Basic Instinct
1992 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Mallory Rubin · Van Lathan
Aired April 14, 2026
‹ All people
Hard to Kill
The Ice Storm
Casino
Casino
Casino
Independence Day
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Commando
The Doors
Film credit
Sharon Stone
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 4
- Movies in this archive
- 4
Rewatchables episodes featuring Sharon Stone’s films
Displaying all 4 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:48Read transcript
- Kirstie Alley and Sharon Stone are proposed for Holly; a Russell/Stone pairing is imagined as more commercial but less distinctive. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:53Read transcript
- Greta Scacchi is proposed as Elsa, including a one-for-one exchange with Doody in Presumed Innocent. — Bill Simmons
- Sharon Stone is proposed, perhaps making Elsa American rather than forcing an accent. — Bill Simmons
- Pfeiffer is the ambitious all-star alternative. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Tom Brady as Storm; John Ashton as O’Malley; Sharon Stone as nurse; Paul Gleason as Trent
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:27Read transcript
- A modern remake needs unintentional comedy: Tatum and Wahlberg are conventional options, but an athlete version with Brady, his wife and son is the dream. — Bill Simmons
- Ashton is proposed for 1990 O’Malley after Beverly Hills Cop II and Midnight Run, bringing credibility and humor. — Bill Simmons
- Stone is favored for LeBrock’s role, with Sciorra, Moore, Thiessen, Locklear, Thomas and Graham considered amid age, fame and budget objections. — Kyle Brandt
- Gleason is the alternative Trent for his beloved antagonistic persona in The Breakfast Club and Die Hard. — Kyle Brandt
Recasting Couch
Sharon Stone for Weaver; Harrison Ford for Kline; a Culkin for Elijah Wood or Sandy; Philip Seymour Hoffman anywhere; a bigger name for Jim Carver
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:41Read transcript
- Sharon Stone for Sigourney Weaver is posed as a thought exercise.
- Weaver is judged better because she is believable as a suburban housewife while Stone would read as there to tear up the suburbs. — Chris Ryan
- Agreement that Weaver is more believable. — Sean Fennessey
- Harrison Ford as Ben is floated; objections say horny Ford is awkward and his sex scenes tend to be under duress.
- Swapping Elijah Wood for a Culkin is suggested. — Sean Fennessey
- A Good Son flip with any Culkin, including Kieran as Sandy, is added. — Bill Simmons
- Wood is knocked as a one-move bulging-eyes actor, then defended for Lord of the Rings and The Faculty. — Bill Simmons
- Philip Seymour Hoffman in any role, such as the Reverend, Jim Carver, or Paul, would elevate the film. — Bill Simmons
- The Jim Carver role is the one to upgrade to a Jeff Bridges or Nick Nolte, though top stars would not want to play a premature ejaculator.
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:56:38Read transcript
- Both responding hosts select Sharon Stone.
- Martin Scorsese is the principal alternative for the movie’s scale and control.
- Stone is praised for holding her own against De Niro and Pesci and for the scarcity of comparable later roles. — Bill Simmons
Apex Mountain
De Niro, Pesci, Sharon Stone, golf-course landings, Las Vegas details, and skimming receive distinct apex judgments.
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:07Read transcript
- De Niro is judged below his overall apex. — Bill Simmons
- Pesci’s apex is assigned to Goodfellas or My Cousin Vinny. — Bill Simmons
- The 1981 Cadillac Eldorado is judged at its apex.
- Kevin Pollak is judged at an apex shared with The Usual Suspects. — Bill Simmons
- Sharon Stone’s angry blackjack-table scenes are judged at an apex. — Bill Simmons
- Movie oral-sex references are denied an apex. — Bill Simmons
- Emergency golf-course airplane landings are judged below other examples.
- Lester is proposed as an apex scumbag ex-boyfriend. — Bill Simmons
- Star 80 is invoked as an alternate scumbag story. — Bill Simmons
- Skimming from a casino is assessed. — Bill Simmons
- Meetings conducted in code language are praised. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Melanie Griffith, Traci Lords, and Sharon Stone’s audition history
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:25Read transcript
- Madonna says the role came down to her and Sharon Stone. — Bill Simmons
- Nicole Kidman was considered. — Bill Simmons
- Melanie Griffith was considered. — Bill Simmons
- Traci Lords reportedly gave an impressive audition. — Bill Simmons
- Sharon Stone’s repeatedly canceled auditions and Scorsese’s personal appeal are recounted. — Bill Simmons
- The panel prefers Stone to the alternatives. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Best?
Sharon Stone, old Las Vegas, casino systems, music, costumes, and supporting performances
In the discussion (23)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:03Read transcript
- Sharon Stone’s performance is praised.
- De Niro and Pesci’s improvisation is praised.
- Pesci becoming violent in bars is praised. — Bill Simmons
- Ginger tipping service workers is praised.
