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Brandon Judell

IF Sharon Stone COULD TALK
Interviewed by Brandon Judell

Sharon Stone in "Simpatico"

Get ready for a little Simpatico! This latest adaptation of a Sam Shepard play features Sharon Stone, Jeff Bridges and Nick Nolte as three friends who are torn apart in middle-age by a deed they committed in their youth. Ms. Stone has a surprisingly small part as Mr. Bridge's wife and the focus of Mr. Nolte's undying love, but she sears the screen with her intensity. That's why some critics in Toronto thought she might wind up with some Best Supporting Actress nominations this year——and that's why the film's opened in New York and Los Angeles for a week before it reopened nationwide in late January. Sadly, it was totally overlooked.

Well, we caught up with Ms. Stone and chatted with her about Simpatico (which she adored making) plus stardom, her AIDS work, and If These Walls Could Talk, an HBO feature about the lesbian experience which aired this week.

NYTW: Playboy has designated you as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars of the Century.

SS: (Smiling) My time is almost up.

NYTW: Hardly. In the British magazine, Empire, you came in at 77 on the list of the Great Film Stars of All Time. Can you believe how fast you have risen and what an impact you had on the industry?

SS: There's a couple of ways to look at that. I think that for me what happened in my life was so extraordinary and so extreme that the only way I could live with it and keep my sanity was to accept that it was my destiny. That it just was. That it was always going to be that, and that my job was to try to show up with some integrity. So I think I knew for a very long time that I was going to be a movie star. I think I just knew that that was my destiny just like some little kid who knows he's going to be a doctor when he grows up. But I don't think if you know whether you're going to be a good doctor until you get there. Until you really see how invested you are. I'm more surprised that I'm as dedicated as I am and as interested in the craft of acting because the sensationalism of being a movie star is pretty consuming and for some time somewhat fulfilling and fun. So I think I'm probably more surprised that I actually got it together.

NYTW: One of the most anticipated TV films of the coming year is HBO's IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK, a trilogy of stories about lesbians. I haven't seen it yet, but word of mouth is that it's terrific. Can you talk about it and how you got involved?

SS: I have seen it. Each episode is extraordinary. I mean the opening shot of Vanessa Redgrave, it's just amazing. It'll put you on your knees. It's just amazing. There's a performance by Chloë Sevigny in the second piece that's just so moving. Breathtaking. And Ellen [DeGeneres] and I are really.... I think I have the best chemistry with Ellen than I have had with anybody. It's a little like Lucy and Ethel get pregnant, and it was really great. I mean Anne [Heche] is a wonderful director. She wrote a beautiful project for us. She really believed in it. We really believed in it. We really understood what we were doing and why we were there. I think we're very aware that you can touch more people on television than any other way, and that it was very important. The project, the last time it was done, was so wonderful and so valuable, and has been rerun so many times and it's been very affecting to so many people. [The first IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK trilogy featured Cher and Demi Moore and dealt with abortion.] We went into this hoping we could do the same. It's sheer pleasure to watch this thing. Everybody just did a great, great, great job.

NYTW: After Basic Instinct, some gays didn't want you on their block. And now all of a sudden, you're sort of a gay hero. You've done so much work for AIDS.

SS: Which no longer is the Gay Related Immune Deficiency disease since 46% of the people with AIDS are women.

NYTW: But many gays see your fight against AIDS as also a fight for them. It's happened to me that when I mentioned your name, more than once gay faces lit up with affection.

SS: Well, that's nice.

NYTW: What does that mean to you.

SS: Hopefully it means those people will people be active in the AIDS crisis because we're really in real trouble. You know there's 33 million people living with AIDS, and 16 million have already died. 16.2. You know I get up every day knowing that today seven thousand people will die from AIDS. So if I'm making an impact, I'm really grateful for that because I meet these kids, some of these babies. It's just unbelievable. World AIDS Day I spent with babies and small children who were HIV positive, and you know they're not like other children. They're not free. And the drugs don't really work for children. Well, they don't work for 50% of the people who have AIDS. It's very heart-wrenching to be with those kids, and to know that the probability is that none of them will make it. So I think if I'm making an impact enough that you can say my name and it has an effect, maybe that person will do something. I hope. That's really why AMFAR wanted me. Wanted a celebrity. So God! You know, I hope something gives. [Judell]

Copyright © Brandon Judell 2000

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