Basic Instinct
1992 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Mallory Rubin · Van Lathan
Aired April 14, 2026
‹ All people
Two for the Money
RoboCop
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 4
- Movies in this archive
- 4
Rewatchables episodes featuring Paul Verhoeven’s films
Displaying all 4 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
Recasting Couch
Edward Norton; Michael Douglas; Paul Verhoeven; Tracy Morgan
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:50Read transcript
- A darker psychosexual recast imagines Edward Norton and Michael Douglas under Paul Verhoeven.
- Tracy Morgan is a comic alternate younger lead. — Chris Ryan
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:46:45Read transcript
- Paul Verhoeven is the immediate winner for the film’s bloody, satirical direction. — Kyle Brandt
- The closing response praises the film for hiding its message inside cheesy 80s science fiction.
- The villains are praised as more vivid and genuinely terrible than the restrained leads.
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Paul Verhoeven
- Speaker not identified
- Paul Verhoeven
Apex Mountain
Peter Weller, Detroit’s early-1990s sports era, Ronnie Cox, and Miguel Ferrer receive apex support; other candidates are rejected or debated.
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:43Read transcript
- Leza Gibbons’s seven-year daytime show is proposed as her apex. — Bill Simmons
- Peter Weller is declared at his apex in RoboCop. — Bill Simmons
- Basic Instinct is preferred for Paul Verhoeven. — Bill Simmons
- Ronnie Cox is placed at his apex with RoboCop and Beverly Hills Cop II in the same year. — Bill Simmons
- Miguel Ferrer is treated as probably at his apex as Bob Morton. — Bill Simmons
- That ’70s Show is preferred for Kurtwood Smith. — Kyle Brandt
- Blade Runner beats RoboCop for futuristic cop movies. — Kyle Brandt
- Murphy’s execution prompts an explicit unranked list of hard-to-watch scenes from Casino, the slow-motion wartime stabbing, True Romance, Misery, American History X, Irreversible, Reservoir Dogs, and Man on Fire. — Kyle Brandt
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:20Read transcript
- Gene Hackman reportedly partnered to adapt the novel and considered directing and playing Lecter or Crawford before withdrawing. — Bill Simmons
- Paul Verhoeven reportedly turned the film down and later expressed regret. — Bill Simmons
- Jonathan Demme reportedly wanted Sean Connery for Lecter, but Connery declined. — Bill Simmons
- Michelle Pfeiffer declined Clarice; the panel prefers Foster because Pfeiffer’s overt glamour would shift the character’s closed, professional center. — Bill Simmons
- Meg Ryan reportedly rejected the material as too gruesome, and Molly Ringwald auditioned but was considered too young. — Bill Simmons
- Ed Harris reportedly declined Jack Crawford because the role was not interesting enough. — Bill Simmons
- Reported Lecter possibilities include Daniel Day-Lewis, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Derek Jacobi, and Forest Whitaker; the panel openly doubts some unsourced casting lists while noting Whitaker publicly discussed auditioning. — Chris Ryan
Displaying all 4 discussions
