Red Carpet: Basic Instinct 2

There are some movie stars who prefer the understated look; they are covert, almost blending in with us commoners a little too well.

Then there’s Sharon Stone - a timely reminder in these days of the occasionally dull and ever-so-slightly dowdy that along with the label ‘Hollywood star’ comes a requirement to give the people what they want - glamour.

Say what you will about Shazza - she oozes style and had the gathered throng of public and paps foaming at the mouth as she arrived in Leicester Square last night.

“I love London, it’s like a beach vacation,” she says, laughing off the cold in a classy little black number. So will she join the growing trend of fellow thesps and move here? “No, I’d kill myself at Harvey Nichols. I’d be broke within a week.”

In Basic Instinct 2, Sharon returns to the role of husky author Catherine Tramell - this time the chain-smoking leg-crosser is up on murder charges in London and is being psychologically probed by Dr Michael Glass (Derailed’s David Morrissey).

“He was great,” Stone said of her co-star. “I was thrilled when he took his clothes off.” So, was Morrissey’s ripped torso her main motivation for going back to the character that launched her career into orbit?

“The script was good, we had great writers and it’s nice to have variety in films.” TF has to admit, it makes a change to have an older actress rolling around and knocking over table lamps with a younger actor. “He’s not that much younger than me! But no, you’re right.” Phew! “My god, at my age they’d have to hire someone my grandfather’s age if they were going to keep the usual Hollywood balance.”

What did David think of Sharon? How did zero-tolerance helmer Michael Caton-Jones keep the Tinseltown glamourpuss in line? Keep an eye on our Features section for TF’s chat with the Brits who went Basic.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.