in which she re-created the pose from the iconic scene, this time wearing pink lingerie and strappy blue heels. The post was captioned “BASICALLY… YOURS”.

 

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