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Liz Smith | 09/10/2009 3:00 am

Liz Smith: Sharon Stone – The Red-Hot Do-Gooder

Also from Our Gossip Girl: Tilda Swinton as … Auntie Mame?! And the latest Marilyn bio – What more is there to say?
Sharon Stone © Wire Image
"When you’re lost, find yourself in the service of others."

That is the eternal sex bomb, underrated actress and ongoing humanitarian Sharon Stone, quoting Gandhi.

Stone has raised millions for amFAR with her legendary auctioneering powers, but she is involved in a number of other charities, including Planet Hope, co-founded with her sister, Kelly, and also "Homeless Not Toothless" – a nonprofit organization that provides homeless patients and foster children with free dental care. This was started up by Brentwood dentist Dr. Jay Grossman.

Sharon filmed a PSA for HNT which can be seen on the homelessnottoothless.org website. The glamorous star makes her pitch with her hair pulled into a ponytail and no makeup. But tonight, at the Shangri La Hotel in Santa Monica, Miss Stone will look every inch her image. She’ll be honored for her work with HNT. The writer Antwone Fisher, who grew up in foster care, is also being honored. William Macy presents Sharon her award; producer Todd Black does the same for Fisher.

P.S. But just because Sharon performs good deeds in a naughty world doesn’t mean she’s opted out of capitalizing on her most negotiable assets for old-fashioned, sexy movie-queen publicity. She recently did a photo shoot for Paris Match, decked out in black leather dominatrix corset and high heels, her perky 51-year-old bosoms naked for the world to see. Of course, this could be seen as a good deed too!

***

Tilda Swinton is the super-talented Oscar-winning actress who has made her name in indie and art-house films, but her Oscar win came from the mainstream movie "Michael Clayton," starring George Clooney.

I don’t associate Tilda, who is tall and pale and unique-looking, with wacky high-style comedy, although I admit I haven’t seen all of her films. But the Italian director Luca Guadagnino sees those qualities in her. In fact, Luca, who directed Tilda in the coming feature "I Am Love," thinks his star would be perfect in a modern update on the 1958 classic "Auntie Mame."

That’s right: Tilda wants to tackle a role that Roz Russell put her indelible stamp upon, on stage and screen.

In case you are too young to remember, Auntie Mame was first a bestselling book, written by Patrick Dennis. (The author insisted the plot – a ten-year-old orphan who goes to live with his madcap aunt, Mame – was slightly autobiographical.) The book became a smash hit Broadway play. Then a smash hit movie. Then a smash hit Jerry Herman Broadway musical starring Angela Lansbury. And then … well, best to remember Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo, not Mame Dennis. It wasn’t really Lucy’s fault.

I say, to Tilda, why not give it a go? For those who complain about great movies being remade, almost always in an inferior fashion, it’s not like the original is being physically destroyed, you know. Anyway, this idea is as yet only an idea, floated by director Luca, who is imploring Warner Bros. to free the rights and allow Tilda to utter the immortal credo of Auntie Mame: "Life’s a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!"

They bring back Hamlet all the time, why not Mame?

18 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Michael L. Goldstein

What about reviving Jerry Herman’s MAME on Broadway?  In these troubled times it would be just the tonic we need to feel good about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Of course the big question is who to cast.  My friends and I have made a game of this, and have come up with two worthy performers:  Lucie Arnaz, who is the right age, has the looks, voice and humor, and would forever erase the mistake her mother was involved in on-screen; and how about Barry Humphries, aka Dame Edna?  Now that would be a terrific contemporary twist!

By Michael L. Goldstein on 09/10/2009 6:55 am
Eileen Alannah
GREAT idea, Michael. Lucie Arnaz on Broadway would be perfect, she has exactly that bubbling, love of life, enthusiasm needed for that role. Hmm, & now who would play Vera Charles? (Maybe Dame Edna could do that.  ; )
By Eileen Alannah on 09/10/2009 12:07 pm
S G
Bringing back Mama would be wonderful. We all need a little Christmas:) LOL
By S G on 09/10/2009 10:05 am
Lynn Price

Regarding MM’s death—my pharmacology instructor cited one of the dangers of barbiturates was the fuzziness of your brain after taking some.  He suggested that she dangerously may have kept her sleeping pills next to her bed, and upon rousing (albeit partially) and seeing it was still night, concluded she had neglected to take her sleep aids and took more.  This can happen repeatedly, with tragic results.  He may have meant this as a cautionary tale, but I still remember 39 years later.  NEVER KEEP SLEEPING PILLS IN THE SAME ROOM AS YOUR BED.

