Sharon Stone criticizes Sam Raimi for not recognizing their collaboration

Last update:December 3, 2024, 4:29 p.m. IST

Sharon Stone recently criticized director Sam Raimi when discussing his work on The Quick and the Dead.

Sharon Stone recently shared her experience working with director Sam Raimi on the 1995 revisionist western The Quick and the Dead. Speaking at the Turin Film Festival, where she received a lifetime achievement award and presented a screening of the film, Stone criticized Raimi for what she called a lack of loyalty. During a question-and-answer session, the 66-year-old actress discussed her creative contributions to the film, including casting rising stars like Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, who had yet to achieve stardom at that time. era.

“I had my great Italian filmmaker Dante Spinotti. I was lucky enough to produce (The Quick and the Dead) and have the opportunity to cast this film. Director Sam Raimi, who I had the opportunity to take from B movies to A movies. Then he directed Spider-Man and became a great director,” Stone said.

“I brought Russell Crowe from Australia (pre-Gladiator). I had the opportunity to cast Leo DiCaprio (before Titanic) and have him play a lead role and I enjoyed producing,” she added.

The Total Recall actress compared her experiences with Raimi and Martin Scorsese, with whom she worked on the 1995 film Casino, highlighting their different approaches to professional relationships. Speaking about Scorsese, Stone explained that his sense of loyalty and family ties have kept their bond strong over the years.

“Marty, because I worked so hard and admired him so much, our relationship continues today; there’s depth,” she said.

On the other hand, she expressed her disappointment with Raimi, stating: “In the case of Sam Raimi, I liked his films. I thought he was very intelligent, funny and different from Martin Scorsese. Sam was a child and he had no loyalty, he had no family, he never spoke to me again, he didn’t thank me, he didn’t hire me again, and he didn’t acknowledge the relationship.”

Stone also revealed that despite the success of The Quick and the Dead, his efforts to move into directing were blocked by sexism in Hollywood. She explained how, despite what was hailed as a great pitch for a film, she faced significant resistance.

“During my time in the 90s and early 2000s, the resistance to women’s work, to my work, was so great that I couldn’t return to directing and that was unfortunate, but I “I feel like my intelligence was wasted trying to convince less intelligent studio heads to let me direct,” she said.