Sharon Stone Reflects on Past Collaborations and Hollywood’s Gender Divide
Legendary actress Sharon Stone recently revisited her experience producing and starring in the 1995 Western "The Quick and the Dead" during a Q&A session at the Torino Film Festival. While celebrating the film’s cult classic status, Stone candidly shared her contrasting experiences working with two prominent directors: Sam Raimi and Martin Scorsese.
Stone, who traveled to Italy to receive a lifetime achievement award and present a screening of "The Quick and the Dead," spoke fondly of her role in shaping the film’s creative vision. "I had my great Italian cinematographer Dante Spinotti, and I was very blessed to produce [The Quick and the Dead] and to have the opportunity to cast this film," she recalled.
The actress highlighted her efforts in bringing both Sam Raimi and Russell Crowe to wider audiences through the project, noting, "I had the opportunity to bring Sam Raimi from B movies to A movies, and then he directed Spider-Man and became a very big A movie director. I brought Russell Crowe from Australia [pre-Gladiator]. I had the opportunity to cast Leo DiCaprio [pre-Titanic] and bring him into a big leading role, and I really enjoyed producing.”
However, Stone drew a stark contrast between her relationships with Raimi and Scorsese, reflecting on the latter’s enduring loyalty and mutual respect. "In Sam Raimi’s case, I really liked his films,” Stone shared. "I thought he was very intelligent and very funny — different from Marty Scorsese, because he’s Italian, he has loyalty, he has that family feeling, and because of it Marty and I still have a relationship and because of it Marty and I still work together. Sam was a kid and he doesn’t have loyalty, he doesn’t have family, he didn’t ever talk to me again, he didn’t thank me, he didn’t hire me again, he didn’t acknowledge the relationship."
Continuing her poignant reflection, Stone stated, "Marty, because I worked so hard and because I admired him so much, our relationship continues to today; there is depth.”
Beyond her directing experiences, Stone also revealed the frustrating roadblocks she faced when attempting to helm future projects.
"After I produced The Quick and the Dead, I came to the studio, I asked for $14 million, I had a script, I had the music, I had everything. I pitched it everywhere,” she explained. “I was told it was the best pitch anyone ever heard, but really — a woman — ultimately in my period in the ’90s and the early 2000s, the resistance to women working, to me working, was so great that I couldn’t get back to direct and that was unfortunate, but I feel that my intelligence was wasted trying to convince lesser intelligent studio heads to allow me to direct. So they asked me to come and help them cast movies at studios, which I did because obviously I was very good at producing. I just feel the resistance to women having power, the resistance to me having power, was very big and the resistance to allowing my intelligence to be helpful has been enormous and by people of lesser intelligence.”
Stone’s reflections on her career shed light on the enduring challenges women face in Hollywood, prompting discussions about equality and representation both behind and in front of the camera.