By Lynn Price on 09/10/2009 10:19 am
Baby  Snooks

Just as Carol Channing will forever be "Dolly Levi,"  Rosalind Russell will forever be "Auntie Mame" and Hollywood should have learned long ago to leave well enough alone.  After it had remade Hello, Dolly with Carol Channing.  And burned the master negatives of Auntie Mame with Lucille Ball. Among other things that sort of blurred our memory of Lucille Ball, as well as blurring Lucille Ball herself, wrapping a camera lens in gauze is not what you call brilliant cinematography.  Never before has an actess so old looked so young. 

By Baby Snooks on 09/10/2009 11:01 am
David Cuthberr
The new MM book DOES have something new: that Marilyn’s disturbed mother wrote her almost every week, and that she had more contact with half-sister Bernice Miracle than anyone else has ever written about, with a never-before-seen photo of MM, Bernice, their mother Gladys Baker and several of MM’s foster parents together. And Liz, we who have been reading you for decades all know your source: Patricia Newcomb, Marilyn’s publicist and friend.
By David Cuthberr on 09/10/2009 11:20 am
Beth Cornell
I think an updated Mame would be terrific also. We do need a little of her light-heartedness now adays.
By Beth Cornell on 09/10/2009 11:56 am
Belinda Joy
I despise Sharon Stone, always have….always will. But I am profoundly grateful for all she has done from a purely humanitarian basis. Any charitable cause that helps the homeless and poor touches me. And the HNT campaign is one most people wouldn’t even think of as being a necessity, but it clearly is. So, hate the woman, but love her intentions.
By Belinda Joy on 09/10/2009 2:44 pm
Paul D.  Schneider
"I despise Sharon Stone, always have….always will." Why, what aspect of Ms. Stone’s persona reminds you of what you hate about yourself (which is the only logical explanation for why anyone "hates" another person they don’t know personally)? 
By Paul D. Schneider on 09/13/2009 1:19 pm
Belinda Joy

You created an account, just to have the ability to respond to one of my post? I’m flattered, thank you.

"what aspect of Ms. Stone’s persona reminds you of what you hate about yourself (which is the only logical explanation for why anyone "hates" another person they don’t know personally)?"

How old are you Paul? I ask because you have a very naive mindset on the subject of hate.  Hating or despising someone has absolutely nothing at all to do with projecting an inner self hate off on others you don’t know. I despise Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot and Osama Bin Laden, and I have never met any of these men. And I assure you I do not in the slightest manner see any of who I am in them. So your argument is baseless. 

As for why I despise Sharon Stone, her claim to fame was opening her legs on a movie screen and showing the world her vagina; and then claiming she "didn’t know the camera was taking a close up of it" At least women who make their living showing their vagina on film are usually up front and honest about it. It’s one thing to be a seductive vamp on film, its another to be a whore. She sold her sexually for fame, I despise women who do that.

Does that answer your question.

By Belinda Joy on 09/14/2009 11:10 am
Frank Somsel

Belinda: Sharon Stones performance in Basic Instinct was part of the job. You stacked her in there with Pol Pot, and Hitler. You must have forgotten to take your medication today.

 

Sharon Stone is a beautiful woman. Women usually hate other women, I don’t why, they just do.

I’m guessing you dislike or even hate Sarah Palin. Am I right or wrong?

 

By Frank Somsel on 09/15/2009 6:20 pm
Chrome Toe

I’d never heard of Tilda Swinton until "Michael Clayton". I remember sitting through that movie thinking "Who IS that actress?!". She was just mind blowing good. I thought she made that movie. Her performance made that character seem like such a real person. Not a cartoon type villain. But a real person doing a real bad thing. A person who may not do another bad thing in their entire life but this one bad thing would be so horrid it would forever define them. Loved that movie.

As to Sharon Stone… I love your last line Liz!! About her baring her breasts being another good deed…. tooo funny! Saucy saucy…

By Chrome Toe on 09/10/2009 4:40 pm
Kevin Callahan
Snow White
By Kevin Callahan on 09/10/2009 10:40 pm
Frederica Winter
Did anyone besides myself ever see Tilda Swinton in "The Man From London?" That long, long take in medium close up at the very end of the inscrutable film, where the sorrows of all life are reflected in her gaze? Yep, she could handle "Mame!"    Frederica Winter
By Frederica Winter on 09/11/2009 4:01 pm
james j.s

you have inspiration for other and inspire other

as do lot charity yes look other is best option to slow your promblem

your charity is great

i regards you

By james j.s on 09/12/2009 2:28 am