- The head-vice sequence and its ratings history are discussed. — Bill Simmons
- The old Strip and real locations are praised. — Bill Simmons
- James Woods is praised. — Bill Simmons
- Ginger’s scenes with her daughter are discussed. — Bill Simmons
- Nicky’s recurring oral-sex behavior is treated as a darkly comic character detail. — Bill Simmons
- Frank Vincent and Pesci reversing power from Goodfellas is praised. — Bill Simmons
- Ginger’s beehive and diamonds are praised. — Bill Simmons
- The golf-course airplane landing is praised. — Sean Fennessey
- The casting of old-Vegas personalities is praised. — Bill Simmons
- Aces High is praised.
- The music choices are praised.
- The count room is praised. — Bill Simmons
- The blueberry-muffin complaint is praised. — Bill Simmons
- The explosive opening is praised. — Bill Simmons
- The Rain Man dealer is praised. — Bill Simmons
- Scorsese’s inventive cocaine imagery is praised. — Bill Simmons
- The aged hitmen are praised.
- Ace’s house is praised. — Bill Simmons
- James Woods’s Lester is ultimately offered as another leading aged-best answer. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Christopher Lloyd, Dennis Hopper or Al Pacino as the Area 51 doctor; Demi Moore or Sharon Stone for Mary McDonnell's role; Martin Lawrence for Connick
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:22Read transcript
- Option two: the wacky Area 51 doctor should be a real famous person, such as Christopher Lloyd as a Doc Brown wink or Dennis Hopper. — Bill Simmons
- Pacino is suggested for two scenes at $10 million, with an impression.
- Option one: never having been a Mary McDonnell person (after an Amy Adams comparison), Demi Moore is wanted for four scenes, and her death would be more shocking. — Bill Simmons
- A defense: McDonnell is good in John Sails movies. — Bill Simmons
- For a three-day role, go big; Sharon Stone is suggested and would have been an unexpected death. — Bill Simmons
- Returning to recasting, Connick could be swapped for Martin Lawrence if the seat just needs a funny guy. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Stronger villains; Kathleen Turner, Sharon Stone, Michelle Pfeiffer, Margot Kidder, Deborah Winger, or Sean Young as Marion
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:04Read transcript
- Any stronger actor than Paul Freeman is the bronze change and John Lithgow as Toht is the silver. — Bill Simmons
- Kathleen Turner is the primary Marion recast for greater sexual energy with Ford, though others object that Romancing the Stone later supplies exactly that pairing.
- Sharon Stone, Michelle Pfeiffer, Margot Kidder, Deborah Winger, and Sean Young are alternate Marion ideas; the conversation ultimately leans toward Winger or Young while still defending Allen.
What’s Aged the Best?
Bill Duke's opening scenes; mid-80s malls; Arnold's secret gun shed; Bill Paxton cameo; Arnold's one-liners; the borrowed 48 Hours theme; Rae Dawn Chong
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:43Read transcript
- Bill Duke's three quick opening scenes, mid-80s malls and Arnold's secret gun shed are loved. — Bill Simmons
- Bill Paxton's out-of-nowhere cameo ('We lost them, sir') is praised; Paxton had a scene with Arnold in The Terminator, and the guess is Arnold wanted him around.
- Arnold's one-liners are top of the game: 'I'll be back, Bennett', the Sully 'kill you last' and 'I lied' callback, 'I let him go', 'We'll take Cook's car' and 'Let off some steam, Bennett'; he reportedly had more ad libs in deleted scenes; the cliff scene was considered for this list and called more of a what's-aged-the-best item. — Bill Simmons
- Commando unapologetically lifts the 48 Hours steel-drum theme; for a devoted 48 Hours viewer it is jarring but also a reminder of that film. — Bill Simmons
- Rae Dawn Chong is the pick: funny, doing fight commentary during the Bill Duke fight and freaking out in the car, a great balance for Arnold; Justin Long in the Die Hard franchise is cited as a later version of the idea. — Shea Serrano
- Seconding the pick: she fires a rocket, there is no romance with Arnold, and the director says they auditioned widely, including Sharon Stone; a planned romantic scene was cut over concerns about southern audiences reacting to a Black woman and a white man. — Kyle Brandt
- The Golden Child's love scene with Charlotte Lewis was cut for similar reasons; casting Chong rather than the white girl du jour was inspired. — Bill Simmons
- In the mid-80s it was a novelty that she was Tommy Chong's daughter; some once assumed Chong was Mexican because of Cheech. — Bill Simmons
- Her career illustrates old Hollywood: Soul Man, then within five years a Melrose Place arc, and it never happened for her.
Recasting Couch
Robin Wright as Pam; Olivia d'Abo as Pam
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:59Read transcript
- The Meg Ryan part must be recast: Robin Wright as Pam, a 1970s Jenny Gump and a better actress. — Bill Simmons
- Olivia Diaba (as spoken), described as the teenage daughter from The Wonder Years and from Kicking and Screaming, would be the right age and easy to buy. — Chuck Klosterman
- Sharon Stone is floated, but would compete with Morrison too much; she could have played the Kathleen Quinlan part.
Displaying discussions 13 - 24 of 40 in total
