9 - 15 May 2002
Issue No.585
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 9 - 15 May 2002 Issue No.585 |
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Limelight
A little bit of luck
For reasons unique to the French, screen actress Sharon Stone holds a special place, akin to reverence. Since first she was introduced at their Cannes Film Festival in 1992, with her unforgettable portrayal of the complex, ice-pick wielding, bisexual novelist Catherine Tremell, in Basic Instinct, the French lost their hearts and minds to the charm and beauty of Ms Stone. So did the rest of the world. Ms Stone was deserving of all the attention. Her portrayal combined a subtle play of emotions and nuances of sentiments, presenting us with a fascinating insoluble jigsaw puzzle. Was she or wasn't she? Did she or didn't she? Stone was established as the sex goddess of the nineties.
But that was 10 years and 20 films ago. Since then Stone has never repeated or even come close to the brilliance and lustre of her first success. Year after year faithful fans wait patiently to regain the rapturous thrill that Basic Instinct gave them. Her beauty was ever looming, her style ever paramount, her teasing nose, her sensual lips, her mocking smile, her wondrous eyes, not to mention the perfection of her anatomy. No one could get enough of Ms Stone, not the fans, not the media and not the French. Season after season, film after film, came disappointment after disappointment. Soon, the good feelings began to fade, first with her critics, then with her public and then with the filmmakers. Ms Stone, despite her flops, would be invited again and again to Paris or Cannes, with or without her lacklustre films. Their media would fill their covers, their pages and their airwaves with stories of their idol -- what she eats, what she wears, her loves, her styles. Constant and faithful, the gallant French cavaliers remained totally devoted to their favourite screen siren, regardless of her fizzling career. Its official! Even the French government bestowed upon her L'Ordre de Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 1995. This year she is back again at the Cannes Film Festival, serving on the jury, headed by director David Lynch (Mullholland Drive). There will be many other stars attending the festival, but the media is already flooded with stories of the incomparable Sharon Stone.
France's premier film festival held at the Mediterranean azure coast town of Cannes is considered, unofficially, the world's leading film festival, drawing more media attention in force and number than any other cinematic event. It is estimated that this year over 4,000 members of the media will descend upon the tiny resort, a number second only to the summer Olympics held every 4 years. Each festival assumes a focus and fervour of its own. Last year, Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge, with Nicole Kidman was the festival's main attraction. This year, there is no doubt, the focus will be the heavenly beauty of Sharon Stone.
The 55th Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 15 -- 26, has selected 22 films for "Competition" for their Palme D'Or, including Intervention Divine, by Palestinian Elia Solaiman. Director Youssef Chahine will be honored by TV-5 in a special programme entitled "Children of Cannes" displaying talents first introduced at the Cannes Film Festival, amongst which are Abbas Kiarostami (Palme d'Or), Ferid Bourghida and Idris Koreidrago.
Sharon Stone: Luck is all she needs
The festival is excited over the introduction of several new talents in their official competition. While last year's festival seemed to present the same old renowned filmmakers, regulars at the Croisette, this year the festival is proud of its diverse selection, reflecting its willingness to discover the wide world of cinema. At the second official category -- "Un Certain Regard" -- four Arab films will be presented, with Syria making its first appearance ever at Cannes. There is no entry from Egypt.
There'll be other stars at Cannes, Sandra Bullock, the Arquette sisters, Rosanna and Patricia. Kuyo Uchida will present his latest picture Women in the Mirror, a film on Hiroshima. Jack Nicholson will make an appearance with his competition film About Schmidt. Cameron Diaz and Leonardo di Caprio are expected to accompany director Scorcese as he presents 20 minutes of his much-awaited Gangs of New York. Cannes finally decided to salute Bollywood, the Indian musicals, a genre unknown to this festival till now, combining classic Hindi-style, humour, derision and song. Nothing compares to the presence of Ms Stone.
In a career that has spanned 22 years since she first appeared in a Woody Allen film, Stardust Memories, in 1980, Stone was featured in 17 films before Paul Verhoeven cast her in Basic Instinct in 1992. Since then she has starred in 20 films but has never been able to recapture that original magic of Basic Instinct. She teamed up with superstars like Sylvester Stallone in The Specialist (1994), Dustin Hoffman in The Sphere (1998), Leonardo di Caprio in The Quick and the Dead (1995), and worked with great directors like Sam Raimi, Barry Levinson and Martin Scorcese. Some interest was raised with her performance in Casino (1996), as Robert de Niro's wife, an ex- prostitute and drug addict. Though she won a Golden Globe and picked up an Academy Award nomination, the film failed to ignite much enthusiasm. Stone started her own production company, choosing her scripts, directors and co-stars, but nothing worked. She even tried a remake of Clouzot's great classic Diabolique (1995) starring opposite Isabelle Adjani and Oscar winner Kathy Bates, with director Jeremiah Chechik at the helm -- a sure formula for success. Yet it bombed as miserably as everything else did. The puzzle is that Ms Stone is highly intelligent (IQ 154), a rare combination of brains and beauty. Born and raised in the small town of Meadville, Pennsylvania, she won a college scholarship at 15, before she graduated from high school and went on to attend Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She studied 'creative writing and fine arts' but preferred to drop out and work as a $500 a day model at the Eileen Ford Agency. "I was a lousy model, but I got to live all over the world..." She is now happily married to journalist Phil Bronstein after one divorce and many liaisons. She has one adopted son, Roan, one year old.
Hollywood producers complain that Ms Stone is finished, and her going salary of $7 million is undeserved. Some say her career is over. Some say she only had one film in her, only one song to sing and it has been sung. She was scheduled to start Basic Instinct -- II this year in an effort to find that decade- old magic spell she cast upon the world. Neither director Paul Verhoeven, nor her co-star Michael Douglas, nor the original screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, would get on board. The producers lost interest and scratched the project. She is suing for $100 million in damages. If she wins, the millions will be of some comfort but they will not resurrect her fading career.
Stone once described fame as "a monster that lives in your house and needs to be fed regularly". She has kept that monster alive and well fed, but she needs more than fame now. At 44 she is still stunning and has miles and miles to go, before her journey ends. Inevitably that beauty will one day fade: "But Ah, not yet, not yet!" What she needs is a sense of good judgment to make the right decisions or maybe a visit from 'Lady Luck' with a 'pot of luck' rather than a 'pot of gold'. They say it is better to be born lucky than rich, and a little bit of luck will go a long way to revive her sagging career. But until 'Lady Luck' comes along, the adulation of the French will have to do.
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