Michael Douglas says Basic Instinct sex scene was 'overwhelming' at Cannes premiere

If you thought the sex scene between Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct was intense, imagine watching it on a gigantic screen in front of hundreds of strangers. That's how the actor and the rest of the cast saw it when it premiered at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.

"I mean, Basic Instinct was unique, even for France," Douglas recalled in a press conference this week at this year's edition of the festival, where he was awarded an honorary Palme d'Or at the opening ceremony.

He continued, "And seeing that sex scene on the Palais Festival's huge screen, the biggest screen I've ever seen, was a little overwhelming, I think, for a lot of people. We had a very quiet dinner afterwards. Everybody was just sort of digesting it, but it was a lot of fun."

Later, Douglas recalled the process of casting his scene partner with the movie's director, Paul Verhoeven.

"We wanted to hit something, and we had a good script, and we had a fabulous actress in Sharon. She was just perfect for the role," Douglas said. "Again, it was very funny. We were auditioning, trying to find the right actress for the part, and Paul knew there was going to be a lot of active sex — there is in a lot of his films. So when he would meet these actresses, he would always preface it by saying, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. But there'll be nudity. Yeah, nudity... Lots of nudity.' I said, 'Paul, you don't have to say that.'"

This approach proved unsuccessful. "So we kept getting turned down by actresses!" Douglas said.

Enter Stone. "Then I was over here in Europe and he sent me the audition tape. He played my part in the scene with Sharon, and she was spectacular. She was really good and did a wonderful job."

For her part, Stone has alleged in the past that Verhoeven tricked her into the movie's iconic leg-crossing scene — in which her genitalia are briefly exposed — and that she didn't realize what had been captured until she saw the completed film. Verhoeven has countered that "she knew exactly what we were doing" and that he was upfront about the nature of the scene.

With additional reporting by Carita Rizzo.

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